How to Lose "Skinny Fat"

• “Skinny fat” refers to a person who is slender, but not toned or muscular.
• Targeted strength training exercises like weight lifting and calisthenics can help you lose skinny fat.
• Reduce skinny fat by adding more protein-rich foods to your diet, like eggs, cheese, tofu, or quinoa.

What is “skinny fat”?

“Skinny fat” describes a thin person with excess body fat. It’s not a medical term, but a colloquial phrase to refer to someone who appears thin—maybe even fit, when they’re wearing clothes—but whose muscle mass-to-body fat ratio is a little askew. People who are “skinny fat” might be doing everything “right”—working out regularly and eating a healthy diet—but still struggle to appear as lean and muscular as they might want. Often, skinny fat is the result of severely restricting calories and prioritizing cardio over weight training—for instance, someone who runs a lot and counts calories might be very thin but struggle with “skinny fat.” Note that even people with a “healthy” BMI may struggle with skinny fat: in fact, the BMI isn’t a very reliable way to gauge health, as it doesn’t distinguish between body fat and muscle mass and takes a one-size-fits-all approach to health that doesn’t account for different body types. Skinny fat isn’t necessarily unhealthy, but you’re likely to be healthier by developing more muscle mass, doing more strength training, and getting more protein in your diet. Losing skinny fat can also make you less susceptible to heart disease.

How to Eliminate Skinny Fat

Try NEAT workouts. Sometimes skinny fat is caused by being sedentary for the majority of the day. A quick cure to a sedentary lifestyle? NEAT! NEAT stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, and it refers to any physical activity that gets you up and moving, even if it isn’t strictly “working out”—for example, walking up the stairs instead of taking the elevator. Adding more NEAT into your daily life can actually produce better results than working out for an hour each day and being sedentary for the remaining 23. Other examples of NEAT include mopping the floor, playing with your kids, biking to work instead of driving, or shoveling snow—the list goes on and on. Starting off your day with a quick 15-minute walk might not sound like enough exercise to be worthwhile, but it can really add up, especially if you pair it with another 15-minute walk after work and another one right after dinner. Tiny movements over time can have a big effect on your health! To work your core a little more while walking, try marching: bring your knees up high as you walk so that your thigh is parallel to the ground. This will engage your abs a little more, which can help tone them.

Do more weight training. Moving your body regularly is great for your health and way better than being sedentary all day, no matter what you’re doing. But if you’re already doing your NEAT workouts or even regular cardio exercises and still struggling with skinny fat, strength training 3 or 4 times a week can help you build more muscle and eliminate pesky fat. Deadlifts are an effective form of weight training that will help you shed unwanted fat. Start by standing with your mid-foot underneath a barbell, then bend at the waist and grab the barbell, keeping your hands about shoulder-width apart. Bend your knees until your shins touch the barbell, then lift your chest up, lifting the weight as you straighten your lower back. Take a big breath, release it, and then lower the barbell. If you're new to deadlifting, start with lifting about half your body weight up to your total body weight. You don't have to go to the gym or buy expensive equipment, either: you can start lifting using a milk crate or duffle bag at home, and fill or empty the container as needed to make it heavier or lighter. Chest presses work your chest, shoulder, and arm muscles and target excess fat in these spots. To do a chest press, lie flat on your back with a dumbbell in each hand. Hold your upper arms out from your body, parallel to the floor, with your forearms raised. Slowly press the dumbbells upward until your elbows are nearly straight (but don't lock your elbows). You'll feel some pressure across your chest. Hold for 2 to 5 seconds, then lower. Cardio—dancing, jogging, MMA, etc.—is still important, but aim for about two or three 20-minute cardio exercises a week, and replace the rest of your workouts with strength training.

