Skinny Fat Transformation Guide
Skinny Fat Transformation Guide: Intro
This article will interest you if you fall into the category of being a "skinny fat ectomorph" or if you want a body recomposition workout plan.
We will also cover the following:
"How to go about a skinny fat fix?"
"I'm skinny, but my stomach is big."
"How to change as a skinny fat guy?"
So if this all sounds applicable, you're in the right place.
In this "skinny fat transformation guide" article, you'll learn how to go about all the above and more.
I'm super excited about what you're going to learn, so let's get stuck in!
Skinny Fat Transformation Guide: What is Skinny Fat?
Considering we're discussing the skinny fat fix as this article's main theme, it's crucial to establish what "skinny fat" is before anything else.
According to healthline.com, "Skinny fat" is a term that refers to having a relatively high percentage of body fat and a low amount of muscle mass despite having a "normal" BMI.
Another way to describe skinny fat is that you certainly aren't obese or may not even be overweight—nor do you step on the scale and think the number you see is an issue. Still, perhaps you don't like how you look, e.g. you don't have any visible muscle, and you maybe even have man boobs and a protruding gut.
This is where thoughts such as "I'm skinny, but my stomach is big" or "I need to undergo a skinny fat body transformation" stems from.
Skinny Fat Transformation Guide: Most Popular Reasons Why Skinny Fat Happens
So why does skinny fat happen? Well, there are three popular reasons why the skinny fat look comes about:
You were previously overweight or obese and then lost a lot of weight, although you now look 'skinny fat'. This point doesn't apply to everyone but could apply to you.
And/or
You've never done any strength training.
And
Because even if you've never been overweight or obese, the long-term combination of factors 2 and 3 can still make you look like a "skinny fat guy".
So, how do you start a skinny fat body transformation? To answer this, we must consider the issue with typical weight loss journeys.
Skinny Fat Transformation Guide: The Issue With Typical Weight Loss Routines
What exactly do I mean when discussing the issue with typical weight loss routines? Well, that's when people who are looking for a skinny fat fix, potentially you included, will perhaps:
Do loads of cardio, mostly HIIT, with no regard for strength training.
Drastically cut calories with no respect for protein intake.
These two approaches can and will ironically result in the "skinny fat" look—rather than the much "healthier" skinny fat body transformation you're after.
Because here's an essential piece of information: You can lose weight without losing fat, and you can lose fat without losing weight.
Think of it like this:
You'd still lose weight if you lost muscle but didn't lose fat.
Or if you lose 1.5 kg of fat but gain 1.5 kg of muscle, your scale weight will remain the same, but your body composition will drastically change.
See how solely relying on scale weight shouldn't be the be-all and end-all when determining skinny fat before and after progress? I bring this up because the issue with typical weight loss routines is that the combination of tonnes of HIIT with no regard for strength training and/or protein intake is the perfect recipe for muscle loss.
So, how do you avoid this for a successful skinny fat before and after change? You could implement the tips below.
Solutions
Skinny Fat Transformation Guide: Diet
Let's start with diet.
First, it's essential to explain that diets aren't inherently "bad", because this is a tiring narrative constantly circulating nowadays.
A diet is simply what you habitually eat.
Some people have a specific diet to help them gain weight.
Some have a specific diet due to religious reasons.
Others have a specific diet because of allergies.
Diets aren't bad.
How you approach your diet, otherwise known as how you eat, makes it good or bad, so this "pro" or "anti" diet nonsense must stop.
Now that that's out of the way, what should you do to amend the way you eat to cater to your skinny fat body transformation?
Skinny Fat Transformation Guide: Calories
Well, let's start with having a calorie goal. Alongside protein (more on this later), the number of calories you eat will ultimately determine how your skinny fat before-and-after transformation goes.
So, how many calories should you aim for? Well, you'd do well to either eat at caloric maintenance or, even better, in a slight calorie deficit—with a calorie deficit being when you eat fewer calories than the number of calories required to maintain your body weight.
So, why should you eat in a slight calorie deficit? Because, as a beginner, you'll simultaneously be able to lose fat and build muscle very easily.
Making this the most efficient approach to get to your skinny fat transformation goal.
Note:
If you are unsure how many calories you should eat for your skinny fat body transformation, click here to work out your calorie goal.
Skinny Fat Transformation Guide: Protein
Alongside this, you'd do well to consume adequate protein, too - with 0.7-1g per pound of body weight being a great goal.
