Skinny fat?!

[KatzBiscuits]

I weighed myself yesterday on one of those fancy machines where they also measure body fat percentages, and well, I'm stumped by the results! Apparently I have body fat of 42% which puts me into the obese range, yet my weight falls within the "healthy" bmi range for my height. This led me down the garden path of Dr Google and there seems to be such a thing as ' skinny fat ' where you present visually as an average sized person but internally I'm harbouring masses amounts of fat. What is this?! How did it happen?! Can anyone shed any light? Thanks!

What's your height and how many kg do you weigh? Those machines aren't always reliable, but women do have relatively high body fat %. For example, I'm 168cm and weight 57kg. BMI 20.1. 27% body fat!

Those machines aren’t great so I’d take it with a pinch of salt tbh.

But if you want to reduce body fat, you need to exercise to gain muscle.

I'm 5'4 inches and weigh 9 stone. Sorry my brains too scrambled to do the conversion!

Yeah, I wouldn't rely on that machine. It could easily be wrong.

I've just ordered some resistance bands. I have no clue if they work to build muscle but it's worth a shot

I wouldn't rely on those machines. If you are eating healthy food, exercising regularly, not drinking too much alcohol and getting enough sleep you're probably fine!

Those machines aren't accurate but skinny fat is an actual thing.

You can have two people both 5ft 2 and both 8st 8. They would have the same bmi. If one exercises regularly they will have a higher muscle mass, therefore a lower body fat percentage.

Do you exercise at all?

Hmmmm, I'll hold my hands up - I'm not massively fit. I average around 10,000 steps a day but I don't do any other forms of exercise. My diet is generally ok, I cook from fresh every day BUT I have a hugely sweet tooth and can happily gorge on chocolate. Sleep is diabolical. I'm definitely peri menopausal and insomnia is a nightly battle so I average less than 5 hours

Yes a great starting point! ☺️

Thank you for making it make sense. This is all new to me. I thought a healthy -ish diet and a good amount of walking would be fine but clearly not. I now need to worry about " skinny fat"! This is an actual thing who's have thought it!

Yes! Brill. I'm on it as soon as they get delivered

You're the same height and weight as I am.
I'm sure I have put a stone on in belly fat though during menopause. Just had my bloods done and came back with high cholesterol.

At 9 stone and 5'4" you must be a size 10-12 at most depending on your body shape. Women carry more fat than men. If you're not happy with your shape than build muscle, but you don't need to lose weight.

Adding some resistance training or weight lifting is hugely beneficial for bone health and keeping us from getting frail as we get older, as well as keeping our metabolism going. I would recommend it to all women.

I'm not talking about entering strong man competitions or anything but some muscle is good for us.

Skinny fat is what many women in particular are when they are naturally slim. They don't need to exercise or watch what they eat and as a result they may have very low muscle mass. That means even though they may be a size 10, it's all none and fat. I lived in Asia for years and it was very obvious there as at that time fitness wasn't really popular but being small was. Women were small clothes sizes but had no definition. They also got diabetes at a much small size as they actually carried a lot of fat. In the past 20 years it has changed as fitness has become a thing.

Not to ask an impertinent question, but do you have big boobs? My body fat always comes back low on those machines, but it’s not because I’m super fit, it’s because I have tiny boobs. So there is less fat on me than on the average woman.

Thank you for all of your very helpful advice. To answer a few queries - firstly, to the poster who asked about my boob s(!) Im flat as a pancake unfortunately so can't even blame it on that! Yes, I've been doing some reading since yesterday's discovery, and my main concern is health. I would really really like to build muscle but haven't got a Scooby where to start. It worries me greatly that I'm at higher risk of osteoporosis, high blood pressure/ cholesterol and diabetes etc. My knees are shot already and I get a horrible crunchy sound when going uphill along with accompanying pain... In fact all of my joints hurt , but I put it down to peri menopause.

I WAS one of those annoying women who could eat what she wanted and remain a size 6 until I hit my forties, so exercise didn't appear on my radar as I stupidly thought why bother when I don't need to lose weight! Very silly in hindsight. I've had a wake up call definitely. I would like to lose around half a stone as I have a tiny frame and it doesn't sit well on me, but I'm realistic in knowing that I'll probably never see a size 6 again. That's ok, but this fat has to go!

Do you like swimming? It’s good for muscle development but very low impact on joints - especially if you avoid breastroke and stick to front crawl and backstroke.

I do wish there was more education around exercise and health. The focus always seems to be on losing weight and eating a healthy diet, rather than the real health benefits of building muscle and building strong bones.

Not really. It's not so much the action of swimming, but I just get very bored swimming up and down. I did used to do aqua aerobics though, so maybe that would be a possibility !

Yeah my scales say I'm 'hidden obese'.

I look quite slim and fit (with my clothes on). But I'm not.

The scales are right!

That's it! I'm an obese person hiding inside the body of a slim woman

Aqua aerobics is great and will definitely help with muscle development with minimal joint impact. The resistance of the water means it’s more effort to move your body under water, but at the same time, your weight is being supported by the water.

Could you join a gym and work with a personal trainer?

When I take my clothes off, I think WTAF has happened to my body? 😂