I'm skinny-fat - what to do??

[Roonytunes]

Sometimes that extra stuff may be more genetic than anything else. You can work your butt off trying to get rid of it, but no matter what, you just are not built like that.

I've seen some pretty svelt and exceptionally fit individuals that have some extra "storage" in some odd places on their bodies when they're not in their street clothes. Mostly they've been that way all their lives.

Yeah, this is my fear. I come from a family of fleshy women and have always had this extra "storage" of fat in very specific places whereas the rest of my body is in pretty good shape. Even when I have dropped a few more pounds in the past, it seems the weight only falls off the wrong parts and I look even more disproportioned than before.

But I've decided I'm finally going to go all out and see if I can conquer the problem with a very clean diet and a solid strength training program alongside HIIT cardio. I'll report back on my progress.

Thanks to everyone who has given me their input so far!! I really needed the advice.

 

[Miss24k]

Yeah, this is my fear. I come from a family of fleshy women and have always had this extra "storage" of fat in very specific places whereas the rest of my body is in pretty good shape. Even when I have dropped a few more pounds in the past, it seems the weight only falls off the wrong parts and I look even more disproportioned than before.

But I've decided I'm finally going to go all out and see if I can conquer the problem with a very clean diet and a solid strength training program alongside HIIT cardio. I'll report back on my progress.

Thanks to everyone who has given me their input so far!! I really needed the advice.

Good luck to you, and I'm looking forward to seeing your progress

 

[Griz1]

But I've decided I'm finally going to go all out and see if I can conquer the problem with a very clean diet and a solid strength training program alongside HIIT cardio.

Good for you!!!

Everyone on this board is behind you!! (no B.S.)

 

[TheAssholeFomerlyKnownAsDBBT]

I'm a 31 yr old female, 5ft 5", range between 118-120 lbs and wear a size 2. I look skinny with clothes on and have a nice shape with a small waist, but don't have the bikini body I really want. My fat is focussed heavily on certain areas. I have a gut, love handles and nasty saddlebags/fat on my thighs. But my upper body looks great and everything below mid-thigh is fine too. My bodyfat is around 23%.

I do work out currently with a trainer. I get 2 full body sessions in with him and do a mix of interval training cardio for about 40 mins around 3 to 4 times a week on my own. I eat relatively healthily, but not clean. My diet is about 40/40/20 with carbs, protein and fat. I average 1200 cals over the weekdays and then eat more freely over the weekend. I've been doing this for about a year plus now, but now I'm ready to really make the commitment to get a fab beach body.

What do I need to do? Cut or Bulk? Or just really fine tune my eating and workout habits? Given I don't weigh much, my calorie requirements seem to be rather low too. Can someone please give me some direction?

My plan thus far:
Do HIIT cardio in the morning 3X a week
Eat 6 small "more clean" meals. Any sample ideas on these because my calorie allotment is quite low, around 200-250 cals/meal?
???

diet is 90% of it

 

[ashley2212]

Yeah, this is my fear. I come from a family of fleshy women and have always had this extra "storage" of fat in very specific places whereas the rest of my body is in pretty good shape. Even when I have dropped a few more pounds in the past, it seems the weight only falls off the wrong parts and I look even more disproportioned than before.

This sounds like a chapter out of the book of my own life!!! My family is full of skinny/fat women as well (not to mention my 2 aunts have eating disorders, my grandmother is still constantly dieting at 67, and my mom is obsessed with the scale). I was on Weight Watchers with my mom for 4 years. I lost 20 lbs and was "skinny" but still disproportionate. My mom is very pear-shaped and I started to look like her...

Long story short, I started doing some intense weight training and 3 years later I have been able to re-shape my body. I was able to sculpt that lower body fat/flab area into some nice curves as well as build some size on my upper body to balance me out. Though it is mostly diet, perhaps this will inspire you to think about re-shaping your body with weight training. Hit the weights hard, eat well, and build those beautiful curves!

 

[Roonytunes]

Long story short, I started doing some intense weight training and 3 years later I have been able to re-shape my body. I was able to sculpt that lower body fat/flab area into some nice curves as well as build some size on my upper body to balance me out. Though it is mostly diet, perhaps this will inspire you to think about re-shaping your body with weight training. Hit the weights hard, eat well, and build those beautiful curves!