Strengthen your core. While core-strengthening exercises won’t burn the fat from your core on their own, they can tone your stomach as you lose fat while doing your cardio and strength training. Try to do 8 to 20 reps of one core workout 3 or 4 times a week. Planks are a super simple way to target your core muscles. To complete one rep, start by assuming a push-up position, with your hands flat on the ground about shoulder-width apart, arms extended, with your body forming a straight line from head to toe. Hold this position for about 5 seconds, then slowly lower yourself to the ground before lifting and starting your next rep. For an added challenge, instead of eight to twenty 5-second reps, hold one plank for 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Squats are not only effective at building your core, butt, and legs, they're also an exercise you can do almost anywhere! Do one squat by standing with your feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart, and just slightly turn your toes outward. Keeping your back as straight as you can, slowly lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor (it may take some practice for you to be able to get this low, so go easy on yourself when you're just starting!). Slowly come back up and repeat. Crunches are another great exercise to really build up your core. Crunches are like half-sit-ups, designed to target your lower abdominal muscles. To do one crunch, start by lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Cross your arms over your chest with your palms just below your shoulders. Engage your abs, and then slightly lift your head and shoulders up off the floor, and hold this position for 1 or 2 beats before lowering.

Eat more protein. Cutting calories may help you lose weight, but if you’re only cutting calories and not eating enough protein, you’re more likely to wind up with skinny fat. Experts recommend consuming a minimum of about 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (or 0.36 grams per pound) every day, so try to work more protein-rich snacks and meals into your diet—about 10-35% of your daily caloric intake should come from protein. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, you'd multiply 150 x 0.36 to get 54 grams of protein. In terms of kilograms, if you weigh 68 kg, you'd multiply 68 x 0.8 to get 54 grams. You can also input your info into the USDA Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) calculator for convenience. Popular animal-derived proteins include turkey, chicken, beef, pork, fish, eggs, cheese, and yogurt. For plant-based options, try almond milk, soy milk, tofu, seitan, tempeh, edamame, lentils, kidney beans, whole-grain cereal and bread, quinoa, and peanut butter. Buying ingredients, reading the labels carefully, and cooking at home can help you increase your protein while ensuring you’re getting enough other nutrients and not overdoing your sugar, fat, and sodium intake, but plenty of restaurants offer protein-rich meals for when you want to eat out.

Enter a sustainable calorie deficit. Too large of a calorie deficit and you risk burning muscle instead of fat, so the key is to create a small, manageable calorie deficit that will encourage your body to burn fat for energy. The average adult needs to consume about 2000 calories every day to maintain their weight; to enter a sustainable calorie deficit, try to get about 500 calories less than that. A calorie deficit may help you lose skinny fat, but be sure not to drop below 1200 calories every day if you're a woman, or 1500 if you're a man. Fitness apps like My Fitness Pal or Lifesum can help you keep track of your caloric intake each day, as well as how much exercise you're getting. Be sure to stay well hydrated: get about 11.5 cups (92 ounces) of water a day if you're a woman, or 15.5 cups (124 ounces) if you're a man. Water is essential for the body to function properly; additionally, dehydration sometimes masks as hunger, so staying hydrated can help prevent you from overeating.

Get more sleep. Not getting enough quality Z’s each night can result in poor muscle growth, hunger, lack of energy to exercise, and increased insulin resistance, all of which can make skinny fat easier to gain and harder to lose. So after a day of working out and eating right, make sure you get about 7 to 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Get better quality sleep by going to bed at the same time every night and eliminating distractions (like phones and TVs) an hour before bed.

Develop a consistent, manageable routine. One of the biggest hurdles to getting and keeping the body you want is sticking with your regimen long enough to make it a habit. Some people understandably opt for the quick-and-easy route (i.e. extreme dieting and exercise) for fast results that just...well...don't last. But studies show that adopting a manageable routine is more likely to yield long-term results, even if it takes a little longer to actually see those results. So when you look in the mirror or hop on the scale after a week of your new exercise and dieting regimen and don't see visible changes (or only minor changes), don't give up! Just keep at it, and you'll start to see results over time.