Is anyone else skinny-fat?

[labamba23]

I am a size 14, weigh about 11.5 stone at 5’6/7. I don’t think walking down the street anyone would look at me and think I look noticeably ‘fat’ but I also know that I am technically overweight and I am carrying excess fat around my belly and thighs. Compared to my size 8 friends I feel huge, compared to my size 20 friends I feel smaller.

I think there’s a whole group of people like me who are overweight but at the lower end. I think of myself as a skinny fat person if that makes sense.

I am finding it hard to lose weight, mostly because I’m not very good at tracking calories and I do have a few vices (mostly wine, chocolate and carbs) that I struggle to give up. I know people who have been very overweight who have managed to drop a lot of weight very quickly but it doesn’t happen like that for me even when I try.

Im not desperately unhappy with my appearance but I think if I could lose between 1-2 stone I’d feel a lot better. Health wise I am more worried as I’m 40 soon and know I need to look after myself better. It’s almost harder when you don’t have as much to lose, or is it just me?

I'm about a 12/14 ( I have been bigger) but I'm very big breasted and small waisted so I look in proportion.

Just a note to say it helped me to think of it as my goal is gaining/maintaining muscle and getting heart-healthy, rather than losing weight or getting skinny. The latter means there is an end date to the exercise and you just yo yo. Getting heart healthy and gaining/maintaining muscle means you are consistently exercising as part of your daily routine… until you die! And you’ll live longer and be more able to enjoy life with a fit and healthy body. It makes a huge difference to daily quality of life to feel spritely and healthy.

Since having my son I'm the lightest I've been in years but I don't feel slim in the slightest

When I was your weight and height, my GP told me I needed to lose weight. I look back on that conversation (21yrs ago) and I am so incredibly grateful.

I went home, joined Ww online, lost 18lb in 10 weeks and I've never got that fat again. I have a photograph of me then and I look awful.

After each baby I lost the weight in 5 months. If I put on weight now, it never goes more than half a stone more than I am comfortable with and I lose it in a couple of weeks.

I'm 47, been on HRT for 3yrs, do weights at home in my garage, miles of fast walking and swimming for cardio and I eat 30g+ fibre a day.

You need to get your act together op. Otherwise with that attitude, you will be on here in 5 years moaning about your 'peri menopausal weight gain' and 'shifting the pounds'.

I completely understand where you’re coming from. I’m 74, 5,6 and 11stone 4. I ride horses walk my dogs so arms and legs are toned. I don’t drink, eat biscuits, cakes and have a healthy diet. But I carry all my extra weight on waist and tummy. I’ve never had a waist, nor did my mother but I’m classed as over weight! I don’t look it either. Finding clothes to fit is a nightmare. Because I have skinny legs I sort of look ok. I’ve given up trying to lose weight because it comes of the wrong parts of my body. Just try to accept it and live your life. X

I've just got down to a BMI of about 26.5, lowest weight I've been in a while. I look pretty good naked, I'm still overweight. I find it very odd because I'm thinner than so many people I see, it just shows how normal being overweight is now. It's not skinny fat, it's just plain old fashioned fat.

What nonsense I'm 5ft 9.5 and 11st 9. BMI 24, comfortable size 12. I would like to be under 11st.
I assume if you modelled you are 6ft or more which may be different but definitely not at 5ft 8.

When I moved here ( completely different part of the UK to where I was born and bred ) I was in my 40's and a size 8

I now live in a county with some of the highest obesity rates in the UK

Portion sizes here are HUGE - seriously HUGE

I piled it on. Yet I looked around me and said well Im not as big as so and so and carried on

Aged 58, I weighed in at 11.4 stone and was obese wearing size 14 jeans and 18 tops, yet I could look about me and say Im not big ( compared to a lot of those about me )

Aged 60 Im 9.2 stone ( hover around 9.4 ) wear size 8 jeans and 10/12 tops

I am skinny fat by the medical definition and by the OP's definition. I have blubber

Im pretty fit, although not strong

I have to watch what I eat constantly. My self control is nigh on non existent so I have to control what is actually being bought so the temptation isnt here in the house

The weight shifted slowly, very very slowly - 1/2lb to a 1lb a week and so many STS. Yes I went to SW, I still go, I still follow their principles - loads of veg, loads of protein, easy on the carbs, cook from scratch, avoid processed foods - plain common sense really yet after 20 years of falling in to bad eating habits, I needed to be re taught - re programmed in a way and by still going it keeps me focussed , stops me short when I slip back into bad habits

So yep Im skinny fat because Im still carrying too much body fat , still officially obese and I know I have to start with the weights but I keep putting it off because I have an injury to my neck and shoulder ( severe, long term, not going to go away ) and Im scared Im going to make things worse

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.

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!)

You are NOT a disgrace.

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

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

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!

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

You’re not skinny wtf

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.

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 😅

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.

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