Thanks for the support everyone and it's great to hear your personal story, ashley2212 Can I have some idea about what your intense weight training, i.e. sets/reps etc.? I do have a trainer right now that I work with, but we're fine-tuning my routine right now, so any ideas will be helpful.

Also, did it really take you three full years to see the changes you wanted to happen? I'm also wondering if you had any cellulite issues along the way. That seems to be yet another hinderance to conquer when you're "skinny-fat".

 

[ashley2212]

Thanks for the support everyone and it's great to hear your personal story, ashley2212 Can I have some idea about what your intense weight training, i.e. sets/reps etc.? I do have a trainer right now that I work with, but we're fine-tuning my routine right now, so any ideas will be helpful.
Also, did it really take you three full years to see the changes you wanted to happen? I'm also wondering if you had any cellulite issues along the way. That seems to be yet another hinderance to conquer when you're "skinny-fat".

Did it take me three full years to see what I want? Haha.. I don't think I'll ever get exactly what I want, but that's part of the game, right?
Actually, no. I worked out for 1.5-2 years doing cardio and the "light weight/high rep" bit. I was not eating very much... built up a tiny bit of muscle... got a little stronger... and I was able to fit into smaller pants. I came to realize that in order to maintain this, I would have to eat very little ALL THE TIME. Plus, I slowed down my metabolism, so I gained weight easily.

I then got my certification as a personal trainer and put my new knowledge to use on myself. I decided to toss out this "I wanna be a skinny little lady" attitude and face the weight gain to bulk. It took a few months to fix the way my body used calories (to use them as fuel and not store them as fat) and I did put on a little fat, but I also started lifting heavier than ever before. I did a few cycles over the past year and a half of bulking and leaning and THAT'S what changed my shape. NOT the "low reps/light weight". Another thing I had to do during this process was get rid of the scale and learn to rely on myself to gauge the way my body feels.

Right now I stay between 4-10 reps depending on the exercise. Usually 3 sets... sometimes I'll do drop sets as well. I'm always pushing the weight I lift higher and it feels great.

Cellulite -- YES. It runs in my family. That's another genetic thing. You will see skinny women with cellulite and fat women with skinny legs and none at all. I've finally been able to get it down to the point that you barely notice it. That was from LIFTING HEAVY. Squats, Straight Leg Deads, and especially Lunges (back heel up and squeeze that ass). When I was skinny/fat I did have noticeable cellulite, but the more muscle I built under it, the more it smoothed out.

I hope that helps

 

[JKurz1]

Did it take me three full years to see what I want? Haha.. I don't think I'll ever get exactly what I want, but that's part of the game, right?
Actually, no. I worked out for 1.5-2 years doing cardio and the "light weight/high rep" bit. I was not eating very much... built up a tiny bit of muscle... got a little stronger... and I was able to fit into smaller pants. I came to realize that in order to maintain this, I would have to eat very little ALL THE TIME. Plus, I slowed down my metabolism, so I gained weight easily.

I then got my certification as a personal trainer and put my new knowledge to use on myself. I decided to toss out this "I wanna be a skinny little lady" attitude and face the weight gain to bulk. It took a few months to fix the way my body used calories (to use them as fuel and not store them as fat) and I did put on a little fat, but I also started lifting heavier than ever before. I did a few cycles over the past year and a half of bulking and leaning and THAT'S what changed my shape. NOT the "low reps/light weight". Another thing I had to do during this process was get rid of the scale and learn to rely on myself to gauge the way my body feels.

Right now I stay between 4-10 reps depending on the exercise. Usually 3 sets... sometimes I'll do drop sets as well. I'm always pushing the weight I lift higher and it feels great.

Cellulite -- YES. It runs in my family. That's another genetic thing. You will see skinny women with cellulite and fat women with skinny legs and none at all. I've finally been able to get it down to the point that you barely notice it. That was from LIFTING HEAVY. Squats, Straight Leg Deads, and especially Lunges (back heel up and squeeze that ass). When I was skinny/fat I did have noticeable cellulite, but the more muscle I built under it, the more it smoothed out.

I hope that helps

Your posts are VERY informative and helpfull......Always.....karma to you!

 

[ashley2212]

Your posts are VERY informative and helpfull......Always.....karma to you!

awww... and kisses to you

 

[Roonytunes]

Thanks so much, Ashley2212!! I am going through exactly what you say you did for the first year and a half - scared to gain weight, eating very little and doing high reps/ligher weights. You really changed my perspective. And it's good to know there's some hope for my cellulite too.