Written by Kiel DiGiovanni | Co-founder
Fact checked by Andrew Lenau, ISSA CPT & Sports Nutritionist
FACT CHECKED
Not sure what's worse, being fat-fat or skinny-fat. You might be asking, "what is skinny-fat?", skinny-fat means you have little muscle mass compared with a relatively high fat mass.
If you have skinny, weak limbs and a spare tire around your waist then you’re likely suffering from a condition dubbed skinny-fat.
In this post we will equip you with an 8 week skinny-fat workout (with spreadsheet) & diet plan to get from skinny-fat to fit where you can lose up to 15 pounds of fat and gain 8 pounds of muscle. So, what are you waiting for?
Table of Contents:
- What does skinny fat actually mean & what causes it?
- How to tell if you are skinny fat
- Losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time (aka Body Recomp)
- How to go from skinny-fat to fit
- Bulking vs cutting to start?
- Rules for cutting & bulking
- Skinny Fat Workout & Diet Plan*
What does skinny fat mean?
Skinny-fat is when someone is metabolically obese but has a normal weight. Skinny-fat is slang without having a medical definition of what exactly constitutes being skinny-fat. Skinny-fat people have bodies that look imbalanced. For example, you might look skinny with shorts and a t-shirt on but as soon as the clothes come off the hidden fat makes an appearance.
Skinny-fat isn’t necessarily the same thing as being overweight or fat, as these people tend to have some muscle mass to match the fat. If you hop on a scale and aren’t surprised by how much you weight but then look in the mirror and feel fat then there’s a possibility that you’re skinny-fat.
Skinny-fat men or women can have a similar body fat percentage as some who looks in shape, this is because skinny-fat is a body composition problem not necessarily a weight problem.
What causes the skinny fat look?
To fix being skinny-fat you should first know the possible root problems causing you to be skinny-fat. Have a look at some of the common causes of being skinny-fat so that you can understand what changes need to be made to go from skinny-fat to fit.
- Little Muscle Mass: The lack of muscle mass means that the body doesn’t burn calories efficiently. The more muscle mass you have the more energy your body consumes even while at rest. Ask yourself when was the last time you exercised? If you had to think about that for more than a second or two then it’s been too long. Long stretches of time without exercise, specifically resistance training can lead to becoming skinny-fat. Yes, activities like yoga, hiking, cycling and jogging are healthy activities they won’t necessarily help you build muscle mass. Many people might’ve been able to get away without doing anything physically demanding in the younger years but as time passes lifestyle choices will catch up to you.
- Low Protein Intake: Eating a protein rich diet filled with muscle-mass-building foods is a vital aspect to building muscle mass. Without proper protein intake your muscles are unable to be repaired and rebuilt after any type of resistance training. It’s important to note that you should be eating a high protein diet of around 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.
- Lack of Strength Training: You need to start thinking about going to the gym, focusing on one end goal; to pack on lean muscle. The optimal method of gaining muscle mass is hypertrophy training. When hypertrophy training, the calories you consume will be used to help build muscle rather than turning into fat.
- Improper Caloric Deficit Diet: Losing weight boils down to burning more calories than you consume. If you’re trying to lose weight, you should stick to a certain protocol to help ensure you’re losing fat not muscle mass. Cutting weight with a smart methodology will lead to fat loss but if not done properly then your body might start cannibalizing muscle for energy rather than fat. You should also be aware that a long-term caloric deficit can result in your body thinking it needs to start storing food as fat to have in reserve rather than burning it as energy.
- Excess Stress: Stress is bad for our mental and physical health. Stress causes the hormone cortisol levels to rise. If you’re stressed for long periods of time the heightened cortisol levels can result in insulin resistance. Insulin resistance can make us fatter by not being able to convert carbohydrates into energy. Studies like this show how heightened cortisol is correlated to added visceral fat in the abdominal area.
- Not Enough Sleep: If you’re not getting enough sleep, your waistline might start reflecting this in a negative way. Ghrelin is a hormone that tells us when we should eat while leptin is a hormone that signals us to stop eating. Without proper sleep, these two hormones can hinder our capability of losing weight. If you’re not sleeping enough, you will have less leptin and more ghrelin, equating to increased weight gain. Your body’s metabolism also slows down when you’re sleep deprived. Try to aim for 6-8 hours of sleep a night.
