Anyone else "skinny fat"?
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My stomach looks like a can of busted biscuits. Lol I'm focusing more on strength and less cardio. I still do cardio because I found I love running and want to get better at it.
I'm 5'2 and weigh 129-131
In time strength training will help pull it in and tone you up.0 -
Strength training.0
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yopeeps025 wrote: »
Skinny-fat is a term that I hear more attached to men
Amen.WalkingAlong wrote: »You're very young and small. Please be aware that a healthy woman has some fat and doesn't look like the tv stars or models or have washboard abs. You just lost a lot of weight? Your skin is probably still catching up. I hate to see young girls paste that 'skinny fat' label on themselves and aim for sub-20 BMIs.
I get what people mean when that say "skinny fat" - they mean that they don't have a lot of muscle. They want to be more toned, more lean, less soft-looking.
But the oxymoron is kind of disturbing, like if you're skinny without lots of muscle, "you're fat!" I'm sure that people who use it don't mean that, but it's kind of how it sounds.
It's baloney. You cannot be skinny and fat. Trust me! I wish! I can't be skinny while I'm fat and YOU can't be fat while you're skinny.
It's just a way for women who are thin to obsess more and convince themselves that they aren't good enough. Who started this crap?
If it's said by someone who says it to make you feel insecure so that you'll give them your money, let them find some other way to get money. Be smarter than them. You don't need to buy whatever they're selling. "Skinny is good enough. I don't need what you're selling. Bite me."
If it is said by someone who is just mean and trying to make you feel insecure, be smarter than them. "If I feel badly about myself, it won't make you feel better about yourself. You'll still be unhappy and have to go insult someone else and you'll still be unhappy with yourself. Bite me."
The general response to this skinny-fat business should be "Bite me" and not "Oh, no! I'm not good enough!"
Absolutely. Having the goal of putting on more muscle is an absolutely fine one, if that's what you want, do it! More power to you - lots of people here can give you very good advice. But I feel a bit like 'skinny fat' has become another way to make women feel bad about their bodies. Not every inch of you has to be firm as a rock. It's normal to have a bit of cellulite or some stretch marks. I'm not even going to say 'it's OK, everybody has flaws', because these are NORMAL features of a healthy body. They are not something to feel bad about in any way.
Nope I don't hear men use this.
Run a search on T-Nation or BB.com
I meant like I have never heard that said in real life.
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There is no possible way that you are skinny fat at 5'4" and 114 pounds.0
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The problem is that you can be at a low weight but have a high body fat % which means you have very little lean body mass. Which isn't good as we age.
My mother is only 100lbs- sometimes drops lower as she has a very small appetite. She did a full physical with body pod fat testing and she had 29% body fat.
She's been really making an effort to eat more and start weight training and has gained 2lbs since October.
I know this term is probably abused by some women but it is a legit corcern for many people who are thin but inactive. Lean body mass will help prevent osteoporosis and keep us mobile as we age.0 -
I'm 120, 5'6 with very little body fat to spare. Achieved through a combo of weights and cardio and good diet and lots and lots of patience.0
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if you have your settings to maintain, you may want to change them back to where you're losing a half a pound a week. Yes you should work out in the weight room to help tone up, but if you have the skinny fat issue that still means you have some fat to lose.0
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yopeeps025 wrote: »
Skinny-fat is a term that I hear more attached to men
Amen.WalkingAlong wrote: »You're very young and small. Please be aware that a healthy woman has some fat and doesn't look like the tv stars or models or have washboard abs. You just lost a lot of weight? Your skin is probably still catching up. I hate to see young girls paste that 'skinny fat' label on themselves and aim for sub-20 BMIs.
I get what people mean when that say "skinny fat" - they mean that they don't have a lot of muscle. They want to be more toned, more lean, less soft-looking.
But the oxymoron is kind of disturbing, like if you're skinny without lots of muscle, "you're fat!" I'm sure that people who use it don't mean that, but it's kind of how it sounds.
It's baloney. You cannot be skinny and fat. Trust me! I wish! I can't be skinny while I'm fat and YOU can't be fat while you're skinny.
It's just a way for women who are thin to obsess more and convince themselves that they aren't good enough. Who started this crap?
If it's said by someone who says it to make you feel insecure so that you'll give them your money, let them find some other way to get money. Be smarter than them. You don't need to buy whatever they're selling. "Skinny is good enough. I don't need what you're selling. Bite me."
If it is said by someone who is just mean and trying to make you feel insecure, be smarter than them. "If I feel badly about myself, it won't make you feel better about yourself. You'll still be unhappy and have to go insult someone else and you'll still be unhappy with yourself. Bite me."
The general response to this skinny-fat business should be "Bite me" and not "Oh, no! I'm not good enough!"
Absolutely. Having the goal of putting on more muscle is an absolutely fine one, if that's what you want, do it! More power to you - lots of people here can give you very good advice. But I feel a bit like 'skinny fat' has become another way to make women feel bad about their bodies. Not every inch of you has to be firm as a rock. It's normal to have a bit of cellulite or some stretch marks. I'm not even going to say 'it's OK, everybody has flaws', because these are NORMAL features of a healthy body. They are not something to feel bad about in any way.
Nope I don't hear men use this.
Not sure where you've been then. I remember when the whole idea of "skinny fat" was becoming popularized. It applied mainly to:
A. People who were normal weight but with high body fat percentages.
B. Men.
It was used heavily on bodybuilding circles to describe a body, typically male, who was not clinically obese or even overweight, but had a flabby, out of shape appearance.
