The skinnyfat problem

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Storm155
Storm155 Posts: 1 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Hi all,

So, after a couple of months of trying different things and seeing no differences, I was hoping to get a few pointers on what I should be doing regarding my diet and fitness goals.

A little bit of background: I'm a 24 year old, 5'2" female who typically weighs between 93-96 lbs. I've been 'skinny' all my life, and have a history of eating mostly southern food (think lots of grease!), processed sugars, and refined carbs. Late last year I made a significant change to my diet, and now I subsist on mostly whole foods (poultry, fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and whole grains). I still indulge every now and then with a fun sized candy bar, and once or twice a month I'll cave and get a milkshake or something (I still have my sweet tooth).

I'm on my feet all day at work, and I now exercise 3-4 times weekly, though it's usually only 15 or so minutes of running on a treadmill and another 20ish minutes of weight lifting. I eat approximately 1250 calories per day (1350 on days that I work out), with at least 60 g protein, ~35g fat, and I try to stay under 50g sugar (though, since almost all of that sugar is from fruits...should I worry so much about that?) The problem is this: I look almost exactly the same as I did before overhauling my diet. My arms look much better, but generally I'm just skin and bones, with a flabby belly and thighs. Every single TDEE calculator (and my own sense) tells me I should be eating 1400 or so calories at least, but whenever I up my calorie intake by 50-100 calories, I just gain more fat, not lean muscle.

I really don't claim to be at all informed on what I should be doing to modify my appearance, so I'm all ears for constructive criticism. What should I focus on changing? I know I'm underweight and would love to fill out a bit more, but I really don't want to just have the extra pounds become fat that's targeted to my belly and thighs.

Replies

  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
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    If you want to be gaining muscle then you need to eat above TDEE and should follow a structured progressive lifting routine.
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
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    Why do you eat so little? I highly doubt at 93 pounds, you have extra fat lying around.

    But you obviously lack muscle. To this I can only say, nix the running, eat more (especially more protein) and lift heavy. Do this for a few months minimum, and you'll see positive changes in your figure.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    OP - here is what you need to do.

    1. Figure our your maintenance calories and then add in 250 calories over that for .5 gain per week.
    2. set your macros to .65 to .85 grams of protein per pound of body weight; .45 grams of fat per pound of body weight; and fill in rest with carbs.
    3. look into a heavy lifting program like strong lifts, new rules of lifting for woman, or all pro beginner routine. Pick a program, and stick with it. You can look on you tube for proper form of the compound movements or get a few sessions with a PT.
    4. Yes, you should get foods that are nutrient dense like chicken, rice, vegetables; however, on a bulk caloreis are king so don't be afraid to add in ice cream, bagels, pasta, etc.
    5. Take starting measurements, and retake them once a month.
    6. repeat until you get to goal weight or have the look you want..
    7. this may be the most important, you are GOING TO GAIN FAT during a bulk and there is nothing you can do about. Most assume a ratio of 1:1 so that means if you add 10 pounds you are going to add five pounds of fat and five pounds of muscle

    good luck
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    OP - here is what you need to do.

    1. Figure our your maintenance calories and then add in 250 calories over that for .5 gain per week.
    2. set your macros to .65 to .85 grams of protein per pound of body weight; .45 grams of fat per pound of body weight; and fill in rest with carbs.
    3. look into a heavy lifting program like strong lifts, new rules of lifting for woman, or all pro beginner routine. Pick a program, and stick with it. You can look on you tube for proper form of the compound movements or get a few sessions with a PT.
    4. Yes, you should get foods that are nutrient dense like chicken, rice, vegetables; however, on a bulk caloreis are king so don't be afraid to add in ice cream, bagels, pasta, etc.
    5. Take starting measurements, and retake them once a month.
    6. repeat until you get to goal weight or have the look you want..
    7. this may be the most important, you are GOING TO GAIN FAT during a bulk and there is nothing you can do about. Most assume a ratio of 1:1 so that means if you add 10 pounds you are going to add five pounds of fat and five pounds of muscle

    good luck

    this.

    and if you need a shorty condensed version
    eat more
    lift more
    sleep
    rest

    lather
    rinse
    repeat.
  • Snow__White
    Snow__White Posts: 1,650 Member
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    and when you are trying something new,give your body time to adjust,your not going to see results in a couple of days,give it a couple of weeks :)
  • DawnielleCas
    DawnielleCas Posts: 1 Member
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    Definitely cut out running. Work your way up to lifting heavy. 30 min x 3-4 times a week should be plenty.
    Also, this from BodyBuilding.com was a really helpful beginner guide for me.
  • Brolympus
    Brolympus Posts: 360 Member
    edited July 2015
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    OP, just to clarify, when people say "lift heavy", they mean you need to be following a progressive overload program, where you are increasing either the weight (adding 2.5lbs-5lbs, depending on which lift you are doing) or number of reps every time you workout. If you aren't challenging your muscles, they won't grow. Can't stress how important this is. Common female misconception out there is to lift extremely small weights at high reps to "tone", which is the female equivalent of broscience. If you have seen fitness models, they did not achieve a toned look lifting feathers; they lift heavy just like guys do (see point #2): acaloriecounter.com/weight-training-results.php

    For calories, Scooby says you need to be eating about 2000 calories per day as your TDEE to bulk based on the info you gave us, so you have been eating too few calories to build muscle at this point. You need to be in a surplus to build: scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

    Not sure how much lifting you are doing in 20 mins, but most strength programs are going to run a minimum of 45 mins a session, so likely you are not hitting close to the volume you need to grow. Muscles also respond well to frequency, so hitting the same group at least twice a week is pretty crucial.

    I agree with ndj- get a program and stick to it. Stronglifts is good and so is Starting Strength. They focus on compound lifts, give full body workouts, are time-efficient, and stimulate your muscles for growth with higher frequency that doing isolated body parts once per week.

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