Tips for Skinny Fat Syndrome

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cutmd
cutmd Posts: 1,168 Member
from a blog to help people achieve the celebrity look:http://fitnessblackbook.com/body-fat/tips-to-fix-skinny-fat-syndrome/
Some of it is controversial, but I figured we could discuss :wink:

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I'm sure you have all heard of the term skinny fat. This when someone is chubby but doesn't take up much space. A person who is close to their target weight, but is soft all over. To be honest, this is a super easy thing to fix, but a lot of people go about it the wrong way. Someone who is skinny fat is just 3 months away from transforming their body, they just need to attack this problem the right way.


Still Skinny Fat Even After Training for Some Time?

I would say that a good portion of the people in the gyms I have belonged to are skinny fat. A lot of people train really hard and still don't display the muscle tone that they should. All you have to do is head on over to Youtube to see examples of this. There are thousands of videos of people sweating their butt off, but still not displaying impressive physiques.

Trying to Create a Calorie Deficit Through Exercise?
The biggest mistake I see is that people are trying to create a calorie deficit through exercise. If you want to lose body fat, you want to create a calorie deficit through diet and burn additional calories with exercise. Make sure you are in calorie deficit even when taking away the calories burned with exercise. *If you take away any tip from this article, this would be the most important piece of advice*

Eating Too Much and Then Training to Make up For It?
Training hard to make up for a bad diet puts you at risk for increasing your cortisol levels. The typical mistake I see is the people hitting cardio for 60 minutes at a time 5-6 days a week. I have no problem with some cardio after HIIT, but I like to limit this to just a few times per week. Cortisol breaks down muscle and increases fat storage. If you see someone training like a mad man (or mad woman) and isn't lean…this is probably the reason why.

Back off on Exercise to Get Rid of Fat
The first thing I would recommend for a skinny fat person? I would tell them to reduce their calories and reduce their workouts. If they weren't doing resistance training, then that would be mandatory as well. In fact, if they were really lacking muscle tone I would have that person hit the weights hard under a calorie deficit with very little cardio. Maybe re-introduce cardio after 1-2 months.
Focus on Short Intense Workouts While Eating Well
Skinny fat people typically need to boost the intensity of their workouts, but not too often. The main thing is to avoid the release of cortisol while increasing the HGH through strategic exercise. There is a "Sweet Spot" of just the right amount of exercise and it is different for everybody. The key is to find that sweet spot. Once you figure that out, you are just 2-3 months max away from a complete transformation.
Note: I know it seems weird that working out less can actually result in a leaner body, but it is the truth. Also…you can hit it hard for short spurts like outlined in my Vacation Body Blueprint report…you just can't push too hard for too long.

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Replies

  • dailyorange
    dailyorange Posts: 128
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    Thanks for the info! I definitely never want to be labeled "skinny fat". I'm at a stage where I don't necessarily need to lose any more weight, I'm more focused on increasing my strength. Throughout my weight loss, I usually never went over 30 minutes in cardio. I usually stick with 5 minute warm up, 20 minutes of 2-1 intervals and then 5 minute cool down. Then I hit the weights and sometimes do a little leisurely swimming to relax.