Overtime it seems more women appropriated it and the definition has now expanded to include any "skinny" person who isn't ultra lean, with cut, visible muscle. So you now see it absurdly applied to people who don't even have a high BF percentage, but just don't have a lot of visible lean mass. I'm seeing just regular old "skinny" people calling themselves, or being labeled, as "skinny fat".
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Also, people on this thread appear to be confusing lean body mass and bone density, which are not the same thing at all.0
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Skinny-fat is a term that I hear more attached to menNope I don't hear men use this.
I used it because my doctor used it with me. He was right. My body fat wasn't where it was supposed to be even though I wasn't extremely heavy when compared to others.
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There is a medical classification called "normal weight overfat." This is probably the more clinical term for "skinny fat." However, for you to know if you are truly in that category, you need to have a body fat % analysis done. I happen to be in that category -- my BMI is within the normal range, but I have 31% body fat, where for a female, 28% is the normal level. In clothes, most people think I look good, but I do have some arm flab and cellulite. This term usually does not apply to young, petite, and low-normal BMI women like OP.
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yopeeps025 wrote: »
Skinny-fat is a term that I hear more attached to men
Amen.WalkingAlong wrote: »You're very young and small. Please be aware that a healthy woman has some fat and doesn't look like the tv stars or models or have washboard abs. You just lost a lot of weight? Your skin is probably still catching up. I hate to see young girls paste that 'skinny fat' label on themselves and aim for sub-20 BMIs.
I get what people mean when that say "skinny fat" - they mean that they don't have a lot of muscle. They want to be more toned, more lean, less soft-looking.
But the oxymoron is kind of disturbing, like if you're skinny without lots of muscle, "you're fat!" I'm sure that people who use it don't mean that, but it's kind of how it sounds.
It's baloney. You cannot be skinny and fat. Trust me! I wish! I can't be skinny while I'm fat and YOU can't be fat while you're skinny.
It's just a way for women who are thin to obsess more and convince themselves that they aren't good enough. Who started this crap?
If it's said by someone who says it to make you feel insecure so that you'll give them your money, let them find some other way to get money. Be smarter than them. You don't need to buy whatever they're selling. "Skinny is good enough. I don't need what you're selling. Bite me."
If it is said by someone who is just mean and trying to make you feel insecure, be smarter than them. "If I feel badly about myself, it won't make you feel better about yourself. You'll still be unhappy and have to go insult someone else and you'll still be unhappy with yourself. Bite me."
The general response to this skinny-fat business should be "Bite me" and not "Oh, no! I'm not good enough!"
Absolutely. Having the goal of putting on more muscle is an absolutely fine one, if that's what you want, do it! More power to you - lots of people here can give you very good advice. But I feel a bit like 'skinny fat' has become another way to make women feel bad about their bodies. Not every inch of you has to be firm as a rock. It's normal to have a bit of cellulite or some stretch marks. I'm not even going to say 'it's OK, everybody has flaws', because these are NORMAL features of a healthy body. They are not something to feel bad about in any way.
Nope I don't hear men use this.
I've heard more men than women use this term....including on this site0 -
How do I know if I'm "skinny fat"?0
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Also, people on this thread appear to be confusing lean body mass and bone density, which are not the same thing at all.
No confusion. More lean body mass/muscle leads to stronger bones. Weight-bearing exercise is right up there with "eat more calcium-rich foods" in the bone health standard advice basket.
Here's a quickie source, just because I'm not pulling this out of thin air: http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/99270060 -
Not I, and I was overweight, sometimes obese, from the time I was a kid,and I'm 53.
I've been exercising for years, did some strength training, and have been seriously heavy weight lifting for two years.
Get to the gym.
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This is interesting. Thanks for sharing.There is a medical classification called "normal weight overfat." This is probably the more clinical term for "skinny fat." However, for you to know if you are truly in that category, you need to have a body fat % analysis done. I happen to be in that category -- my BMI is within the normal range, but I have 31% body fat, where for a female, 28% is the normal level. In clothes, most people think I look good, but I do have some arm flab and cellulite. This term usually does not apply to young, petite, and low-normal BMI women like OP.
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Ok, so I'm 5'7 and weigh 130. I have a little loose skin in my abdomen area and I'm jiggly but wear between a 2 and 4. I have only lost 5 lbs. since starting MFP so it's nothing significant by any means. I have muscular legs and have definition in my biceps. Would I be considered "skinny fat"?0
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The opposite of "skinny-strong" would not be "skinny-fat." It would be "skinny-weak."I get what you're saying about the body-image thing, but the skinny-fat descriptor is actually very useful for those of us who need to reduce body fat but look small to the passing eye. Most thin women are no stranger to rude comments about their size, the "you don't need to eat light/work out/etc" comments, the "you must have an ED if you are small" comments the out and out "skinny *kitten*" bombs. Women in general are so conditioned to think that fat is the biggest evil ever and the one true reason to take care of ourselves. What's the main reason women don't lift heavy? "I don't want to get buuuuulky!" (Helpful hint, avoid illegal steroids. That's the only thing that's going to make you in to She-Hulk!)
And, I really disagree with this: "Skinny is good enough. I don't need what you're selling. Bite me."
Because "skinny" is not the be all and end all. Lots of skinny people want to build muscle, and women in particular are terrified of the dreaded "bulking up." Moving from "skinny-fat" to "skinny-strong" is just as worthy and valid a goal as "Fit at any size," which is also totally cool if that's how you choose to rock on with your own bad self.
If I gave the impression that I thought there was something wrong with women lifting weights, I apologize. It wasn't my intent or even what I thought.
I will not be participating in this business of calling thin or skinny women "fat" because they aren't muscular. Nobody should do it to themselves. Nobody should do it to others. That's my opinion.
I also think the whole idea is just stupid.0
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