I'm Skinny-Fat -- Advice?

[sundev]

Last year I was about 200 lbs. I cut down to 160 in ~4 months, and was doing fine - flat stomach, looked alright. Since then however I've stopped working out and eating right, and am up to 170. The problem is that I look quite a bit worse than when I was at 160, to the point that if I get back down to 160 I doubt I will look as good as I did last year.

My question is, what should I do first - gain some muscle/weight, say to 180, then start cutting to 160ish, or just go straight for the cut, perhaps down to 150ish? I'd like to see definition in my stomach area again.

I have read the fat loss sticky as well as Stronglifts, but neither really mention what to do in this situation - Stronglifts says for the "skinny-fat" person to first gain weight then start losing, but the weight he gives as a minimum is about what I am at now (i.e. according to Stronglifts I should be cutting immediately).

Thoughts?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

To be perfectly honest, I would just start bulking. If you add muscle mass, your body fat percentage may stay the same or even decrease. You will also add muscle to your frame, resulting in a more aesthetically pleasing shape. At 160, you're still fairly light so I wouldn't suggest a straight cut right off the bat. Gaining some mass will help with your strength, your confidence, and how good you look. You could honestly go either way, but once you bulk after your initial cut, you'll eventually have to cut again. I say just bulk up to a weight higher than your overall goal, then cut. You'll be at your goal weight at a body fat percentage you feel comfortable with. It only entails one bulk and one cut cycle that way.

 

[sundev]

Thanks for the post. Pretty much that's what I was thinking (faster to get to goal), but I just did a BF% measurement a few different ways (calipers, ratios, etc) and I'm sitting around 20-22% @ 170 lbs, so now I'm starting to think maybe I should cut after all, say down to 150-155.

Any more thoughts?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Thanks for the post. Pretty much that's what I was thinking (faster to get to goal), but I just did a BF% measurement a few different ways (calipers, ratios, etc) and I'm sitting around 20-22% @ 170 lbs, so now I'm starting to think maybe I should cut after all, say down to 150-155.

Any more thoughts?

If you bulk right, your body fat % won't be increasing ALL that much. However, it's all about your comfort level. I feel it's counterproductive to do something beforehand that you're going to have to do anyhow. Most people sit at 20% BF and look way better after a bulk.

 

[alkemyst]

How tall are you? I'd still say probably bulking is the way for you to go. Too many try to get thin first and have no mass to begin with. Adding a bunch of bulk tends to hide the fat pretty damn well much of the time...if you have no mass every pound will stick out majorly.

 

[MarkZ80]

Just pump the protein shakes and protein bars. Get lots of meat and amino acids in your diet. As far as bulking-make sure you are doing high weights at low reps. Lift 4 times a week and do cardio 3 times a week for immediate results. To get rid of belly fat, make sure you are sticking to protein in your diet, cut out the sugars and besides the weights, do lots of working out-like cardio. Also make sure you "shock the body" by doing different cardio different days-run one day, bike another, kayak or play golf/tennis another. Hope that helps

 

[BassBomb]

How tall are you? I'd still say probably bulking is the way for you to go. Too many try to get thin first and have no mass to begin with. Adding a bunch of bulk tends to hide the fat pretty damn well much of the time...if you have no mass every pound will stick out majorly.

I guess that should work for me too, being 140lb 5'9"? That was my plan anyhow

 

[CoinOperatedBoy]

Just pump the protein shakes and protein bars. Get lots of meat and amino acids in your diet. As far as bulking-make sure you are doing high weights at low reps. Lift 4 times a week and do cardio 3 times a week for immediate results. To get rid of belly fat, make sure you are sticking to protein in your diet, cut out the sugars and besides the weights, do lots of working out-like cardio. Also make sure you "shock the body" by doing different cardio different days-run one day, bike another, kayak or play golf/tennis another. Hope that helps

Seems pretty inefficient to have a bulking diet, lift heavy and often, and then also do tons of cardio.