Ways to determine if you are skinny fat
A quick look in the mirror should be a decent litmus test regarding your skinny-fat situation but if that’s not enough you can ask yourself the following questions and if a few pertain to you then you're most likely skinny-fat:
- If you’re a man weighing around 198 pounds (average U.S man) and you can’t bench press 135 pounds (average for untrained male) then you have the “skinny” part of skinny-fat.
- If you’re a woman weighing around 170 pounds (average U.S. woman) and can’t bench press 80 pounds then you’re likely “skinny” part of skinny-fat.
- Look in the mirror and without flexing/sucking in, can you see any abs at all or does your abdominal area look like a pouch? If you can’t see your abs at all and it looks like you have a pouch in the midsection then you might be a little “fat”.
- Does your stomach stick out further than your chest but your arms don’t come close to filling out the sleeves to your shirt? If you answer yes whether you’re a woman or a man this is another sign you could get the “fat” half of skinny-fat.
- Do you eat a high carbohydrate diet while never weight training? If yes, then chances are you could be skinny-fat.
Overall, you might be a normal weight if you hop on a scale but if you have a gut and love handles and don’t have the muscular strength to lift minimal weights then you’re probably skinny-fat. Aesthetically being skinny-fat isn’t a great look but more importantly are the health downfalls of being weak and skinny coupled with the negative aspects of being overweight.
Is being skinny fat unhealthy?
Yes, being skinny-fat is unhealthy as people who too much fat in the abdominal area can have increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, cholesterol, high blood pressure and vitamin deficiencies. Adding to that, skinny-fat people tend to little muscle mass from lack of exercise or poor diet. Muscle is a key component in keeping a healthy metabolism, preventing future injuries and performing daily activities.
This study looked at the risk of death of 6,400 people, divided into four categories; low muscle/low fat mass (“skinny-fat”), low muscle/high fat mass (“fat”), high muscle/high fat mass (“fit & fat”) and high muscle/low fat mass (“athletic”).
Note: With fat mass meaning total amount of fat tissue compared with body fat percentage is the amount of fat relative to the rest of the body.
As you probably could’ve guessed, the athletic group had lowest risk of death and best heart health followed by the “fit & fat”. Lagging far behind were the “skinny-fat” and “fat” groups, thus showing that muscle mass plays an important role to our health.
Can you lose fat and gain muscle at the same time?
Also referred to as body recomposition; this is losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time while keeping overall bodyweight almost the same. It might be a bit controversial to say it’s possible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time but because we’re rebels, we’ll say it, yes, you can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time with body recomposition and with cutting (we'll get into this later).
- To lose fat: You should be at a caloric deficit where your body is burning pre-existing fat as fuel.
- To gain muscle: You should be at a caloric surplus where your body has the energy to build and repair muscles. Following a 7 day meal plan for muscle gain will help get you there.
After just reading that, you might think that it's not possible but this study shows that muscle can be grown at a caloric deficit.
Throughout the day our body fluctuates back and forth gaining and losing weight. Think of when you have a big dinner, you might be in a brief caloric surplus then after going to sleep you transition to a caloric deficit. This seesaw effect tends to balance out over the course of the day with our body weight staying relatively the same.
The key to effective body recomposition is to exploit these small fluctuations throughout the day to enable us to reach our end goal of gaining muscle and losing fat. For newcomers, body recomposition is a bit easier to pull off as the body will respond quickly to new exposure to resistance hypertrophy training and increased protein intake. The potential for even better results is possible with improved sleep and reduced stress. Body recomposition is a strategy best served for novices to strength training.
For people extremely overweight, people who are leaner and stronger than the average person or advanced trainees; have to resort to bulking or cutting to see good progress.
We believe a mixture of bulking and cutting will yield better overall results in a shorter period of time for most people including the skinny-fat. This is what is known as "Recomping".
The problem with body recompositioning is that you need to capitalize on the brief fluctuating periods throughout the day in order to build muscle during the calorie surplus and lose fat during the calorie deficit stretches of time.
