Short and... Skinny Fat?
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I'm 5'3" 146lbs. As per my trending app I'm overweight. I was skinny fat-ish (though I hate the term) at a healthy weight of 137 lbs. It was a good initial goal weight but ultimately I think I'd look better at 125 to 130 with continuing strength training and cardio.
You are not horribly overweight. Please be kinder to yourself. Strength train, follow your plan, and be patient.
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At 5'3" and 154 pounds you should definitely not bulk.10
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@The_Ta
I think I fall in the “unfit skinny person” or the “normal weight person with nothing but flab”, unfortunately.
But you are not normal weight (and certainly are not skinny), you are overweight. Skinny fat means you are at a healthy/slim weight, but have excess fat and not much muscle so you look like you weigh more.
You only have 15lbs to lose to be at the top of the healthy BMI. I think once you get to a healthy weight if you still think you look "skinnyfat" once you are at 135, you should try strength training. 135 is an awesome goal, with 20lbs of fat gone you will certainly see difference in your body.10 -
To those that felt slighted and/or want clarification
“Horrible advice” includes nutritional advice in the form of buzzwords of the latest and greatest diet fad and can found throughout these forums though the comment was not focused on this thread in particular.
The OP asked about BMI and then mentioned being “skinny fat”, so it bears logic to help her discover if she is actually in need of losing weight to satisfy a general guideline. Unfit skinny people have difficulty with exercise. Very athletic people can score a higher BMI due to body composition. The ability to grab a handful of flesh indicates that a reduction weight is possible (unless this is excess skin from a massive weight loss, but she never mentioned a history of obesity).
So you ignore the fact that she mentioned being BMI 30 in recent memory and having lost to a BMI of about 27.5 at age 20. By the exclusion of multiple mentions of athletics, exercise, sports and weightlifting (and do remember that the op is age 20, so mention of a high school or college or current interest in sports would usually have been mentioned, and by a further lack of mention of steroids or growth hormone I am fairly confident that she is not hiding an NFL background and that if she is solidly in the overweight category and seeking to be in the upper parts of normal weight, all of which, by golly, sound like reasonable and measured goals!
As to the definition of skinny fat that part has already been covered, and was obviously being used by the OP in an idiosyncratic manner as to opposed to the more conventional definition of metabolically obese normal weight.
As to the horrible nutritional advice.... is that in reference to the "AnnPlan"™?
The AnnPlan™ has its own thread and I would love to have someone take it apart there! if you disagree with its tenets you can most certainly discuss them in thst thread.
But I hate to break the news to you: it has no buzzwords in it... whatsoever! The most controversial recommendations it offers would be 2x RDA of protein and a doubling of the 5 a day veggies and fruits recommended by most governments, and it imposes no restrictions or limits.... which is why I've started, in jest, to refer to it as the AnnPlan™ as opposed to say: good sense plan.
As to wanting to lash out against horrible advice why not, as Ann has done, put forth a reasonable plan so that people who are drawn to horrible buzzwords see other options in front of them? And do so in a separate post that avoids leaving the OP more confused than she was when she started?
I would assume that if the OP did not feel any need to lose weight.... she wouldn't be looking into it!
Strength training and exercise are available at any (reasonable gamut of) weight.... no weight loss necessary.
Weight control, as we say, comes from the kitchen. Exercise for health, not weight control.
People don't *have* to lose but, by the very nature of population statistics and based on the carefully considered consensus WHO recommendations that do not supplant individualised professional medical advice, most people will be better served by being at a normal BMI.
As to the rest of it... these are forums. The individual taking the advice has to do their own research and consider the validity of the advice. It's just the nature of the beast....10 -
Jlkelley92 wrote: »We are literally the same person. I am 5 foot 3 (barely) and 154 lol. Well I was 154 2 weeks ago. Now I'm 150. I am the definition of skinny fat.
From urban dictionary "Skinny fat:A person who is not overweight and have skinny look but still have a high fat percentage and low muscular mass. "
I don't think anyone seems to understand what skinny fat is. You are not skinny fat, you are just overweight. Skinny fat would be like someone who is 115 and 5'3 but has a lot of fat and no muscle.
