Is anyone else skinny-fat?

I offer you solidarity. The worst thing is I’m slimmer than all my friends - but all my fat is on my tummy. My friends think I’m slim, but I’m far from it, perhaps just carry it well to a degree and they’re all bigger than me. Can’t even talk about it with them.

Very unhealthy, I too love crisps and wine and a lovely cold beer. Hence my fat is basically sugar.
Today is the day though, no crisps, wine, chocolate. I’ve started the Davinia Taylor willpowders (only the electrolyte drink), I’ve got a fridge full of healthy foods, salads, lentils etc I hate the gym, so I’ll do wall Pilates etc.

I’m not fat enough for mounjaro/ozempic and wouldn’t take it anyway. If I don’t change my ways it would be pointless.

Even when I was skinny, (8 stone) I never had a flat tummy!

Yes, I'm currently a 10/12 but short. I don't think most people would consider me fat but I'm definitely wobbly (need to hit the gym really because I'd look alright toned at this weight), and it's really bloody hard for me to lose weight. I literally need to drop below 1000 cals a day to lose a pound each week!

Me too. I'm considering 30 day shred or the BHF strong woman challenge
Not stopping alcohol but have cut down

I am but currently 11 weeks pregnant. All the extra first trimester weight has made me go from skinny to skinny fat and no one knows I’m pregnant yet!

I know, it always strikes me on dating apps, that the men proudly proclaim "I have a dad bod" but I bet there are no women that are stating that "i have a peri tummy" (or something similar).

And in fact we generally have more reason than them for our changing shapes/weights what with childbirth, menopause etc.

Walking around London over the weekend in the heat - I would say 90% of young women are grossly fat. These are pre-children, pre-menopause, pre-middle aged women. Probably not suffering from weight related health issue -YET.

The only slim women I saw were older - like 50+.

I think body positivity has a lot to answer for. Telling young girls 'it's ok to be really fat and wear crop tops / booty shorts' is not cool or helpful. Just like it wasn't cool or helpful in the 90's to be pro-anorexic "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels"...etc.

I am body shaming. Because, as a nation, we have become shamefully fat.

I'm skinny fat. I'm 5' 6" and 10.5 stone.

I appear slim but have a thick layer of fat on top of my frame especially arms and thighs which has a lot of cellulite. Have some on my middle to but have lost a bit if weight overall but the belly is way behind on shrinking.

My bmi is good but I do appear fatty(not fat) but slim naked.

Why are people still using clothes sizing as a guide? I’m 5ft 1, about 9st 10 and my clothes range from 8-14 depending on brand etc, it means nothing

I definitely am because my BMI is quite low but my actual body fat percentage is really high. It was even when I was running 4 days a week training for a half marathon and lifting heavy weights 3 days a week plus all the extra walking I do every day. I just couldn't shift the extra fat even when I ate well.

I've really let things slide recently, I'm eating too much of all the wrong things and due to an injury I'm not running or gymming as much although I'm still walking loads.

I really need to start eating better, I'm gaining weight which when I'm short is really noticeable and if I carry on I'll end up being overweight. I'm not going to count calories yet, I'm just going to get back into the habit of eating better, getting back in the gym and trying to get to the bottom of this injury so I can pick up proper running again.

Yes, prosody but not clothes sizing

I kidded myself I was a bit chubby, slightly overweight etc.

Same same. As said above, if the average woman is now 16, it's really easy to think that I'm heavy, but still slimmer than average, it's not too bad! And now I'm just average, yeah sure a bit heavy, but I don't really stand out. And now I'm maybe a bit bigger than average, but it's not too bad..
Average is already overweight/obese.

I mean if that's how you feel 🤷‍♂️

But to some of us it's just shorthand for "I'm slim but my stomach is large".

BMI asks you to input your height. So yes, it's suitable for all heights.

No, as PP have said, that's a (silly) term for a thin but untoned and unfit person.

OP is what the Fat Acceptance movement, if anyone remembers that, used to call an inbetweenie. Someone who is bigger than the fashionable ideal and would be "fat" in Hollywood,but not so big they stand out or have it seriously impact their life.

