Are you ‘skinny fat’ too?
Have you ever heard of the term skinny fat? It kind of sounds weird. How can a person be skinny and fat at the same time? However, unfortunately for a lot of people out there, skinny fat people do exist and most of them don’t even know about their condition.
So, what does this term mean? Well, ‘skinny fat’ is used to refer to those people who have a high percentage of body fat yet have comparatively low levels of lean mass. Despite having quite a lot of body fat you still tend to look skinny and small.
People who tend to be skinny fat look good in almost every type of clothing. Now, most people wonder why this is such a bad thing since one does look good fully clothed. However, under the clothes hides a body that is extremely out of shape. Skinny fat people have little to no muscle and too much of unnecessary body fat. This means that the entire fat that you have ends up collected around your midriff and becomes cellulite around the thighs. This is something that no one wants.
Apart from having an out shape body, people with high body fat percentage are likely to suffer from more health issues including Type-II Diabetes. So, you might be asking that is there an easy of fixing my high body fat and low weight? Of course there is!
Why do you have a high body fat percentage?
So, the thing that you must understand is why are you skinny fat to begin with? The first reason that could be causing you to become skinny fat is your diet. If you are restricting your calorie intake in order to lose weight and are not indulging in exercises you could be gaining a body state known as skinny fat. Try to eat healthy foods and stay away from processed consumables.
You also need to firm your muscles by exercising. However, cardio overload is another reason as to why you might be skinny fat as well. We’ve all heard that cardio is good for you if you wish to lose fat, and no doubt it is good for fat burning. But you must understand that it is crucial for one to include strength training in their workouts as well. An overload of cardio can cause you to end up becoming skinny fat since you’ll be reducing all the calories and intense cardio exercises will cause you to lose muscle mass and strength as well.
Also, if you are doing little-to-no resistance training it can also cause you to become skinny fat. What people don’t realize is that weightlifting actually helps in elevating the metabolism rate. Lifting heavy weights is far more efficient than doing intense cardio exercises. Resistance training is going to help you in losing fat while still preserving your muscles and their strength.
To lose fat or to gain muscle- what should you do?
Now, if you're skinny fat you might be wondering what you should be doing to correct your state. Should you lose body fat first or should you build up your muscles instead? Well, you need to do both these things together!
The process of losing fat while gaining muscle is called body recomposition. Body recomposition requires you to lift heavy weights, do cardio exercises and follow a proper diet. You must start with your cardio exercises slowly, do as little as you can at the start then slowly build your way up. Once you have managed to put on some muscle you won’t look skinny fat or starved anymore. Plus, you’ll start feeling good about yourself as well.