Here are some tips to help with body recomposition:
- Carb Cycling: Consume more carbs close to workout sessions so that your muscles are more insulin sensitive and you can gain muscle.
- Calorie Cycling: Eat more calories close to your workout sessions to help gain muscle.
- Protein Cycling: Eat protein before and after workout sessions; up to 60 grams for improved lean muscle gain.
- Protein Intake Placement: Consume 20-30 grams of protein throughout the day in 3-4 hour intervals to help keep your body at enhanced protein synthesis levels.
- Intermittent Fasting 16:8 Method: Only eat during an 8 hour window where you will try to get all your muscle gains while the 16 hour fasting window is for losing fat.
Body recomposition can work if executed to the "T" and can yield decent results for beginners if they're able to get the whole nutrient portioning aspect correct. In general, body recompositioning can slowly refine your body and health with incremental improvements over time but if you want to see some serious changes to your skinny-fat physique then you should use cutting and bulking strategies.
How to go from skinny-fat to fit
To fix being skinny-fat change up your nutrition and start resistance training. As mentioned before, you will need to eat at a caloric deficit while getting plenty of protein plus you need to start a hypertrophy or strength training regimen.
One pound of fat is roughly equal to 3500 calories. So, if you want to lose 1 pound of fat per week, you’ll have to be at a 500 calorie/day deficit. To put 500 calories in perspective, a plain bagel with cream cheese or 1 hour of moderate exercise like rowing machine or elliptical. As you can imagine it’s easier to skip the bagel. In general, it’s easier to stay in the caloric deficit by restricting what you eat rather than sweating it off.
Gaining muscle should be priority, no matter how much fat you lose, you need to put on some lean muscle if you want to improve the way you look and feel. The less muscle you have means the lower your body fat percentage has to be to see it. Gaining muscle also helps you to burn more calories; a pound of fat burns about 2-3 calories per day while a pound of muscle can burn 7- 10 calories daily. Aim for at least three workout sessions per week and make sure to perform the bigger compound lifts such squats, bench press, deadlifts and overhead press. If you do any cardio then it should be moderate intensity of 20-30 minutes.
Should you bulk or cut my way to fit?
To turn skinny-fat to fit-toned a few things need to happen with seemingly opposing forces. You need to cut fat and also increase muscle. We went over the possibility of doing this with body recompositioning but here we will focus on the faster more powerful methods of bulking and cutting.
This leads people to the question should they bulk or cut their way into better shape? And what do I do first, bulk or cut?
- Cutting: This is an overall calorie deficit where you consume less calories than you burn; helping to transform the" fat" part of skinny-fat. The benefits of cutting include promoting fat loss, increasing insulin sensitivity, enhancing muscle appearance. The downsides of cutting can be muscle loss, increased feeling of hunger and lowered sex hormones. However, cutting done right can lead to more than 20 pounds of fat loss in a few months. If you’re a beginner trainee you can also build muscle while cutting. These 8 Best Supplements For Cutting can help.
- Bulking: This is an overall caloric surplus where you consume more calories than you burn; helping to transform the "skinny" part of skinny fat. The benefits of bulking include lowering cortisol levels, promoting muscle gain, increasing bone density, enhancing strength. The negatives sides are increased fat gain, feel tired more often, can decrease insulin sensitivity. Bulking can result in over 20 pounds of muscle gain within a few months of consistent hypertrophy training but it will also come with a few pounds of fat gain. However, you can minimize fat gain with a clean bulk.
To answer the question of whether to bulk or cut first you should understand that when you bulk up, you’ll most likely put on fat with the muscle. So, if you’re worried about your stomach becoming a little fatter while getting stronger before you become leaner and stronger; then you should stick with cutting first.
Overall, if you’re a beginner trainee to resistance training then we recommend starting with a cutting phase of 3-6 months. To give you an idea of a possible outcome of cutting, take a look at this study where a group of young men were able to lose 7 pounds of fat while gaining 3 pounds of muscle within 4 weeks by following a strength training program and increasing protein intake while at a caloric deficit.
