Skinny fat no more!

youngfool
youngfool Posts: 6
in Introduce Yourself
Hi everyone!

I'm somewhat new to the site, and would love to make any/all friends for support and motivation, especially any with similar goals.

I'm 5'5" and fluctuating around 138-140 lbs. This puts me in the "healthy" weight range for my height. I AM happy with how I look in clothes, BUT (it's a big but...)! I rarely work out nowadays, I see no visible tone on my flabby stomach, thighs, arms or booty, and I eat like crap more than half of the time. Thus, skinny fat, I guess you could call me (although I use this term very lightly as I don't actually know my body fat percentage yet :tongue: ).

I joined MFP in the hopes of shaping up my eating habits as well as shaping up my jiggly booty! My goal here is set to lose 10 lbs putting me at 130, but I plan on paying more attention to actual measurements than what the scale tells me.

Any advice, support or tips will be loved and returned in any way possible :drinker: :heart:

Replies

  • malkb27
    malkb27 Posts: 40
    I'm not sure I can give tips, yet, but I can provide motivation, lol.

    I'm also 5'5" and weigh 140. I'm wanting to get to 125 and tone up a lot. I know to reach the toning I want, I'm going to have to stick with working out consistently, so I'm totally with you!

    Good luck!
  • oystagirl
    oystagirl Posts: 1
    Hey youngfool,

    You sound a lot like me! I just joined MFP today, also hoping to lose about 10 lbs. I'm 5'8" and about 150 lbs, so still reasonably healthy, but I really don't like the flab I'm seeing these days. I used to be quite fit - weighed the same as I do now, but with a lot less fat and a lot more muscle. Now I hardly exercise at all, and I'm paying the price. I want to get this under control before it becomes a bigger problem and my bad habits become more entrenched.

    One thing I find kind of difficult sometimes is feeling like I've gotten "fat" when I know that the rest of the world doesn't really see me that way. I have friends who are quite a bit heavier than me, and I can't really talk to them about how I want to lose some weight. I think they'd find it somewhat insulting. But for me, especially relative to how much fitter I used to be, I actually do feel fat. So I can certainly understand where you're coming from, and wish you all the best in reaching your goals! Good luck!
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
    If you're a "skinny-fat", you shouldn't focus on weight loss, instead focus yourself more on fat loss & improving your body composition. There is a big difference between weight loss & fat loss. Invest in a skinfold caliper & as for your main workouts your focus should be in HEAVY weight lifting. Heavy = the load is heavy enough to challenge your muscles but don't lift stuff that is too heavy for your body to handle. Note: weight lifting will not give you bulky muscles like a man unless you're on steroids + a bodybuilding program designed to bulk-up, so no need to worry about it.

    EDIT: You may gain weight from doing weight lifting because of the muscles BUT at the same time you're clothes will fit better & you will look great in a bikini. Remember that muscles are our most effecient fat burning tool so make sure to feed it with more protein & drink more water.
  • insaneandroid
    insaneandroid Posts: 41
    hahaha, it sounds like we are both in the same boat. I am 5'4 and weighed in at about 140lbs on my worse day. When I found out that I was leaning towards overweight I freaked and wanted to do something about it. So here I am, XD. Still a size two but I wont be happy until this gut is gone. I'm hoping this site will help me get rid of that and help me get motivated to improve my lazy lifestyle.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    I am also "skinny-fat" lol. The plan is to stop worrying about the scale and more about building muscle. I am starting p90x tomorrow and as soon as I get a job, I'm getting a gym membership for sure. (I'm graduating in May)
  • sunnie326
    sunnie326 Posts: 721 Member
    I am nowhere near skinny fat. I am way overweight but I have a suggestion to get you started on exercise. We started with the Leslie Sansone "Walk at Home" videos. It helped me start toning up and really put me in the mood to get back into exercising. We worked our way up and we now currently use the Billy Blanks Tae Bo videos. We love them so much that between my workout partner and I, we now have 5 of his videos.
  • Whisperinghorse
    Whisperinghorse Posts: 202 Member
    If you're a "skinny-fat", you shouldn't focus on weight loss, instead focus yourself more on fat loss & improving your body composition. There is a big difference between weight loss & fat loss. Invest in a skinfold caliper & as for your main workouts your focus should be in HEAVY weight lifting. Heavy = the load is heavy enough to challenge your muscles but don't lift stuff that is too heavy for your body to handle. Note: weight lifting will not give you bulky muscles like a man unless you're on steroids + a bodybuilding program designed to bulk-up, so no need to worry about it.

