Is anyone else skinny-fat?

I know you say you don’t get on with counting calories OP, but just work out how many calories there are in the wine and chocolate you have per week. If you take those away from your intake it will make a difference.
And buy yourself flowers or something nice with the money you save.

Well done. I’m turning 60 and have always been under 10 stone. This past decade I’ve been edging over 11. Weighed myself early May and was just shy of 12 stone looked and felt awful.
All my friends have been losing weight, exercising and eating healthily and without exception they all look great.

Therefore since early May I’ve been 100% determined and I have lost a stone.
Im really short of money at the moment so I’ve literally just eaten less - not bought any food - counted every calorie - weighed portions and myself. Spent less money on food and also my older clothes are starting to fit.
I’m absolutely determined to lose the next stone 🙏

I think skinny fat is the casual term for what health scientists call "normal weight metabolic obesity". This why the NHS (or should be) moving more towards hip waist ratio or ABSI instead of BMI. There are many, many people whose BMI is normal, but who are carrying too much fat particularly around the abdomen. These people do worse on health measures than those who are heavier but have more muscle and less fat. The main culprits for this sort of weight are sugar and alcohol, though there are strong genetic drivers for it. The solution is usually resistance training, especially for women, with a slight caloric reduction and sufficient protein. Not a dramatic deficit, which will cause more muscle loss. I'm against crash diets in all but the most extreme of circumstances for exactly this reason (though there are professionals that disagree with me on this).

I am a size 14 and fat. Not skinny anywhere.
i think you are in denial.

I'm 9 stone, 5 foot exactly, size 8. I am almost overweight according to BMI. I need to lose 6lbs to look a million times better, but it's so hard! When you're my height, literally every lb makes a big difference. It's so frustrating. So yes, you can be a chubby/overweight size 8!

Getting the focus back away from the phrase skinny fat… what have you tried so far to lose weight?

Size 14 isn’t skinny fat.

I mean this kindly but I wouldn’t say a 14 is skinny fat… I would say someone who is an 6/8 and unhealthy eg lives off cigs and Diet Coke as skinny fat!

I wondered if you feel it’s not worth doing much about because you feel you’re ’only A bit’ overweight…

I was a size 14 just over three months ago and am now a 10 moving into 8, and I'm also approaching 40. It can be done. Yes, someone very overweight would see bigger losses, but at a lower starting weight a pound a week very quickly gets you towards your goal if you keep at it. I haven't calorie counted but I had some of the same bad habits as you so made positive changes. One piece of sourdough in the morning rather than two. A nest of rice noodles for my dinner carbs rather than masses of pasta. If pasta, then just a handful bulked out by loads of veg. 0% Greek yogurt and fruit when I get that snack craving in the evening. No nightly wine (which always made me reach for the cheese). I've got into exercise at home. I haven't found it a struggle, it's been empowering. I had to be a bit obsessed in the beginning but only with seeking out better choices and really facing the truth of how calorific some food that I loved is. All this is to say if your main problem is bad habits (rather than side effects from meds or deep seated trauma) then you can overcome them.

Skinny fat means someone of a healthy BMI but poor muscle tone and a lot of visceral fat. It means risks associated with 'hidden' fat. I'm a similar weight and height to you and I don't consider myself skinny anything, I'm chubby. However having reduced that from obese I'm cool with it!

yes, i’m not fat but my weight sometimes creeps just into overweight. I do feel horrible about myself when that happens. I often gain and lose the same half stone. I went down 24lbs during covid, as I got into exercising and calorie counting. I did feel better, but now I won’t get to 7.5 stone again, I just wanted to see if I could. I’d like to lose 1 stone, and am currently trying to lose 4lbs in 3wks for son’s graduation. Any excess weight clings to my stomach and bust, wish it would distribute a little more.

Whatever the term OP I am the same, I am
used to being 9 stone ish but closer to 11. Dressed I look fine but I look awful undressed. Really want to get my weight back down but seem to have zero motivation.

I’m skinny fat. I’m 5’5, 9st and body fat 21.3%. I’m much more comfortable at 8st10lbs. Sure it’s only 4lbs but the difference in body fat is significant.

Size 14 is not skinny. You are on the better end of being overweight where it passes as ok.

In my opinion, skinny fat would be someone who appears healthy because they are not overweight but is not actually healthy because of their lack of exercise etc. Basically it’s just appearances.

Your post resonates with me! Am thinking I’m now skinny-fat after a few years of struggling with weight loss and not being able to lose the several kilos which would make me feel lighter/better…am 46 & worried this is perimenopause kicking in/I'm doomed with it!

Oh I hate these labels: fat, skinny, fat skinny, skinny fat.

I'm probably the same as you OP in that I'm a bit overweight but not excessively so. And ideally I'd like to be just a little bit slimmer. I'm size 14 trousers and skirts, 14/16 tops and dresses, jackets etc.

But I've been roughly the same size and weight for about the last 25 years - I'm early 70s now - so I dont agree with the people who say you inevitably get fatter if you don't do anything about it.

I never diet and I would hate to make myself miserable by doing so. I eat healthily, with some treat foods, and I eat to live and not live to eat. I'm active and fit for my age and that to me is the important bit.

If you put a towel around my boobs and middle, I look like I have a fab body, but I have the hugest gut and love handles. Finding clothes is a nightmare- size 12 too small, 14 too big. All jeans feel like they’re choking me or falling down. No dresses suit me and my boobs are small so draw attention to my middle. Skirts and tops sometimes do the job

‘a fat person who is at the lower end of overweight but still a bit fat'

So... chubby. Or plump. But not skinny-fat.

I'm 5'7 and you are so right. Proportion of limbs makes a huge difference

I'm pretty much exactly as you describe in terms of height and weight, having put on lots of weight with perimenopause and going from a normal to overweight BMI. I'm definitely not "skinny fat"; I'm "chubby," or "overweight" or maybe just "fat."

Basic misunderstanding of how sizing works for anyone over 5ft 8".

I modelled when younger, I have very long arms and I'm not busty. I have always favoured a 14 in blazers/jackets/coats, I have long limbs and a long torso. .

I like skirts and trousers to fit on my hips and tops to not make me feel a draught. I don't care what size they are.

i don't own scales, Tall does not fit in with sizing norms or BMI charts

I used to be 8 and a half stone and a size 8 then put on 4 stone during pregnancy/breastfeeding. I shamelessly used it as an excuse to eat anything and everything. I did a BMI the other day and it put me as 'mildly obese'. 🤣 Anyway it's given me the kick up the arse I needed as I've lost 7lb recently. Just another 3 and a half stone to go 😭.

This is me. It’s so hard. I managed to stay in and around 9 stone doing 30 day shred for years (not every day!).. I started to have some eye problems which have persisted and made my life a misery. I stopped exercising in May of last year due to being so down over eyes and having no energy. Roll on a year and I’ve put on a stone. None of my jeans close and I’m struggling to lose it. I tried Caroline Girvans and a lot of walking and lost 7lbs but went on holiday and put it back on. I’ve joined a women’s only gym for a 28 day trial doing 3 workouts a week and I’ll go back to the walking and Caroline Girvan the other days. I’m determined to lose it 🙏.

I'm 5'6", 11 stone 3 and definitely fat! I guess it depends on where you hold it (mainly stomach upper arms and thighs for me).

I live up North but when I come down South I feel a right fatso.

I think skinny fat is more like someone who is not overweight on the scales/BMI but has no tone or muscle anywhere and are just flaccid.