However, if you're tracking protein for the first time, it can be tricky.
So my recommendation would be to either:
Aim for about 0.5/0.6g of protein per pound of body weight.
Or, as I've recently discovered, a gram per centimetre of your height also works incredibly well.
Start with whichever one is the lowest and least overwhelming.
"But Leo, I don't want to go for whatever is lowest—I want to aim for higher and better as I want to stop being the skinny fat guy ASAP."
Well, the thought is nice, and if you can achieve the higher protein goal, then certainly go for it.
But here's one common mistake when it comes to attempting a skinny fat fix;
Aiming for too much too soon can overwhelm you, making it incredibly tough to stick to your goals. This can eventually lead to demotivation and then stopping altogether.
Understand that 0.5g isn't "bad"; if anything, it will likely be more protein than you had before.
Skinny Fat Transformation Guide: Strength Training
Within your first few months of strength training, you can expect to make the most progress you'll ever make in your entire lifting career, with your body almost 'soaking up' adaptations like crazy.
This is going to help big time with your skinny fat transformation.
As a beginner, it's also your duty to follow a well-structured strength training program, with or without (preferably with) a coach to guide you.
This makes infinitely more sense than continuously going to the gym and guessing or making up what you will do for the day.
In summary:
Learn how to create a well-structured strength training program.
If you don't want to take the time to learn how to create a good workout plan, download one from a reliable source. You can click here to grab a body recomposition workout plan, female or male.
Understand that progressive overload is a critical component within your workouts.
You're using good form and not ego lifting—this is a big one to be wary of, as beginners are typically prone to this.
When achieving the desired skinny fat before and after, you must ensure you’re consistent with your workouts and not only going on days you feel like it.
Note:
A beginner is anyone who's followed a well-structured strength training program for less than 6 months.
Skinny Fat Transformation Guide: Cardio
You might be surprised that cardio hasn't been mentioned as "one of the things you must do for a skinny fat fix", but it's true.
I can easily name ten things more important than cardio regarding a skinny fat transformation. However, that's not to say you shouldn't do any cardio because cardio is fantastic for your heart health. An hour of zone 2 cardio a week is a great start—but don't make it the be-all and end-all for what you're trying to achieve.
Feel free to break up the hour however you'd like across the week, e.g. two 30-minute or three 20-minute sessions.
Note:
If you have yet to learn what zone 2 cardio is, otherwise known as the 60-70% range, it's basically the zone your heart rate is working in. Zone 2 isn't strenuous, either.
See how I also didn't mention HIIT? Well, that's because HIIT is super overrated when it comes to the skinny fat fix.
Skinny Fat Transformation Guide: How to Measure Progress
As we mentioned earlier, scale weight will be far from your best indicator of progress when trying to transform yourself from being a skinny fat guy.
That's not to say it's completely useless, but you'd be far better off using other indicators alongside it, such as:
Body measurements
Progress pictures
You can use the image below, part of the Welcome Pack that my Kairos Online members receive when starting, as a guideline for how you'd take measurements.
You should take photos of the front, back, and sides for progress pictures. I know taking pictures can be a little nerve-wracking, but this is one of the best things you can do to properly see the changes being made on your skinny fat transformation journey.
For example, check out the below set of progress pictures. This is Kairos Online member Sewa, who had taken these 13 weeks apart.
When properly taking scale weight, your best bet is to read my "How to read scale weight language" article once you're done with it.
Skinny Fat Transformation Guide: Skinny Fat Mindset Shift
Ultimately, the most important thing on your skinny fat fix journey is the mindset shift you need to make. Your biggest focus should no longer be losing weight and doing tons of HIIT.
Aim to:
Eat more protein.
Eat as many calories as possible while still being in a calorie deficit, e.g., more than the 1,200 you've been aiming for.
It's likely that you never anticipated that "eating more calories" would be the solution to getting to where you want to be—but yes, it is.
If anything, you'd also do exceptionally well to make performance goals your biggest priority, e.g. doing your first chin-up, deadlifting your bodyweight or squatting half your bodyweight.
Note:
Understand that these are general guidelines for a skinny fat fix.
Skinny Fat Transformation Guide: Conclusion
Otherwise, that's it for today's "Skinny Fat Transformation Guide" article.
If you enjoyed the read, consider signing up for my email list by clicking here.
Why? Because once a week, every week, I send out an email with educational content similar to what you would've read in this skinny fat body transformation article. Just on a much shorter scale.
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Speak soon,
Leo
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