    It's pretty awesome feeling after doing 30 minutes of intense cardio rather than long steady state cardio and that's something I think a lot of people fall victim to. I always feel like a mad woman at the gym switching intensities ever other minute! For me a good diet, plus cardio 3x week and strength training 3x week has worked. I hope to get my pesky thighs in more shape though!
  • ashleyb1031
    ashleyb1031 Posts: 69 Member
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    This is the point im at...i don't really need to lose weight just gain muscle. I've increased my protein and eating at least 120 g. I am also beginning to lift heavier
  • Rubie81
    Rubie81 Posts: 720 Member
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    I just skimmed through this but it sounds great. Will return to later, TFS.
  • cutmd
    cutmd Posts: 1,168 Member
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    To me this is the worst part, but I shouldve known: "Make sure you are in calorie deficit even when taking away the calories burned with exercise". I guess I can manage to eat less with less cardio but <sigh>
  • Eskimopie
    Eskimopie Posts: 235 Member
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    bump for later...
  • Mollydolly10
    Mollydolly10 Posts: 431 Member
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    I'm feeling like I'm in that 'skinny fat' stage too. I don't really need to lose more weight (in the lower-middle end of 'healthy' BMI), but I'm still 'soft'!
  • Oompa_Loompa
    Oompa_Loompa Posts: 1,099 Member
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    BUMP
  • marindak
    marindak Posts: 168
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    bump
  • jacquejl
    jacquejl Posts: 193 Member
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    bump
  • shander7
    shander7 Posts: 613 Member
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    bump
  • rcatr
    rcatr Posts: 374 Member
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    guh. this is totally me. the thought of working out less than an hour doesnt make sense to me but if i'm eating super clean i guess it does :)
    I need to remember that the bulk of my fitness will be based on my nutrition *sigh*
  • schobert101
    schobert101 Posts: 218 Member
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    Thanks for the thoughtful post. I"m one of the skinny fats and know it. Normal BMI but still lots of jiggle and fat. I have changed the routine to get some weights in but don't like to do them and have always done more of the cardio but not at high intensity as I do distance running/biking etc but I'm not that fast. I know what needs to be done as I have read lots of other posts that all say the same thing. There is another great thread on the forum entitled something like 'lean people trying to get leaner' that is a great one to read through in regards to these issues but it is about 18 pages long but well worth the read!
  • nab22
    nab22 Posts: 168
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    This is totally me! My favorite description was something like... "your arm is like mush with a bone in the middle". Yep, exactly
  • bebbjeb
    bebbjeb Posts: 134
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    bump
  • ahmommy
    ahmommy Posts: 316 Member
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    Thank you for this! I would definitely put myself in the "skinny fat" category, as I have been most of my life.
  • kelly6485
    kelly6485 Posts: 78
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    <
    Skinny Fat! =(
  • arwensb
    arwensb Posts: 275 Member
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    Trying to Create a Calorie Deficit Through Exercise?
    The biggest mistake I see is that people are trying to create a calorie deficit through exercise. If you want to lose body fat, you want to create a calorie deficit through diet and burn additional calories with exercise. Make sure you are in calorie deficit even when taking away the calories burned with exercise. *If you take away any tip from this article, this would be the most important piece of advice*
    This confuses me. Does he mean that I should not eat back exercise calories?
  • cutmd
    cutmd Posts: 1,168 Member
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    Trying to Create a Calorie Deficit Through Exercise?
    The biggest mistake I see is that people are trying to create a calorie deficit through exercise. If you want to lose body fat, you want to create a calorie deficit through diet and burn additional calories with exercise. Make sure you are in calorie deficit even when taking away the calories burned with exercise. *If you take away any tip from this article, this would be the most important piece of advice*
    This confuses me. Does he mean that I should not eat back exercise calories?

    Pretty much. If your maintenance is 1700 and you are eating 1200 he is saying no matter what you shouldn't eat 1700, even if you burn 500 plus. I'm not sure what his reasoning is, except in another article he talked about cardio as an excuse to eat more. Is it bad because people overestimate calories burned and underestimate calories eaten? Not sure.

    I do tend to think if you are eating your bmr you are not going to go into starvation mode even if you exercise. However, I have enjoyed eating my exercise cals! I am going to try eating no more than 1500 regardless of my burn as see how that works, especially since he recommends decreasing cardio anyway...
  • SunsetGem
    SunsetGem Posts: 11
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    I've never been overweight but have always been "skinny fat" with an icky pot belly. Years of cardio has only kept my weight low. It's time for a new approach. I will try what you suggest. Thank you!
  • kbanzhaf
    kbanzhaf Posts: 601 Member
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    Bump