 

[elitejp]

Always diet down to low percentage bf before bulking. In bulking you will inevitably increase fat percentage as well but your body likes to stay at lower bf when already at lower bf and likes to increase bf when already at high bf. So in short if your already getting a bit high on the bf % your body will increase it significantly more than if you were low while trying to bulk.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Just pump the protein shakes and protein bars. Get lots of meat and amino acids in your diet. As far as bulking-make sure you are doing high weights at low reps. Lift 4 times a week and do cardio 3 times a week for immediate results. To get rid of belly fat, make sure you are sticking to protein in your diet, cut out the sugars and besides the weights, do lots of working out-like cardio. Also make sure you "shock the body" by doing different cardio different days-run one day, bike another, kayak or play golf/tennis another. Hope that helps

Or he could just eat lots of good, natural food. Protein supplements are NOT necessary to gain weight. Americans typically don't have to worry about their protein intake, since we already overnourish ourselves in that respect. Lifting 3 times a week would be sufficient to get results. I do not advice exercising 7 days a week, especially for a beginner, due to the implications that come with stress fractures, tendonitis, etc. Your body needs time to adapt to the stimulus and training 7 days a week does not allow for enough recovery. Also, shocking the body with different types of cardio has what benefits? Cross-training is a good idea, but for beginners, it isn't necessary. Are you slurring muscle confusion and cardio exercise together? Telling the OP to always mix up different cardio adds another stress to his endeavor. All he needs to do is eat big and lift heavy 3 times a week.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Always diet down to low percentage bf before bulking. In bulking you will inevitably increase fat percentage as well but your body likes to stay at lower bf when already at lower bf and likes to increase bf when already at high bf. So in short if your already getting a bit high on the bf % your body will increase it significantly more than if you were low while trying to bulk.

This is rubbish. The body does not have a preference to stay lean when lean or fat when fat. If the right situations are induced, the body will sway either way every time. Also, genetics plays a greater role at maintaining body fat than body fat % plays on itself. Cutting, then bulking, then cutting again creates for an unnecessary third cycle. Bulking and then cutting allows the OP to muscle mass on and to finish the process in only two cycles. His body fat % will stay very similar to what it is now if he bulks right (he will gain total fat, but the proportion of lean muscle mass to fat will be similar). Afterward, he can cut for a few weeks/months and be done with it.

 

[MarkZ80]

Seems pretty inefficient to have a bulking diet, lift heavy and often, and then also do tons of cardio.

It's actually most effective. You want to mix up your routine and for what this guy wants that is what he is going to do. The cardio will trim you, the weights will tone and bulk you and the diet will energize you. Whats ineffient about that? It works for me- I am 6'4 and 215 was a D1 college athlete and that's what they had us do. Try it-swear it works.

 

[skace]

I'm doing something similar to what Mark is suggesting, and I've gotta say, it does bring results. However, it's also probably the most difficult routine you could put in front of yourself. Failure will be high, over-training becomes an issue, getting lots of sleep is a requirement, etc.

 

[CoinOperatedBoy]

It's actually most effective. You want to mix up your routine and for what this guy wants that is what he is going to do. The cardio will trim you, the weights will tone and bulk you and the diet will energize you. Whats ineffient about that? It works for me- I am 6'4 and 215 was a D1 college athlete and that's what they had us do. Try it-swear it works.

I'm no expert, but I was under the impression that doing a lot of cardio to trim at the same time one is lifting heavy for bulk makes it more difficult to build lean muscle mass than if one did this in separate cycles. And the diet required for bulking may present more challenges if one is trying to burn fat through the cardio.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

It's actually most effective. You want to mix up your routine and for what this guy wants that is what he is going to do. The cardio will trim you, the weights will tone and bulk you and the diet will energize you. Whats ineffient about that? It works for me- I am 6'4 and 215 was a D1 college athlete and that's what they had us do. Try it-swear it works.

This is not how the body works. If you do resistance training, your body prioritizes and maintains muscle mass through the mTOR/akt pathways. If in a caloric deficit, you lose mainly fat since muscle maintenance is a priority. If you do aerobic training, your body has no preference for what's lost so you lose significant amounts of both fat and muscle. This doesn't trim or tone you at all. It makes you lose weight of course, but you end up being the skinny fat guy. Weights in a caloric deficit will do everything the OP needs. Cardio will be good for maintaining overall health, but at this point may lead to overtraining.