Congratulations on losing 4lbs so far! It may not sound like a lot but every lb counts when you are short lol. I don't know your goal weight, but to lose to a healthy weight for your height will be a considerable amount of fat loss and you will likely feel like you have less fat. Before I lost (been maintaining 4 years), my perception of healthy was so warped since 70% of Americans are overweight/obese. I thought overweight looked healthy or even skinny. It is amazing how your perception changes once you realize what healthy really looks like.9 -
Get your body fat percentage checked. I'm 5 foot 128lbs, everyone is like why are you on a diet? I'm not overweight but close. My percentage was 26.4% should be below 25%. So maybe what you need is more to tone than anything.1
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Let me be clear. BY DEFINITION, NO, I AM NOT SKINNY FAT. But by my appearance, what people say of me, and what I look to myself, “skinny fat” sounds like a term to describe it. A term others have also related to as well.
Maybe I should just start saying “a small woman with flab instead of ab”.
I have been (trying) to do most of my own research. It’s hard to narrow things down when there are so many plans and tips out there for weight loss. I thought I’d come here to see what others who may have been in my situation have done. And also to try and become motivated.
It’s not that I look fat but I feel unhealthy. I’m coming to the revelation that food is for nutrition and not (always) for pleasure.
And as a lover of all things chocolate, fried, and well, food, it’s hard to switch eating habits and portions.
@leahraskie Is there an accurate way to measure body fat percentage at home?3 -
Is there an accurate way to measure body fat percentage at home?
I'm not that poster, but there really isnt. And regardless, it sounds like you aren't happy with where you are. I've never had any real idea what my bf% is, but i could look in the mirror and tell it wasnt what i wanted it to be yet, whstever the actual # is.
Set yourself up to lose 0.5 lbs or 1 lb per week, log your food accurately and consistently, and start a strength training program. It can't hurt, right?
As you go, you'll keep picking up more info, learning from your food log and your results, and getting healthy. It doesn't have to be any more complicated than that, unless you really want it to be! 4 -
Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »Jlkelley92 wrote: »We are literally the same person. I am 5 foot 3 (barely) and 154 lol. Well I was 154 2 weeks ago. Now I'm 150. I am the definition of skinny fat.
From urban dictionary "Skinny fat:A person who is not overweight and have skinny look but still have a high fat percentage and low muscular mass. "
I don't think anyone seems to understand what skinny fat is. You are not skinny fat, you are just overweight. Skinny fat would be like someone who is 115 and 5'3 but has a lot of fat and no muscle....
...and while "skinny fat" is the slang/layman's term for it, the clinical term is Metabolically Obese, Normal Weight (MONW). It refers to people with a normal/healthy BMI and high levels of bodyfat, which presents an elevated risk of hyperinsulemia, insulin resistance, hypertriglyceridemia, type 2 diabetes and coronary disease similar to that of a clinically obese person.
If somebody is overweight/obese, they are not MONW/"skinny fat". They're overweight/obese with a high bodyfat percentage.11 -
Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »Jlkelley92 wrote: »We are literally the same person. I am 5 foot 3 (barely) and 154 lol. Well I was 154 2 weeks ago. Now I'm 150. I am the definition of skinny fat.
From urban dictionary "Skinny fat:A person who is not overweight and have skinny look but still have a high fat percentage and low muscular mass. "
I don't think anyone seems to understand what skinny fat is. You are not skinny fat, you are just overweight. Skinny fat would be like someone who is 115 and 5'3 but has a lot of fat and no muscle.
Congratulations on losing 4lbs so far! It may not sound like a lot but every lb counts when you are short lol. I don't know your goal weight, but to lose to a healthy weight for your height will be a considerable amount of fat loss and you will likely feel like you have less fat. Before I lost (been maintaining 4 years), my perception of healthy was so warped since 70% of Americans are overweight/obese. I thought overweight looked healthy or even skinny. It is amazing how your perception changes once you realize what healthy really looks like.