And never mind all that anyway. Health isn't measured in dress size, nor is attractiveness. How's your actual health and body fat percentage, OP?

I don’t think this is skinny fat at all

I would agree with those who have advised tackling this sooner rather than later. It’s not impossible to sort when you’re older, but it will make life harder.

I would eliminate the alcohol apart from very occasionally. It does your body no favours and you may find that alone makes a big difference. I don’t know if you already work out, but now is the time to get into the gym and start lifting weights. Building muscle mass will go a long way to improving your body composition, paired with a diet prioritising protein (1g/pound body weight). Cardio is good for cv health, but should not be the focus for fat loss.

@labamba23 Ignoring the thread title! Yes, it’s common to see women in their early forties who are size 14, then it just creeps up and up. I know it’s been hammered home here, but if you don’t address your health issues now, your post menopausal self is going to really struggle.

To maintain my weight at ten stone, five foot 4, I need to eat no more than 1350 calories a day. It is really tough.

Firstly drop the alcohol. It’s full of calories and you’re going to lose your willpower as soon as you start drinking.

I kidded myself I was a bit chubby, slightly overweight etc. I was obese at 13 stone 7. Some blood test results shocked me into action.

If you have one take away from this thread, I hope it is to take action now, don’t leave it. Good luck.

Short sleeve tops are also tricky if you have long arms. Also, much high street stuff is short in the body too. With jumpers, simple classics I've always bought men's sml or medium

I'm skinny fat. My clothes are all a size 10. I'm 51 and 5 foot 3. I am 9 stone and I just can't get below 9 stone. Im not toned and so whilst I might look reasonably slim if I wear a very well constructed tight dress, I'm actually very wobbly.

I could literally starve myself for a fortnight though and I still wouldn't drop below 9 stone. It is just my weight now that I'm menopausal it seems. Lose the weight now before menopause strikes

Don’t worry about it OP. Theres plenty of evidence that slightly overweight women live the longest.

www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/why-being-overweight-means-you-live-longer-the-way-scientists-twist-the-facts-10158229.html

I’m tall and gangly with extremely long legs and arms (I have marfanoid habitus due to a medical condition) and I have found the complete opposite being tall. My sister is the same.

I am roughly the same weight as OP and a size 8. I am far heavier than all of my size 8 friends but can fit in much smaller clothes sizes. It also takes much more weight for me to gain a clothes size. The only things I struggle with is the length of long sleeve tops and pants but I’d have to wear clothes 6 sizes too big to fit those. I shop in the tall section where I can otherwise I don’t wear them.

One thing I've learned is that weight has to be discussed very carefully among women (and to some extent among men) because it can bring out so much hidden trauma and related entrenched beliefs.

I'm a size 14 and at my recent health check the nurse said I was on the higher side of overweight. My blood pressure is good, my cholesterol is good, I'm fairly fit, I eat well and I exercise and overall I reckon I look pretty good. I have no interest in losing any weight, but the constant message is I must want to lose weight, or if I don't want to lose it I must have some sort of excuse for that. I don't. I look fine, I feel fine. I weight train because there is osteoperosis in my family and I want to build muscle density.

In my family all the issues people have had have come from being too thin. My mother is struggling to put weight back on after an illness and they are constantly trying to bulk up my grandmother. My DH's family is even worse - his brother has huge issues from being too thin (not from an ED, purely genetic) and my MIL has had a ton of investigations caused by recent weight loss (they couldn't find anything). Being too thin is a huge factor in frailty as people get older.

Of course obesity has its issues but I think there is too much unhelpful focus on thinness.

I wouldn’t use the term skinny fat to describe someone who’s a size 14. Usually a size 8 or 10 who is skinny but does absolutely zero exercise so their body is made up of fat with no muscle tone. They are still skinny but wobbly.

Usually it’s those people who have a very fast metabolism, can eat what they want and it catches up with them by the time they hit their 40s.

I was skinny fat in my early 20’s before I discovered the gym.