Is anyone else skinny-fat?

I went to a day of having measurements taken, brain scans and heart scans etc to contribute to the research for the Biobank. I’m a size 8, weigh 8 and a half stone but an hideously untoned. When I was surprised at my body fat % from the machine measurement, the guy very factually told me that I was “skinny fat”….

I'm 60, 5'7" and 11st.
At 40 I was 9.5 to 10st.
My diet is exactly the same, I exercise maybe half as well. Still probably more than most people.
Given up wine because menopause.
My point is, get things under control at 40, because it really is much much harder as you age.
Most of my extra weight is around my stomach, it's well named, "middle age spread". 🤷‍♂️

I’m a size 10/12 and I think I’m skinny fat as well my thighs are huge I feel your pain!

My step mother eats almost nothing but drinks loads of wine and she’s obese. Wine ( and inactivity) definitely makes you fat. Cutting that out is a good place to start.

Also, kind of hard to explain, but my belly fat is everywhere: its not like I just have a little pouch, its like i have a proper round lower belly but then also rolls starting right under my bra strap. I hate it!

Me!

Its ridiculous. I'm a size 8 and literally have stick thin arms and legs, ankles and wrists you can circle with one hand with space, really narrow and bony shoulders. Im also 5'9". If you saw me in the street you would think im really lanky.
But every single piece of weight goes on my torso. I have surprisingly generous breasts and hips, and most importantly of all, a genuinely fat belly. I also have some upper back fat.
Basically, its like i have the limbs of a model, and then the torso of a flabby size 10. The discrepancy pisses me off, I would be okay with my torso if I had the nice thick legs to go with it, but i look really disproportionate.

My plan is to massively cut back on alcohol, which i believe is my main issue, and start doing strength training in the gym.
Anyone with a similar body shape want to go on the journey with me?!
I do accept though that I probably will never have a flat stomach: all the women in my family seem to gather weight around their middle. But I think ditching all the booze I drink and building muscle will surely help.

@Caligirl80 I agree. When I drank, I never blamed alcohol for my excess pounds. (I always said liquids didn't count!) But since cutting out booze, I've lost 6 lbs. I wasn't overweight and was surprised it made such a difference seeing as I drink other things instead of wine.

You've already answered your own issue. You know what you need to do, you need to cut out the booze, and cut down the chocolate.

Habits can usually be broken after about 3 weeks or so. Set yourself a challenge to just cut out the booze. It'll be a bit weird to begin with because you're used to it being part of your day - but you'll get over it.

And, as other posters have said, do weight bearing exercise - including pilates (which is body weight-bearing). You may say you don't have the money for the gym but if you aren't drinking multiple bottles of wine a week then you'll have plenty of money.

Genuinely not being unkind but you cannot be size 14 and skinny fat. You just can't.

It will be harder for you to lose weight than someone very big. It will be a lot harder for them to lose their last stone or two as well. If you’re bothered, try harder, if you’re not then don’t.

Before my last baby I was a size 12 and didn't look big at all, I'm now a size 14-16 at 5ft 6 and although I don't think I look enormous I wouldn't consider myself "skinny fat" that's more a size 10 that's not toned and a bit wobbly, I consider myself fat if I'm honest, I've been trying to lose weight but breastfeeding has caused a major increase in appetite so I'm not bothered until I've stopped and then try again to lose some weight and get back to a size 12 hopefully 😅

Off topic really but... can you imagine any men's forum going into so much detail about weight/BMI/shape/diet/exercise etc? Maybe a few body-building fanatics would, but in general men just accept the body they've got and don't feel so ashamed or dissatisfied. Women are constantly pressured to conform to some unrealistic ideal and that leads to unhealthy obsessions and unhealthy choices. It's not helped by all the businesses wanting to sell us diet food or diet plans, classes or magic potions to help us lose weight. Our aim should be to be healthy, fit and happy - not to be a perfect size 10 or 12 with standard proportions.

You’re not skinny wtf

Skinny fat means slim but with little muscle. I’m a size 10/12 , 5”10 and 10 stone. I’m skinny fat because I have the wobble but no muscle mass because I’m a lazy bitch.

OP, I do sort of agree with you that it's harder when you don't have much to lose - there isn't quite as much incentive as there is if you're massively overweight, plus you're probably not overeating hugely, so it's harder to know what to cut. That's my excuse anyway, and I'm sticking to it.

My own view is that an awful lot of people are addicted to sugar, and if you can break the sugar addiction (chocolate, biscuits, cakes, fizzy drinks, sugary cereals etc) you can lose weight. The first few days are tough but then it gets easier.

I don’t think anyone who is a size 10 could be classed as fat at all. Just my opinion.

Yes, hence skinny-fat. Slim size but poor muscle mass and a higher than healthy fat percentage.

It's very sad - so many women here who are a normal weight for their height and age, but desperate to lose some pounds, and wondering why it's not happening.... Your body is trying to tell you something!

I think it's easy to think you aren't that heavy when you look around you and so many people are heavier but your body's health is not dependant on where you are on the bell curve unfortunately. I have lost some weight and for the first times in ages I'm rarely the heaviest person in the room and that feels great but I'm still not in the best shape health wise. My blood pressure is okay but not ideal, my blood glucose and cholesterol could be better. Weight loss isn't coming easy but I'm trying to constantly eat healthily and exercise include weights.

Even small changes can make a different - walking after meals, or reducing the amount of processed carbs you are eating.

Your diet doesn’t sound optimal and you don’t really exercise - so the good news is if you found exercise you enjoyed and ate better you’d probably see significant results quite quickly.

I already eat really well and do loads of exercise so there’s nowhere to go except to eat less or do more, which is very time consuming, so I’m struggling to lose the last five kilos I need to sort out my fat bum.

Permanent changes to lifestyle are needed once you hit your forties, you can’t get away with short stints of healthiness to correct bad habits anymore I find.

Do you exercise? I’d start with upping that, I’d you get the balance right you don’t need to give up your loves of wine, carbs and chocolate but by reducing them - particularly wine I found, you can feel better if you wish to.

You are getting to the age where doing weight bearing exercise is important, so worth starting now!

I'm 5ft 3in and currently around 10st 13lb. A week or so ago I was 10st 8lb but just got back from an AI holiday (plus the absolute mother of all periods is happening) so my weight may well get back down when I weigh in again once my period ends.

I am fit, a martial arts instructor, I run and go to the gym (tried swimming but I just sink, I don't have the knack) but I carry weight on my stomach. Look at me from the back and front and I look "skinny", turn me sideways and my stomach paunch shows in all it's wobbly glory.

I am calorie counting, I do 1300 calories and lose around 1lb a week. I'm 45yo, I did the same diet in my late 30s and loat 2-3lb a week so age definitely is a factor and back then I did minimal exercise haha

I can't comment on weight as I don't have scales.

When I was pregnant I was about 10 stone something or other. Not been regularly weighed since then

You are NOT a disgrace.

I agree. I am a size 8 and I would say I'm skinny fat because I'm lazy and dont like working out! A size 14 at the OP is slightly overweight (though nothing that isn't fixable!)

I'm BMI of 23, but post menopausal and I have a wobbly stomach and a waist measurement that is only just under half my height. I don't drink at all, if I did I'm sure I'd be overweight. The problem with losing weight when you are older though is it all comes off your face and ages you.