Fat allocation? Help?

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Terracota94
Terracota94 Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys, first post.

Before I go into my problem, Im 20 years old and weigh under 9 stone standing at 6 foot with a BMI of 15.1 and body fat of 10%. Ridiculously skinny? Yeah.. working on it. I used to weigh 12 stone last year, with a body fat of around 15%, I was alot more muscley though. I lost the weight because of a debilitating illness, im off the meds and the weights coming back. The problem I have has been with me all my life, so is nothing to do with the weight loss or anything.

Its my body, I am skinny as all hell (always have been) my shoulders, ribs and bones stick out like a skeleton... which is what I expect at my weight, but my abdomen, thighs and chest is... well flabby as all hell. Im not a 16 year old girl who thinks theyre always fat, I literally have a huge stomach and everywhere hidden is fat. Its ridiculous!! I have like 5 flaps on my stomach, thighs are 5 times the size of my lower legs and cause lines when I sit down and my chest is too flabby, all this when my ribs and knees, arms, neck, face (jaw bones exposed like hell) are anorexic.

It doesnt make sense, I got the crap for being skinny and the crap for being fat all in one body. I have thought about this for some time, all I can come up with:
- I have junk food twice a week
- I like sodas
- Maybe my body just sucks at allocating fat and is not efficiently spreading it?

But even these dont make sense, my families genetic health is great. I have NEVER drank alcohol (young traumatic experience) and have been as active as any 20 year old is, I play sports now and then, run around with energy etc etc. And which person my age doesnt have some junk food now and then? I probably eat less junk food than the average person my age.

So now im stuck thinking, do I need to gain weight or lose weight? obviously Im going to gain weight, but then if I do get to what is a reasonable weight for my height then those fat problems will get even worse!

What should I do? P.S I know I should be going to my doc, but its embarrassing and hes a jerk, if I came to him with this hed end up laughing at me.

cheers in advance!

Replies

  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
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    ever have a doctor check you for insulin resistance? The reason I ask is because sometimes that apple shape is common in insulin resistance. Personal question you dont have to answer on here...do you have "breasts?" or a full chest for a man.
  • mushroomcup
    mushroomcup Posts: 145 Member
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    I'm definitely no expert with this (I'm a woman and a cardio bunny who hates strength-based exercise), but it sounds like you'd be best off lifting weights and eating a surplus of calories so you can gain muscle. Maybe do this until you are at a size you are more comfortable with so you no longer feel skinny. After that, if you still feel you have too much fat, you can tackle it by reducing your calories to a slight deficit and continuing to lift to retain muscle.

    I know that right now you feel like you got the short end of the stick, but if you can manage to put on the muscle weight with lifting, I think you'll be well on your way to a physique you're happier with.
  • mushroomcup
    mushroomcup Posts: 145 Member
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    Also, unless my math is incorrect, even though you went down in body fat percentage after your illness, you also lost quite a bit of lean body mass. More than 2 stone. (My math is below so you can check it.)

    12 st * .85 = 10.2 st lean body mass
    9 st * .9 = 8.1 st lean body mass

    10.2 - 8.1 = 2.1 st of lean body mass lost

    So you lost a whole lot of lean body mass, which is probably why you are feeling so skinny fat.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    You might check out whether your illness could have caused any adrenal issues, too. There really are some medical reasons that fat distribution can be unusual, so do ask your doc :) If he's any good, he'll understand that it could be a symptom of something he needs to check. Some medications can have effects like that, so look into that too to be sure.

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