I made crazy gains in six weeks (visually) as a skinny fat person. I was expecting no one to notice until 3 months because that’s what everyone online told me. I went consistently 4 days a week, strict diet, etc. the whole nine yards. No love handles anymore, gut has gone away a lot, noticeably bigger arms (not huge at all tho wanna make that clear), face doesn’t look chubby). I was not expecting this at all this soon tbh
I know one friend told me skinny fat people have the weight already just not in muscle so that might’ve helped as opposed to just being plain skinny. Dieting also probably helped a lot too as I know that can be tough along with being new to the gym.
Really it’s the diet that did it for you. People vastly underestimate what eating correctly and tracking your macros does for hypertrophy and fat loss. Yes, training hard and consistently is important too, but that’s a bit more obvious than the diet part. I saw a massive difference this summer during my prep phase than I did last year, and really down to being more strict on my diet and tracking everything I ate.
Exercise is necessary and great for your body but it's also much easier to just not drink a coke from a fat loss perspective. Then apply it to everything else you eat + combine exercise for added bonus.
"You cannot outrun your fork." - "Abs are made in the kitchen."
If you're overeating, going for a jog 3 times a week for cardio isn't going to do a lot. Your diet is just as important as your training to see proper changes.
1000% correct. Your diet must be dialed in to see any significant changes. Eating clean (fruit, veg, meat, grains, clean dairy) can change your body within days of eating consistently along with exercise. I look forward to my own meals because I cooked it and I don't feel like shit after. I can't eat fast food anymore.
As much as I try, I just can't leave my fingers off chocolate.
Considering I cook fresh every day (mostly veg, meat is badly expensive), have salad twice or thrice a week (usually with some grains) and start my day with oats and milk, do I really have to skip on sweets completely?
No, you just have to learn to moderate it. I LOVE sweets too, so I’ll indulge a little bit here and there. I’m not going crazy eating a whole bag though, and I’ll adjust my carbs elsewhere; less rice or something for dinner.
After a month of locking in my diet and training 4/5 times a week love handles are gone, stomach is flat and I can see my abs for the first time since I was about 10 and I also have an actual shape and chest instead of straight down. Amazing what some discipline and consistency can do.
I'm looking forward to seeing what the difference in 6 months is!
I only ever used to eat lunch and dinner, I'd avoid carbs as much as I could, but had some with dinner. Ate sweets and popcorn every night as it was still within my calorie limit.
Diet now is 40/40/20 (Protein/carbs/fat).
I eat pretty much all whole foods, no sweets or refined sugar, no alcohol. Split over 5 "meals" (3 proper meals, 2 high protein snacks). And I'm running a slight calorie defecit. Muscle definition and fat loss has been remarkable for 5 full weeks training (I'm into my 6th week).
Dudeee yes thanks for this. I'm a skinny/fat guy myself and the arms has always been my biggest insecurity and they aren't growing nearly how I'd like them to 😢
A little over a month and I love wearing t shirts now. Before I was admittedly insecure on how skinny my arms were and wore long sleeves (well I also had a sun allergy but that’s beside the point lol). Once I’m done with my cut to get rid of the gut almost completely I’m gonna start (clean) bulking which will be nice since I love avacados and they have lots of calories
Can I ask you a question since I have you - so when I started this recently like I say skinny fat but I don't know I'm a weird build 😂 anyways my arms and legs have always been like paper thin and I'm you know trying to gain weight as well so when you did it did you just eat whatever? I mean not McDonald's for every meal but you know what I'm saying
Because I'm a hardgainer so I need like 2500 calories a day or something right and it's extremely hard eating that clean I don't think people realize like just fitting time in your day to grab a meal even breaking it into four meals or whatever a day is still difficult
My diet is eating chicken and rice. You want to maintain your protein and actually be either at maintenance or even a cut. Basically what you’re trying to do is re-comp your body so that instead of the weight being in fat it’s in muscle. My arms were very skinny too. I actually now weight slightly less (few pounds) than when I started, but that weight is now distributed in muscle around my back, arms, lats, etc.
So I eat half a pint of chicken and half a pint of rice for lunch. Then eat the other half of the pint for dinner. Also eat two protein yogurts in the morning. You’ll want to track what you eat and make sure you’re hitting your protein goal so you build muscle. Protein should be your priority
Tbh I just looked up a skinny fat routine to start. I did the one by “trainer winny” (I like his drawings lol).
If you’ve never gymed before like me tho you might wanna take it easy the first week or even second. Something I realized that winny points out is people will go HAM their first week, be very sore, then not be motivated to do it again because even subconsciously their mind is telling them they don’t wanna feel this way everyday of the week. Take it easy. The gains will come. Maybe for example doing 3x10 benche, 3x10 incline bench, and idk 4x8 squats you do one set of each. Yes your gym session will be short but the goal is to get into a routine, learn proper form so you don’t injure yourself, etc.
Thanks a ton, and I agree wholeheartedly. I also have anxiety so heart rate up/soreness translates to “something wrong”, so I’ve definitely gone too hard at first and put myself off.
It’s the same thing for when you try to get into running. That’s why couch 2 5k is a very good program. When people try to get into running they go HAM, feel crazy sore the next day (meaning they can’t go for a run) and then give up thinking running just ain’t for them. With the program though it starts you off with lots of walking segments and each week you run for a bit longer than before until finally by the end of the program you are running the whole thing!
