Skinny Fat: What It Means and How to Fix It

As a term, "skinny fat" remains very much a colloquialism. As an informal term describing a body type and composition, "skinny fat" remains important. For example, a body with excess body fat, especially around the midsection, can be very unhealthy. Dr. J. A. Gardner describes subcutaneous abdominal fat as less of a health risk than visceral fat which surrounds and protects the abdominal organs and skews the body's chemistry by inhibiting normal function of insulin and liver, thereby increasing serum cholesterol and triglycerides.

What Is Skinny Fat?

Skinny fat describes someone who looks slim, but has high body fat and low muscle mass. Someone might look thin, but might carry a lot of fat and have an under toned body. This is a body composition issue, and not necessarily a body weight issue. Two people can weigh the same, and look completely different based on muscle and fat composition.

Common Causes of Skinny Fat

Skinny fat usually doesn’t come from one single thing but from a combination of many factors. Although it is usually a combination of factors, here are some of the most common causes:

• Lack of Strength Training: Resistance training is important because it is the only way the body can build and maintain muscle.
• Too Much Cardio and Not Enough Weights: Cardio is good to a certain extent, but doing only cardio can lead to a loss of muscle during the poor nutrition phase.
• Low Protein Intake: Because protein is important for muscle growth and maintenance, having a poor diet can cause one to have a poor body composition.
• Crash Dieting: Starving yourself can cause a rapid loss of body weight, but this can lead to loss of muscle.
• Sedentary Lifestyle: A poor lifestyle is important because a lack of movement can cause a loss of muscle strength and a poor body composition.
• Poor Sleep: A lack of sleep leads to poor recovery and can change your normal appetite and affect your energy levels.
• High Levels of Stress: Stress leads to a lot of poor lifestyle habits. Stress can cause a loss of appetite but increase cravings for high-calorie foods.

The most common poor lifestyle choice is trying to lose “belly fat” by only eating a poor diet. While having a restricted diet is important, having a poor diet and a lack of strength training causes one to remain in a skinny fat state.

Signs You Could Be Skinny Fat

It isn’t always easy to detect the skinny fat condition in oneself. Some people assume that because their weight is normal, everything is okay. However, there are some signs that indicate poor body composition:

• Soft belly, despite being normal weight
• Thin arms and legs with no muscle definition
• Low strength and stamina
• Slim body in clothes, but soft outside
• Some fat in the waist, chest, hips, or back
• Poor posture and weak core
• Difficulty getting the desired toned look, even after losing weight

Health should not be judged by what is seen from the outside, because some people may look thin, but have weak muscles and poor health, while others may weigh a normal amount, but are stronger and healthier because more muscle is being carried.

How to Fix Skinny Fat?

Body recomposition focuses on losing fat while gaining or holding on to muscle, and is the best way to fix the skinny fat condition. Body recomposition differs from typical weight loss, because it isn't simply about eating less, but involves the right kind of training, consuming enough protein, proper recovery, and being consistent.

Good approaches to this include:

• Strength train 3–5 times a week, focusing on exercises like squats, lunges, core movements, deadlifts, and presses.
• Include protein in the diet, with foods like eggs, fish, Greek yogurt, chicken, lentils, beans, tofu, lean meat, or protein shakes.
• Avoid extreme calorie cutting, because a small calorie deficit may assist in fat loss, but very low calorie intakes result in muscle loss.
• Progressive overload: Increase muscles strength by progressively increasing weights or intensities.
• Do moderate cardio: Walking, cycling, or light jogging won’t puncture strength training, but improves heart health.
• Sleep 7-9 hours: Recovery promotes fat loss and muscle growth.
• Be Patient: Body Recomposition is a long term process, typically several months, but the results are lasting.

The aim isn’t to be thin, but rather to be healthy. Rather than asking, “How can I lose more weight?”, ask “What can I do to optimize my muscle to fat ratio?”

Skinny Fat Nutrition Tips

• Skinny fat and poor nutrition go hand in hand. Undereating can cause muscle loss, while overeating can cause an increase in fat. 
• Eating a balanced diet, with enough protein and whole foods, can help improve skinny fat.
• Protein helps repair muscle and is filling, so it is important to include in every meal. Carbohydrates are an important source of energy and so are healthy fats.
• Skinny fat diets should include lean proteins, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, healthy fats, and lots of water. 
• Although it is important to drastically decrease processed foods and to avoid drinking large numbers of sugary drinks, a boring diet is not important. Most important is to have a fairly healthy diet if you want to see the results.

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Exercise Mistakes to Avoid

• A lot of skinny fat people only do cardio. While there are benefits of cardio exercise, only doing cardio doesn't build enough muscle. 
• Random exercise is also a bad mistake. You need to have a plan, or else your body won't adapt and you'll be stuck.
• There is a balance of intensity in training, and doing training that is too easy for an extended time won't grow your muscles. 
• Strength training should be safe, but also have the appropriate level of intensity. If you're starting out, focus on form and control before trying to do anything too intense or difficult.
• You need to take breaks or rest days. Training hard day after day, and especially without sleep and proper nutrition, will make your training less effective.

Final Thoughts

The skinny fat body composition issue is a common one. If you have this body composition, you likely look slim, but are carrying too much fat to be healthy and too little muscle. The cause can come from one or more of things like an unhealthy diet, too much sitting and not enough strength training, crash dieting, or inconsistent habits.

There is a lot of good news if you are skinny fat, because it is one of the body problems that is the easiest to fix. You don't need to make extreme life changes to fix it, but you need strength training, protein, and a diet that is balanced and not restrictive. This needs to be supported with adequate rest, good sleep, and moderate exercise. The most important part is to be patient. Over time improving your strength will also improve your body composition.

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