Anyone else "skinny fat"?

yopeeps025 wrote: »

eric_sg61 wrote: »

yesimpson wrote: »

Kalikel wrote: »

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.

Amen.

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.

Skinny-fat is a term that I hear more attached to men

Nope I don't hear men use this.

I've heard more men than women use this term....including on this site

segacs wrote: »

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/9927006

MoHousdon wrote: »

How do I know if I'm "skinny fat"?

Just a smaller version of your old self without any body definition usually resulting from weight lifting.

MoHousdon wrote: »

How do I know if I'm "skinny fat"?

.mo I have 11lbs left to lose and a still have a tummy paunch. I'll be mighty surprised if it disappears after 11lbs??
I'm 5"8 and goal is 132lbs. I don't want to lose any more after that

EWJLang wrote: »

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.

The opposite of "skinny-strong" would not be "skinny-fat." It would be "skinny-weak."

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.

It wouldn't bother me if it was only used by people who KNOW they have a 'higher than average body fat percentage'. It bothers me when it's used by people who think they have a 'fat belly' because their skin folds over an inch when they sit.

rabbitjb wrote: »

Is there a fat skinny too?

I have heard of "fit fat." This term applies to the overweight or obese person who has a good fitness level and muscle tone, despite being overweight. "Fit fat" doesn't apply to athletes who often have a high BMI due to muscle tone, but to people who indeed carry extra body fat, but are actually quite fit. I have had fitness instructors who fit into this category, and my husband actually did for a while. He's overweight and has a "gut", but does coaching and was able to run around and often exceed the endurance of many of his young adult "coachees." Unfortunately, his diabetes has slowed him down some, but 5 years ago, he was definitely in that category.

This is a real legitimate problem. My family is genetically a very slim one at "baseline". We have very petite bone structure and aren't all that tall, but we are an "apple shaped" kind of family in that as soon as we start gaining weight it goes all to visceral fat. Despite being relatively "thin" by nature, my family is rife with early heart attacks, early onset heart disease (and by that I mean my grandfather was dead at 39 because he had his first attack at 34 and the coronary artery bypass surgery was just starting to be performed when he passed). Cholesterol levels tend to be high as well as A1c. We all seem to have MTHFR as well. My "baseline normal" weight was 102 until I started having kids, and 108ish after I started having kids. And even at that weight my waist measurement was 27 (!) inches, which is way out of proportion for being that "thin". And I had to eat very very, very clean in order to keep all my numbers---- blood pressure, A1c and cholesterol in good ranges.

My 8th child is 2.5 years old and was born with numerous medical issues that have meant a lot of time in the hospital. The last stint was almost 9 months and during that time I ate nothing but hospital food and ballooned out like crazy. I was never technically overweight according to BMI standards but according to what my frame could manage and my genetic disposition....it was waaay to much and I am trying to shed back down to my baseline weight. For the first time in my life I am exercising too though, in the hopes that maybe I can tone muscle as well instead of just lose excess fat.