Someone please explain skinny fat...

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tamtamzz
tamtamzz Posts: 142
in Health and Weight Loss
This term is so confusing to me. What does it mean? How does it happen?
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  • toomuchsweetness
    toomuchsweetness Posts: 168 Member
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    my thought on it is when someone loses a substantial amount of weight but they arent toned and they are skinnier than they used to be, but to the average person they still look overweight??? at least thats what I think it means. lol
  • Cindym82
    Cindym82 Posts: 1,245 Member
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    means ur not toned, like you might be 120lbs but still have a high body fat %. Ppl can be the same weight but different bf % and look completely different
  • bm99
    bm99 Posts: 597 Member
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    Skinny fat is when you are a healthy weight and considered thin but you have no muscle tone and are flabby.

    It happens when you are thin and don't workout or get much exercise.
  • soehlerking
    soehlerking Posts: 589 Member
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    better than fat-fat.
  • LadyIntrepid
    LadyIntrepid Posts: 399 Member
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    It generally means that someone is thin -- within a healthy BMI -- but either high body fat for their height/weight/age and/or very out of shape -- no muscle definition, etc. They may be a decent weight, but they might not look so good for it.
  • janemem
    janemem Posts: 575 Member
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    I don't know if there is an official definition but I personally think I have/am 'skinny fat'. I am quite skinny but what flesh there is on my bones is loose and untoned, therefore making me feel 'fat'. I consider myself to be skinny fat.
  • RunHardBeStrong
    RunHardBeStrong Posts: 33,069 Member
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    It's when you're thin but still carry a high body fat percentage and a low lean mass percentage. Ideally you want that switched around giving you a fit "toned" look. It happens when some one loses weight to quickly and/or doesn't do anything to preserve muscle mass while losing weight.
  • Justagirl1978
    Justagirl1978 Posts: 64 Member
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    It means slim but with a high percentage of body fat. It's entirely possible for someone who is a size 8 to have a higher % of body fat than someone who is a size 14.

    Skinny fat is often achieved by dieting too drastically whilst doing lots of chronic cardio and doing nothing to preserve the lean mass. Not a desirable look IMO!
  • Justagirl1978
    Justagirl1978 Posts: 64 Member
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    A comparison:

    skinny+vs+toned.JPG
  • HealthyIrishLass
    HealthyIrishLass Posts: 53 Member
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    It's people who are skinny but have little/no muscle tone because they don't work out at all and/or eat poorly. High BF% but a low weight.
  • KiltFuPanda
    KiltFuPanda Posts: 576 Member
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    What I have gathered, it means you may make the measurements for being "skinny" (like a 30 inch waist or a size 4), but you have no body tone. I've known several guys in my line of work who meet that requirement. They're about 130-140 lbs, but they're packing a small Mt. Dew gut and they have no musculature in legs or arms.
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
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    Skinny fat is basically what it's called when, due to a lack of visible muscle tone, what little bit of meat a person does have on their body comes from fat. You see it a lot on people with EDs who haven't yet hit the point where they're nothing but skin and bone. It is not an attractive look.
  • Moxie42
    Moxie42 Posts: 1,400 Member
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    For the most part, it means being slender but not toned, so low-healthy weight but high body fat percentage. It typically happens when someone loses weight without any exercise- some would say it happens with cardio-only as well.
  • AnitaVolpato
    AnitaVolpato Posts: 204 Member
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    OK, you know that broad when you are at the beach or the swimming pool that wears the tiniest bikini and is super thin and thinks because she is thin she is the hottest woman on the beach. Stare at her body close enough and her *kitten* is jiggly and she has saddle bags and her belly is a bit saggy. That is skinny fat! She has no tone just skin and bones.. ha ha ha ha ha
  • Giniac
    Giniac Posts: 36 Member
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    You have less fat than before but have little muscle, so the skin isn't 'toned' and a bit jelly like.

    To get over it, you need to build muscle to 'fill you up' a bit. :)
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
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    It's where you are a healthy weight, or perhaps even underweight.... but you still have more body fat than muscle. You can also experience health problems that a "fat" person would experience such as a fatty liver, diabetes, heart attack, stroke... so this isn't just a vain thing, it's a health thing.
  • blonde71
    blonde71 Posts: 955 Member
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    Low-ish bodyweight yet high-ish body fat percentage.

    Example: I used to be ~125 lbs. with ~30% body fat. Considering how slender I was, my body fat should have been a lot lower.
  • RunHardBeStrong
    RunHardBeStrong Posts: 33,069 Member
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    double post....
  • Jbarbo01
    Jbarbo01 Posts: 240 Member
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    People who are not genetically predisposed to gain weight but are flabby, sedentary, and eat a very poor diet but manage to stay thin anyway.
  • bulbadoof
    bulbadoof Posts: 1,058 Member
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    My sister has chicken legs, scrawny arms, and a bloated belly. She eats way too much crappy food and never exercises. I'm 50 lbs heavier than her and could easily outrun or outswim her. That's skinny-fat.

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