Are You Skinny Fat?

Even if you're not overweight, you may still be skinny fat. Here's what you need to know about this common condition.

There are plenty of people whose weight is low or normal based on Body Mass Index (BMI) or height and weight charts, but they're actually not very fit or healthy.

This is because they're skinny fat, which means they have poor body composition - a high amount of body fat compared to the amount of lean mass (muscle, bones etc.).

For example, a 5'5", 110 pound woman with 35% body fat would be considered underweight based on BMI, but almost 40 pounds of her total weight is body fat.

People whose weight is low or normal but who have a high amount of body fat have the same increased risk for health problems such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease as people who are overweight.

In addition to increased health risks, people whose weight is low or normal but who have a high amount of body fat have flabby, unattractive bodies. They look okay in clothes, but they don't look very good in a bathing suit or when naked.

Many people are skinny fat because they lead an unhealthy lifstyle, and a lot of overweight people end up skinny fat because they go about losing weight the wrong way - they go on a very low calorie diet and do little or no exercise.

When you go on a very low calorie diet, your body reacts to the drastic reduction in calories by going into starvation mode. Once your body is in starvation mode, your metabolism slows down, you lose muscle as your body starts using muscle for energy, and your body starts holding on to its fat stores instead of using the fat for energy.

Yes you can lose a lot of weight quickly by going on a very low calorie diet, but much of the weight loss will be muscle and water, not body fat, resulting in a thinner body, but one that's flabby, unattractive and unhealthy.

The most effective way to lose body fat is to combine a fat loss nutrition plan with a fat loss exercise routine. When you combine a fat loss nutrition plan with a fat loss exercise routine, the result will be not just a leaner body, but a fitter, healthier, more attractive body.