Cutting Rules for Skinny-Fat Guys & Girls
Cutting is the method of losing weight. Cutting is usually correlated with being done after a bulking phase but for skinny-fat men and women starting with the cutting phase can be the optimal choice as most skinny-fat people are beginners who can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.
Skinny-fat guys and gals, you can follow these guidelines to help you cut fat and gain muscle:
1) Resistance Training:
You should strength train at least 3 times a week, following some type of hypertrophy routine. Begin each workout session with the compound lifts such as squats, pullups, deadlifts, bench press and overhead press. If you don’t know how to do these exercises properly start with assisted versions or bodyweight versions of these exercises.
Over time you will need to add weight/reps to stimulate the muscles enough to grow through the process of progressive overload. After you’ve completed the big lifts you can move on to isolation or accessory lifts like triceps pressdowns, biceps curls or lateral raises. Try to keep your exercises in the range of 6-20 reps with no more than 20 sets targeting a particular muscle group weekly.
2) Protein with Every Meal:
Eat 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. You should try to get at least 30 grams of protein in per meal plus a few small snacks throughout the day that contain protein. You can use whey protein powder or plant-based protein powder to supplement your intake. If you struggle with getting enough protein daily, find creative ways to incorporate it, like making protein coffee. Also, opt for high protein low fat foods.
3) Lose 1 Pound of Fat a Week:
Without a concrete goal to aim for it’s hard to stay on track, this is why we recommend setting an attainable goal of losing 1 pound of fat a week. To do this you should be at a caloric deficit but don’t restrict your calories past 25% of your daily total as this can hamper your fat loss and actually lead to more fat gain by damaging your metabolic rate.
You need to establish your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). There are plenty of free online calculators to do this. Most people’s caloric intake should be around 13-15 times bodyweight. So, if you weigh 200 pounds your caloric intake would be 2,600-3000 calories. To get to a caloric deficit in order to cut fat you should start by lowering your daily intake a few hundred calories. Check your weight in the morning everyday so you can monitor your progress and at the end of a week if you haven’t lost 1 pound while following dietary change of more protein consumption and lifestyle change of 3x a week strength training then you should drop your daily caloric intake by another few hundred calories.
If you really struggle with eating less, appetite suppressants might be worth considering.
4) Eat Clean Foods:
The calories you consume should be from only unprocessed whole foods with a focus on protein. While cutting you should be eating nutrient dense foods with lower calories count.
- Lean Protein: Chicken breast, Fish, Turkey, Lean Pork/Beef, Tofu, Egg whites, Low-fat dairy products
- Carbs: Brown Rice, Quinoa, Sweet Potatoes
- Legumes: Chickpeas, Black Beans, Kidney Beans
- Non-Starchy Vegetables: Broccoli, Green Beans, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celery, Peppers, Onions
- Healthy Fats: Olive Oil, Avocado, Nuts(butters)
- Leafy Greens: Spinach, Kale, Collard Greens
- Fruits: Apples, Berries, Grapefruit, Oranges
- Beverages: Water, Unsweetened Coffee/tea, Seltzer, Diet Soda
- Foods to avoid: High calorie foods(pizza, deep-fried, ice-cream), sweet drinks( Soda, Juice, Coffee/tea), processed foods, high fat proteins
5) Move Around More:
Skinny-fat cutting shouldn’t include a high amount of cardio. Instead, you should try doing light cardio like walking around the neighborhood. A good starting point is at least 5,000 steps daily. Getting outside more often will also give you the added benefit of more Vitamin D which promotes more testosterone to gain more muscle and melanin to get more sleep.
6) Get More Sleep:
Lack of sleep effects your body’s hormones which leads people to make bad decisions when eating. The neurotransmitters ghrelin and leptin are negatively impacted when you don’t get enough sleep. You might have an increased appetite and lower feeling of fullness. Try to keep your sleep schedule regular as large variances in sleep can change metabolism and reduce insulin sensitivity. A few tips include: don’t eat right before bed, try to sleep in a dark room, reduce stress, get to sleep earlier and wake up earlier. You should get 6-8 hours of quality sleep everyday!