I’m not the one you asked, but you can make some serious progress in just a month if you eat 3k plus calories a day, targeting high protein foods. You can use a bulk calculator like this to get an idea of what different amounts of calories will do for you. You don’t have to count calories if you don’t want to, but try to at least keep a mental note of how much you are eating. Some people get super serious about it, counting all the macros and everything, but that isn’t necessary for you.
You don’t have to worry about eating super healthy, and you can eat some garbage calories, but I would recommend eating relatively nutritious because you will feel better and have more energy. You can make some serious progress on a garbage diet though, as long as you get calories and some protein. There is a lot of information online about cheap and easy meals with lots of protein.
Then, of course go to the gym. At least three times a week is preferred, but even once or twice will make a difference.
I was in the same boat as you about two years ago, and I was really surprised what just a month could do. Of course, don’t stop at a month because there is a lot more to do.
Use this link to roughly calculate your caloric intake per day while maintaining weight. Then add 500 if you want to gain weight or subtract 500 if you want to lose it. It'll give you a rough number to work with. There's better tools out there if you plan to really commit but this one is a decent start.
2500 calories should be easy to eat for most people. It doesnt all necessarily need to be clean calories if you aren't trying to get shredded. Calories are calories. Whether you get there with a bread roll (300 cal) or a large salad (300 cal) its the same amount of energy going in. Make sure you eat more then enough protein and keep the calories in check and you'll make a difference decently quick.
Also while clean bulking is tougher there’s way to increase caloric intake without eating 10 meals a day. Avocado for example has lots of calories. Calorie dense foods are what you’re gonna wanna look for. My friends used to put a spoonful of olive oil in their protein shakes for example or peanut butter.
Dirty bulk you will get the calories you need and build muscle (so long as you’re meeting your protein goal), but also gain fat along the way. Plus you probably won’t feel as “good.” Clean bulk you will not gain as much fat. At least that’s how my friend explained it.
Very easy. Olive oil in a protein shake, peanut butter, avocados. All calorically dense. I’m actually excited to bulk cleanly once I’m done cutting the fat in my body to a good level because I’ve been wanting to integrate avocado in my chicken and rice bowls
Biceps are hard to grow, it took me awhile as well! Carbs and protein though, look up a TDEE calculator and figure out out maintenance calories and go from there. +200-300 for growth,-300-500 for weight loss.
Most people first getting into the gym are on the fatter side (I don’t mean that in a judgmental way) and it takes them a good bit of time to make progress that people can visibly notice, but skinny and skinny fat people can make some serious visible progress in their first few weeks (and then the progress starts slowing down, but is still being made). I started skinny and was really surprised what just a month did.
Tbh I just watched “trainer winny” on YouTube. He has a nice way of talking and his drawings kinda made me feel more comfortable if that makes sense lol.
I do his routine. Just make sure to take it easy your first or second week as you will want to get used to GOING to the gym and also learn proper form. Do one set of each workout he lists for example. I think he even mentions this in the same video
Also I’m not afraid to admit the only reason I found the motivation to go is because my gym is down the street to my new place. If it wasn’t I don’t think I would’ve ever worked up the motivation to go. Although now that I’m used to it and I love to gym I think if my gym disappeared I would take the bus to the next closest gym now
You can likely do body recomposition. You just eat at maintenance, your body burns fat and builds muscle at the same time. Be sure to eat a lot of protein, perhaps more than is typically recommended because unlike a bulking athlete who takes in an energy surplus, you’ll be using some of the protein for daily energy needs. This won’t last forever, at some point you should switch to a bulk towards your desired weight.
As for what exactly to do at the gym, I recommend Starting Strength.
Six weeks is definitely enough time for noticeable visual changes when you’re starting from skinny fat, especially with consistent training and diet. The before-and-after difference can show up way sooner than the “wait three months” advice makes it sound.
I remember doing a diet-company thing a couple of decades ago. Less for weight loss and more because it meant less time figuring out what I was going to eat every week.
Because it was one of those places which pushed itself mostly as a weight-loss service, the reps (who all seemed to share the single brain cell) would insist on weighing me each week and going over what I ate. It absolutely mentally wrecked them when I told them I ate the diet... plus a a kilo of steak, an entire chocolate cake, a bunch of bakery items etc... and I was still losing weight.
Of course, I may have forgotten to mention that I'd also taken up some light gym exercise (it honestly wasn't that much). But I was also male and in my twenties, so I was burning a lot more calories than their typical clientele of middle-aged women. It was also slightly hilarious because they kept trying to use stock customer-retention phrases out of their corporate book like "Isn't going down a clothing size great?" (To which my reply would usually be along the lines of "No, now I have the hassle of buying smaller clothes, or just more belts.")
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u/Josh_Butterballs 11h ago
I made crazy gains in six weeks (visually) as a skinny fat person. I was expecting no one to notice until 3 months because that’s what everyone online told me. I went consistently 4 days a week, strict diet, etc. the whole nine yards. No love handles anymore, gut has gone away a lot, noticeably bigger arms (not huge at all tho wanna make that clear), face doesn’t look chubby). I was not expecting this at all this soon tbh
I know one friend told me skinny fat people have the weight already just not in muscle so that might’ve helped as opposed to just being plain skinny. Dieting also probably helped a lot too as I know that can be tough along with being new to the gym.