Your description is the most accurate and the example is the clearest description.
From my perspective, because of my livelihood, I only think in terms of lean body mass and body fat %. There are no “norms” for LBM that I know of, but since I have done thousands of assessments, I have a pretty good understanding of what LBM puts one in the “skinny fat” category (relative to height).
As you implied, most obese people are not going to show up as skinny fat, because they have extra muscle from supporting the increased mass. The ones who are most obvious are the ones who are either normal weight or modestly overfat (26%-32% bf).
And to answer another comment, in my experience, most of the people who are truly “skinny fat” are that way because it’s the body they were born with. While I have seen people lose as much as 30%-33% of their total weight loss in LBM because of VLCDs and no resistance training, even that didn’t push them into the skinny fat category. They might have had flabby muscles, and less muscle than desirable, but the muscle was still there.
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Let me be clear. BY DEFINITION, NO, I AM NOT SKINNY FAT. But by my appearance, what people say of me, and what I look to myself, “skinny fat” sounds like a term to describe it. A term others have also related to as well.
Maybe I should just start saying “a small woman with flab instead of ab”.
I have been (trying) to do most of my own research. It’s hard to narrow things down when there are so many plans and tips out there for weight loss. I thought I’d come here to see what others who may have been in my situation have done. And also to try and become motivated.
It’s not that I look fat but I feel unhealthy. I’m coming to the revelation that food is for nutrition and not (always) for pleasure.
And as a lover of all things chocolate, fried, and well, food, it’s hard to switch eating habits and portions.
@leahraskie Is there an accurate way to measure body fat percentage at home?
No, the hospital I work at had a scale that gives you an idea of what it is using your weight and height. It's used for patients that have had bariatric surgery as well, so I assume if it's correctly calibrated it's relatively accurate. Your doctor could also use a caliper too if you were really interested as a starting point.
They do sell similar scales online, fitbit has one, but who knows how accurate that is and for $100+ if it's worth even using.
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leahraskie wrote: »Let me be clear. BY DEFINITION, NO, I AM NOT SKINNY FAT. But by my appearance, what people say of me, and what I look to myself, “skinny fat” sounds like a term to describe it. A term others have also related to as well.
Maybe I should just start saying “a small woman with flab instead of ab”.
I have been (trying) to do most of my own research. It’s hard to narrow things down when there are so many plans and tips out there for weight loss. I thought I’d come here to see what others who may have been in my situation have done. And also to try and become motivated.
It’s not that I look fat but I feel unhealthy. I’m coming to the revelation that food is for nutrition and not (always) for pleasure.
And as a lover of all things chocolate, fried, and well, food, it’s hard to switch eating habits and portions.
@leahraskie Is there an accurate way to measure body fat percentage at home?
No, the hospital I work at had a scale that gives you an idea of what it is using your weight and height. It's used for patients that have had bariatric surgery as well, so I assume if it's correctly calibrated it's relatively accurate. Your doctor could also use a caliper too if you were really interested as a starting point.
They do sell similar scales online, fitbit has one, but who knows how accurate that is and for $100+ if it's worth even using.
Actually, they do have a pretty good idea of how accurate (or not) the BIA scales are, and whether or not they're worth using: https://weightology.net/the-pitfalls-of-bodyfat-measurement-part-4-bioelectrical-impedance-bia/2 -
“Skinny fat” refers to someone with a low-normal BMI and high body fat percentage. If your BMI says you are obese or overweight than that isn’t you4
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I think we've now established that the OP was using the term in a different than expected manner and that her real concern seems to be more along the lines off: "I haven't lost much weight while trying to do so and I don't feel like I look particularly fat, should I be trying to lose weight?" Unless I'm misinterpreting, which obviously wouldn't be the first time!4
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I think we've now established that the OP was using the term in a different than expected manner and that her real concern seems to be more along the lines off: "I haven't lost much weight while trying to do so and I don't feel like I look particularly fat, should I be trying to lose weight?" Unless I'm misinterpreting, which obviously wouldn't be the first time!
Thank you!!
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