7) Reduce Stress:
Stress is an enemy of fat loss as the body producing more cortisol when stressed which promotes body fat gain especially in the belly area; making it harder to lose weight. The visceral fat in the midsection is dangerous due to the proximity to vital organs. The fat here can release fatty acids into your blood which can raise insulin and cholesterol levels.
To reduce stress, you should follow the above points of strength training, get better sleep, be more active and eat healthier. You might also want to try meditation or breathing exercises to deal with stress.
Related: 7 Coach's Tips To Get Rid Of Visceral Fat
8) Intermittent Fasting:
Intermittent fasting or IF can kickstart your cutting, helping you to shed fat faster. This is more of a lifestyle change rather than a diet change which many people are finding easier to stick with compared with strict dietary changes.
There are multiple methods of IF but the most suitable for skinny-fat men or women that are cutting is the 16:8 method. With this intermittent fasting method, you can still fulfill the requirements of protein intake while restricting calories. Simply put, you can eat during an 8-hour window of time and the remaining 16 hours you won’t consume calories. This method is the easiest to execute because you should be sleeping 8 of those 16 hours, see the point above.
Related: My 3 Day Fast Guide: Before and After, How To, Benefits & Tips
Bulking Rules for Skinny-Fat Guys & Girls
If you don’t want to follow our advice to start with a cutting phase and want begin your skinny-fat transformation with a bulk then you need to be cognizant of the fact you will also be putting on more fat during this period. Some skinny-fat people might opt for this strategy if it’s coming into winter time and the holidays as it might make it harder to stay on cutting phase. They then transition to a cutting phase coming into summer time, just in time for beach season. Some of the tips for bulking for skinny-fat people are similar to cutting, regarding hypertrophy training, getting more sleep and reducing stress.
Follow some of the bulking tips for skinny-fat people below:
1) Resistance Training:
You should strength train at least 3 times a week, following a hypertrophy routine. Your strength and muscle gains should be easier to achieve during the bulking phase as your body has the fuel to push through plateaus, shoot for an extra rep or add weight to your lifts weekly. You might want to try a powerbuilding program such as PHAT or PHUL during bulking phase so you can add both strength and muscle at the same time! Start your workout session with the compound lifts such as squats, pullups, deadlifts, bench press and overhead press.
If you don’t know how to do these exercises properly start with assisted versions or bodyweight versions of these exercises. Over time you will need to add weight to stimulate the muscles enough to grow through progressive overload. After you’ve completed the big lifts, you can move on to isolation or accessory lifts like triceps or biceps. Try to keep your exercises in the range of 6-20 reps with no more than 20 sets targeting a particular muscle group weekly.
2) Protein With Every Meal:
Eat 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. You should try to get at least 30 grams of protein in per meal plus a few small snacks throughout the day that contain protein. If you can afford it and don’t have any lactose intolerances you should try to supplement with whey protein isolate or whey hydrolyzed. If you do have lactose intolerance, there are also lactose-free protein powders.
3) Gain .5-1 Pound A Week:
Because you were skinny-fat to begin with you need to be aware of what foods you’re eating when bulking so you can try to gain as much lean muscle as possible without putting on too much extra fat. You need to establish your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). There are plenty of free online calculators to do this. Your caloric intake should be around 16-18 times bodyweight. So, if you weigh 200 pounds your caloric intake would be 3,200-3,600 calories. After the first week check to see how much weight you’ve gained then make adjustments. If you’re gaining too much/too little then adjust your daily calories by 100-200, run this new level for a week then reassess.
4) Eat Clean Foods:
The calories you consume should be from only unprocessed whole foods with a focus on protein. While bulking you should be eating nutrient dense and calorie dense food.
