What is skinny fat ?
“Skinny fat” is a term that refers to having a high percentage of body fat and a low amount of muscle.
It’s a common misconception that small or thin bodies are an indicator of good health. However, those with higher body fat and lower muscle mass even if they have a body mass index (BMI) that falls within a “normal” range may be at risk of developing the following conditions:
- insulin resistance.
- high cholesterol.
- high blood pressure.
What could ‘skinny fat’ look like?
Skinny fat can be characterized as a physique that Doesn’t necessarily look overweight but severely lacks muscle definition therefore despite often having relatively low levels of body fat they still look soft and out of shape and we see this in both males and females.
Why skinny fat occurs ?
The journey to skinny fat usually begins with focusing too much on weight loss instead of improving body composition. How much muscle compared to fat you’re carrying around matters a lot more in terms of aesthetics and merely how much you weight. Essentially, the net result of losing muscle mass (and decreasing metabolic rate) and gaining Fat mass due to maintaining the same caloric intake with a lower metabolic rate creates the Skinny fat condition.
3 Most common mistakes!
The three most common mistakes people make that are causing this problem and what we can do to solve them.
Mistake 1: Not enough focus on resistance training.
Neglecting resistance training is the major mistake those with skinny fat body type are making. In addition although you may actually currently be lifting weights you may be also doing one of the following mistakes.
⦁ NOT FOCUSING ON GETTING STRONGER (SPECIALLY WITH COMPOUND LIFTS)
⦁ PERFORMING MAINLY LIGHTER WEIGHT HIGH REP TRAINING.
Both of these mistakes will inhibit you from building the adequate muscle mass needed to get rid of skinny fat look.
Mistake 2: Severe caloric restriction.
In order to lose body you need to feed your body a bit less energy then it burns by eating at a caloric deficit.
[FAT LOSS = ENERGY INTAKE < ENERGY BURNED]
If you take this to a extreme and incorporate diets that cause severe caloric restriction for example: over 1000 calories below your maintenance you’re eating a lot less energy than your body burns.
Mistake 3: excessive cardio.
Too much steady static cardio or endurance training interferes with strength and muscle growth and leads us to skinny fat physique.
HOW TO FIX THE SKINNY FAT ?
Step 1:LIFT HEAVY WEIGHTS.
Lift heavy weights with the focus of getting stronger with compound lifts use a schedule like an upper and lower split and incorporate lifts like the bench press, squats and deadlift as these are great exercise which you need to focus on progressively getting stronger with each week. I suggest “Stick to the same program for at least 3 months at a time and focus on progressive overload!”.
Step 2: CUT DOWN THE CARDIO.
Cut down your cardio to a reasonable amount like 3 days a week if you are a normal person who wants to live a fit life if your currently doing hours of cardio but essentially you should be focusing and spending more time on resistance training than you do on cardio.
Step 3: ADJUST YOUR CALORIC INTAKE ACCORDINGLY.
This step is the most important one but is also complicated as it will depend on a lot of factors so here I have an easy to use CALORIC INTAKE CALCULATOR just fill all the required information and follow it.
Just keep in mind that regardless of where you fall in the chart you need to ensure your protein intake is adequate the exact amount will vary for everyone but a study from McMaster University found that a minimum of 0.6g-0.8g of protein per pound of body weight will maximize muscle protein synthesis for those who are doing resistance training.
Conclusion.
Getting rid of skinny fat is essentially synonymous with making your muscles more visible. That’s why gaining muscle should be your priority. The best way to gain muscle is to focus on resistance training with compound movements. Think of classic lifts like squats, chest press, and deadlift.
Stick to a weightlifting program and focus on getting stronger every day.
Cut down your cardio if it’s excessive and focus more on resistance training.
Adjust your caloric intake based on the flow chart provided while ensuring adequate protein intake.
