Don’t settle for “Skinny-Fat”!

No way the Dr. would tell Steve Rogers he was “fit”.

I know common wisdom would have you believe that overweight = unhealthy and thin = healthy. If only it were that simple!

Now, does a skinny person have all the health risks associated with obesity?

Of course not, but that doesn’t automatically mean they are in the clear just because they aren’t lugging around an extra 75lbs on their frame.

While we know that 68 percent of the American population is overweight (a fact that makes me shudder), and that many are dipping their toes on the diabetes pool, the really shocking news from a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association is that nearly 1 in 4 skinny people have pre-diabetes and are “metabolically obese!”

Want to be even more depressed?

If you are a skinny-fat person and get diagnosed with diabetes, you have twice the risk of death than if you are overweight when diagnosed with diabetes. How much does that suck?!?

Imagine if Captain America or Wonder Woman were beanpole’s with no muscles to speak of, and suffering from insulin spikes left and right? If that were the case they wouldn’t be able to punch evil in the neck and save the day! So I think we can agree that if we are going to go from geek to real-life superhero we need to avoid this horrible trend.

The good news is that skinny-fat is easy to spot and fix!

What is Skinny-Fat?

So how do you spot this so-called “skinny-fat“? Here are a couple of easy tests:

• Are you at your “target weight” and yet still don’t feel comfortable naked or in a swimsuit because you look saggy or are rocking some “lunch lady” arms?
• Have you lost a bunch of weight by dieting/cardio and never once lifted a weight to get there?
• When you attempt to flex a muscle does it laugh at you and barely move?

If you answered yes to any of the above you probably fall into the category of skinny-fat.

Those are things that happen when you are just skinny instead of genuinely lean and fit (where the muscle and fat are fairly evenly distributed over your body). There is a huge difference between people that have a little shape to them (and are probably heavier, but in a healthy way) and people who look like Jack Skellington; starving and yet sagging.

I know we talk a lot about eating a proper and healthy diet here at the Jerd, but while simple dieting will eliminate weight it won’t tone anything!

Being skinny means clothes look good on you, being in-shape means you look good naked!

How to fix it!

Luckily, pretty easily. You just need to exercise (Real exercise, not hours of worthless cardio… if I see you near a treadmill I will slap you!), stop worrying about the number on the scale and continue to eat right.

Just follow these steps and you will be well on your way to being fit, looking good and ready to strut yourself all over town.

1) Stop Obsessing Over The Number On The Scale

If you are eating right and exercising your weight will drop to a reasonable level. Have faith! There is no need to obsess over every pound that disappears from your frame. If you want to focus on a number, instead pay attention your your body-fat percentage. A skinny-fat guy starts out at 17 to 25 percent body fat, while a skinny-fat woman is closer to 23 to 35 percent. The goal should be dropping to between 10 and 14 percent for the guys or 17 to 21 percent for the ladies. That’s where you will be able to see muscle definition (and abs, plural!).

If you want to learn more, here’s what you need to know about body-fat and how to measure it.

2) Stop Running So Damned Much

I am not saying running (or cardio in general) is bad, and it obviously an important part of surviving the zombie-apocalypse; I am simply saying that it should be a small portion of your fitness regimen. Look, I know what you heard on the Dr. Oz show or read in an article in “InStyle” magazine…  massive amounts of cardio is a must for burning fat.

Shenanigans! It most certainly is not.

If you enjoy cardio then by all means go ahead and do it, but you better be doing strength training alongside it if you ever want to really be fit and healthy. Building muscle burns fat and believe it or not, having muscle on your frame makes the cardio you do even more effective!

• You want “ripped abs” or “jacked arms” bro? Get off the treadmill.
• Ladies, you want “a firm ass” and “a flat stomach”? Stay far away from the elliptical!

The answer you are both looking for is eating right and regular strength training. Period. End of story. No arguments.

“But I don’t want to get bulky and manly looki…”

I SAID NO ARGUING MA’AM! (I will dive into the whole fallacy of weight lifting making women look manly another day)

Source: Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

If you are just starting out, try some of our Nerd-Core Fitness workouts (they use your body-weight to start with) and bang out some pullups and burpees. Better yet, read through our Beginner’s Guide to Strength Training and get to a gym.

Whatever it is, get started on a strength training program and slowly increase the intensity/weight as your body becomes acclimated to the workouts. Compound movements (exercises that hit multiple muscle groups at once), heavy weight (don’t go overboard but if you can do more than 15 reps it is probably too light), and proper form – That is what all of you should be focusing on.

Also, ladies, please be aware that the skinny-fat among you are more at risk for osteoporosis!

The less muscle you have, the less work your bones have to do, and they begin to shed incredibly valuable osseous material. Your bones, believe it or not, are a living tissue and require care and feeding just like every other part of your body.You have to feed them, and weight-bearing activity = food for bones!

Unfortunately in this age of cardio fanatics and serial dieters, American women have a high rates of osteoporosis to go with their perpetual state of skinny-fatness.

3) Stop Eating Like Crap

If you have been following this site for any length of time, you know how heavily I preach eating clean and healthy (It is the #2 Law of the Jerd Herd). Respect your body and it won’t let you down.

While you may be able to jam a basket of chicken wings and some nachos into your face without splitting your pants, you and I both know that until you start eating the way you should be you will never really look or feel the way you want to. We know the drill – lean proteins, piles of fresh fruits and veggies, limited whole grains and cutting out as much sugar you can (and if this concept is new to you, read Clean Eating 101 right now!)

Do you think Batman wipes of pizza grease on his cape before swooping in to save the day?!? Of course not, and neither should you.

Do you think you can train yourself to see the difference between lean-and-mean and skinny-fat? I hope so, for your sake! If you need some help getting your diet on track, be sure to check out The Basics of Healthy Eating or How Many Calories Should I Eat, and don’t forget to subscribe to the new YouTube channel, follow us on Facebook or Twitter and be sure to Sign up for our free newsletter! (No spam, I promise!)

(Photo #1 credit,Photo #5 credit)

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