- Protein: Chicken breast, Turkey, Lean Pork/Beef, Tofu, Egg Whites, Dairy Products (cottage cheese, cheese, yogurt)
- Carbs: Oats, Rice, Quinoa, Sweet Potatoes, Whole Grain Pasta/Bread
- Legumes: All Beans
- Non-Starchy Vegetables: Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Green Beans, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celery, Peppers, Onions
- Healthy Fats: Olive Oil, Avocado, Seeds, Nuts(butters)
- Leafy greens: Spinach, Kale, Collard greens
- Fruits: Banana, Apples, Berries, Oranges
- Beverages: Water, Unsweetened Coffee/tea, Seltzer, 100% fruit Juice
- Foods to limit: High calorie foods(pizza, deep-fried, ice-cream), sweet drinks( Soda, Juice, Coffee/tea), processed foods, high fat proteins
Related: 7 Easy Recipes To Help Build Muscle
5) Move Around More:
Skinny-fat bulking should include limited cardio. this can be a 20-30 minute walk a few times a week.
6) Get More Sleep:
You might become more sluggish during a bulking phase so quality sleep is important if you want to maximize muscle gain. A few tips include: melatonin supplementation, don’t eat right before bed, try to sleep in a dark room, reduce stress, get to sleep earlier and wake up earlier. You should get 6-8 hours of quality sleep every day!
7) Reduce Stress:
Even though you are in a bulking phase, being overstressed can lead to extra fat gain with limited muscle gain. To reduce stress, you should follow the above points of strength training, get better sleep, be more active and eat healthier. You might also want to try meditation or breathing exercises to deal with stress.
8 Week Skinny Fat Workout Plan & Diet
We recommend beginners to start with cutting diet and hypertrophy training program to go from skinny-fat to fit. We aren't a fan of gimmicks, quick fixes or miracles when it comes to health so for this skinny-fat workout and diet plan to work you will have to be disciplined in and out of the gym.
We put together an 8 week skinny-fat workout program that includes 3 full-body workout sessions per week. Each lifting session includes at least 2 of the major lifts like bench press, overhead press, squats, deadlifts and rows. You can choose the best days that work for your schedule but you should always have one day rest between the workout days. If you want to do some light cardio to burn fat, like a 20-30 walk on your off days, then go for it but don't overdo the cardio.
If done properly this 8 week skinny-fat workout program combined with a proper diet (covered below) can lead to 10-15 pounds of fat loss and 5-10 pounds of muscle gain. The goal is to progress over the weeks by adding weight to your lifts. For the big lower body lifts aim for +10 pounds a week. For the upper body compound lifts like bench press, overhead press and rows try to add at least 5 pounds every week.
Notes:
- Use this SFS 8-Week Skinny-fat Spreadsheet to track your progress
- If you are a complete beginner make sure you know how to execute all exercises with proper form before starting this program. You can start with bodyweight exercises or assisted versions before you take on this routine.
- Rest time can be up to 2 minutes between sets of big lifts. Accessory lifts should have shorter rests between sets of 1 minute.
- Because we recommend skinny-fat people to start with a cutting phase before bulking the jumps in strength gains will be lower than people who are bulking and following this same program.
Sample Skinny-Fat Workout Routine
Workout 1:
| Exercise | Sets x Reps |
| Bench Press | 3 x 8 |
| Squat | 3 x 8 |
| Overhead Press | 3 x 8 |
| Pullups | 2 x 8 |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 2 x 10-12 |
| Dumbbell Bicep Curls | 2 x 12-15 |
| Planks | 3 x (longest time possible) |
Workout 2:
| Exercise | Sets x Reps |
| Bench Press | 4 x 6 |
| Deadlift | 3 x 6 |
| Overhead Press | 4 x 6 |
| Underhand Grip Rows | 4 x 8 |
| Cable Triceps Pressdown | 2 x 10-12 |
| Cable Crunch | 3 x 15 |
Workout 3:
| Exercise | Sets x Reps |
| Bench Press | 3 x 8 |
| Squat | 4 x 6 |
| Overhead Press | 3 x 8 |
| Chinups | 2 x 8 |
| Dumbbell Rear Delt Flys | 2 x 10-12 |
| Dumbbell Hammer Curls | 2 x 12-15 |
| Hanging Leg Raise | 2 x 10 |
Sample Skinny-Fat Diet Plan
The key here is to eat enough protein to gain muscle but be at a caloric deficit so you can drop some fat. It's important that you time your carb intake close to your workouts or when you're more active. Below we paint a picture of what 3 days of a skinny-fat diet plan will look like if you follow our advice and start your transformation with a cutting phase of 2 months before transitioning to a bulking phase to pack on more lean muscle to your newly improve frame.