    EDIT: You may gain weight from doing weight lifting because of the muscles BUT at the same time you're clothes will fit better & you will look great in a bikini. Remember that muscles are our most effecient fat burning tool so make sure to feed it with more protein & drink more water.

    ^^^ This!!

    I have just started lifting heavy (well for me anyway) and although the scales havent shifted (quite honestly I dont care) I have dropped bodyfat and gained lean mass and lost an inch from my waist and one from my hips in 2 weeks. I also have dropped the cardio down and have more recovery days....
  • Jlburroughs
    Jlburroughs Posts: 47
    I'm in the same boat! I'm 5'5" 138-40 and I'd like to be more lean. This site def helps and I'd suggest getting some calipers and measuring tape if you haven't already. They are a much better indication of your progress than the scale. So far I've gained 4 pounds of muscle and several inches. Good luck!
  • saross1013
    saross1013 Posts: 2
    I feel the same way! I'm 5'7" and 130, but have been unhappy with the way my body looks lately. I've lost the tone in my stomach, legs, butt and arms that I used to have and just don't feel comfortable in my skin. It's hard to find anyone to talk to, because when I tell people how I feel, I get the nasty looks and the "OMG you're so skinny already you don't need to exercise!" I'm not interested in weight, but would like to get back the tone I used to have and gain some muscle mass. I'm so glad there are people out there who feel the same way! I started 30DS yesterday, and love it so far!
  • yesthistime
    yesthistime Posts: 2,051 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/2744-skinny-fat-to-fit
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/499-not-that-heavy-girls
  • anacsitham5
    anacsitham5 Posts: 810 Member
    If you're a "skinny-fat", you shouldn't focus on weight loss, instead focus yourself more on fat loss & improving your body composition. There is a big difference between weight loss & fat loss. Invest in a skinfold caliper & as for your main workouts your focus should be in HEAVY weight lifting. Heavy = the load is heavy enough to challenge your muscles but don't lift stuff that is too heavy for your body to handle. Note: weight lifting will not give you bulky muscles like a man unless you're on steroids + a bodybuilding program designed to bulk-up, so no need to worry about it.

    EDIT: You may gain weight from doing weight lifting because of the muscles BUT at the same time you're clothes will fit better & you will look great in a bikini. Remember that muscles are our most effecient fat burning tool so make sure to feed it with more protein & drink more water.

    I agree totally! I'm 5'6 and weigh 135. I am looking to lose 10% more body fat, but replacing this with muscle. I know that I will probably gain 10 pounds doing so. I look at it this way....When I was a size 8, I weighed 125 pounds. When I was a size 2, I weighed 145 pounds. The difference was the body fat. I got that way from walking 4 mph 5 days a week. The hour walk gave me time to think and give me a break from everything with the benefit of losing weight and getting fit.
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
    You. Start lifting.

    Heavy.

    woman-lifting-weightw.jpg
  • thegoya
    thegoya Posts: 100 Member
    Bump
  • 987Runner
    987Runner Posts: 209
    Same as a lot of other ladies! I'm 5'6" and started out at 145. I thought I looked okay but then I started training for a half marathon. I realized how much I was "skinny fat" and have lost 10lbs so far. I've lost it by going to boot camp once a week, running 4x a week, lifting weights at home 2x per week.

    The most important thing I've learned from this site: Eat more protein! I used to eat like crap, breads, breads and more breads. Now I don't! I still like me some bread, but I eat a lot more chicken, eggs, fish, etc. The weight came off very slow at first because of the muscle gain but the ever-so-important-pants-gage showed me I was losing the fat! I carried most of the weight between my belly button and thighs. Now I'm a little more even! Good luck!!

Categories