Your meals and the types of foods you eat will look the same for both the cutting phase and bulking phase. All you have to do is adjust the total calories to be below maintenance or above maintenance when cutting or bulking, respectively.
Use these 3 days as a framework moving forward. And remember, protein shakes can be both whey or plant based. Make sure to choose a high quality third-party tested protein supplement.
Follow these rough guidelines for your skinny-fat diet:
- Breakfast: Protein & Complex carbs
- Snack: Protein & Fats
- Lunch: Protein & Carbs
- Snack: Protein
- Dinner: Protein & Fats
- Snack: Protein
Note: When you get to the bulking phase, you can introduce some carbohydrates to your dinner as well to help meet your caloric needs.
Sample Meals for 3 Days
Day 1:
| Morning | Turkey Sausage, Eggs, Yogurt, Oats |
| Snack | Protein Shake with 8-12 oz of water/low-fat milk & Nut butter |
| Lunch | Turkey Chili with kidney beans and brown rice |
| Snack | Protein Shake with 8-12 oz of water |
| Dinner | Mexican Salad with Avocado and Grilled Chicken |
| Snack | Protein Shake with 8-12 oz of water |
Day 2:
| Morning | Omelet with veggies and baked beans |
| Snack | Protein Shake with 8-12 oz of water/low-fat milk & Nut butter |
| Lunch | Baked Salmon with baked sweet potato and asparagus |
| Snack | Protein Shake with 8-12 oz of water |
| Dinner | Lean cut of pork/beef with garlic sauteed spinach |
| Evening |
Protein Shake with 8-12 oz of water |
Day 3:
| Morning | Cottage cheese with Berries |
| Snack | Protein Shake with 8-12 oz of water/low-fat milk & Nut butter |
| Lunch | Grilled chicken with Greek quinoa salad |
| Snack | Protein Shake with 8-12 oz of water |
| Dinner | Pulled BBQ Chicken with brown butter cauliflower rice |
| Evening |
Protein Shake with 8-12 oz of water |
How long does it take to go from skinny fat to fit?
It all depends on you starting point, work ethic, discipline and genetics. If you’re someone that can lose fat and build muscle quickly then you might be able to go from skinny fat to toned in as little as 3 to 6 months. In order to transform your body in the shortest amount of time it’s important that you stick to a proper diet and workout schedule while making healthy lifestyle choices. If a beginner to weightlifting then you start by cutting as you should be able to put on a decent amount of muscle even while losing fat.
Does Running Make You Skinny-Fat?
No, running alone won’t make you skinny-fat. Too much endurance running coupled with a poor diet, unhealthy lifestyle (heightened stress, lack of sleep) and lack of resistance training, are all factors that can contribute to making you skinny-fat. Therefore, if you love to run and consider yourself skinny-fat then you need to start lessening your cardio and replacing it with strength training.
How Can A Skinny Person Lose Belly Fat?
Unfortunately, there’s no quick fix to lose belly fat specifically (no, not even fat burners). If you’re skinny already then, the best course of action to eliminate the belly fat is to tweak your diet, start strength training and moderate cardio and get your stress under control.
Conclusion:
Many people these days will look in the mirror and spot something they don’t like about themselves or they go the opposite way and think that everything is better than it is. We aren’t in the business of body shaming people but reality is reality no matter how it’s spun. If you’re skinny-fat then there’s no better time than now to do something about it.
Follow these simple steps to improve your appearance and feel better.
- Stay in a caloric deficit but eat ample protein for muscle gain. You need to burn more calories than you consume to transform the “fat” part but you need enough protein to change the “skinny” part.
- Eat enough protein so that your body doesn’t cannibalize muscle while in a caloric deficit. This means you need to supply your body with enough protein so that you can actually build muscle while eating less calories. You should be consuming 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.
- Start hypertrophy training program to stimulate muscle growth. There are a number of workout protocols that can lead you to the same end goal of gaining lean muscle but the main focus is to lift enough weight with the right number of sets and reps.
Kiel DiGiovanni
Author