The “Skinny Fat” Fix (3 Ways to Fix a “Skinny Fat” Body)

By Adrian| May 21, 2023

What Causes Being “Skinny Fat”

In last weeks blog post, we spoke about the three biggest contributing factors to being “skinny fat” came down to:

· Not focusing enough on strength training

· Doing excessive amounts of cardio and

· Inadequate calorie intake

Now that we know what causes it, here are 3 ways we can “fix” it:

1) Lift Heavy Weights and Focus on Getting Stronger

A starting point for everyone who is “skinny fat” should be to focus on lifting “heavy” and getting stronger in the gym.

Lifting “heavy” is subjective but I personally find my muscles feel “firmer” when I lift within the 3-8 rep range for compound lifts.

So, I would not shy away from doing exercises like Squats, Deadlifts, Bench Pressing, Barbell Rows, Chin Ups, Lunges and Overhead Press in the 3-8 rep range.

Compound lifts should make up at least 50% of your training volume starting out.

The remainder can be made up of lighter, accessory lifts like bicep curls and tricep pushdowns etc.

A common mistake people make however is doing too much of the “pump” work and not enough of the big, compound lifts.

A good way to make progress with them is to track your lifts of these exercises in the gym and focus on progressing each week

by adding more weight or doing more reps/sets over each training cycle.

Finally, I would suggest you follow a program so you’re not constantly spinning your wheels.

Too often, people change their workout routine too frequently because they saw something cool on YouTube or Instagram and no two workouts are ever the same.

Find a program to follow and see it out until the end.

Case Study 1: Alan, Aged 30

Alan would previously have been going the gym for up to 90 minutes per session but never was fully sure what to do and he felt a bit overwhelmed from all the information online.

We got him doing a combination of heavy lifting, muscle building work and even sprinkled in some cardio and he built his leanest ever physique in 12 weeks.

2). Reduce Cardio

Reduce your overall cardio if you are someone who was previously doing excessive amounts.

I’m not saying to eliminate cardio completely – executed properly it can in fact indirectly improve your ability to build muscle because you will be able to get more training done in a shorter period of time.

When cardio becomes excessive, that is the problem.

A general guideline would be to adhere to a 1:4 Cardio : Strength Training Ratio if building muscle & dropping some body fat is your main goal.

Case Study 2: Michaela, Aged 25

Michaela would previously have been going to “HIIT” classes and done a lot of running and cardio.

We got her lifting weights and focused on building strength.

She got to a point where she was able to squat her bodyweight for reps.

3). Adjust Your Calories Accordingly

Before we decide how many calories you need to eat, ask yourself these two questions:

· What is your current bodyfat percentage?

· What’s most important for you right now – to build more lean muscle or reduce stubborn bodyfat?

Your answer to the above two questions will allow you to get more specific – I will offer some general guidelines.

If your bodyfat percentage is higher than 15% for men and 25% for women, you would probably be better of focusing on following

step 1 – reducing bodyfat first.

If your bodyfat percentage is lower than 15% for men and 25% for women, you would probably be better of focusing on step 2 – body recomposition.

Step 1: Focus on Reducing Bodyfat First & Then Building Muscle

If you feel you have more bodyfat to lose than muscle to build, I would start here.

Find out what your maintenance calories are by searching online for a TDEE calculator (e.g. Harris Benedict Formula) and reduce that by about 10-20%.

Example: Your estimated maintenance calories are 2,500 subtract 20% (500) = 2,000 calories per day.

Step 2: Focus on Body Recomposition (Build Muscle & Drop Bodyfat)

If you feel you have more muscle to build than bodyfat to lose (like me when I started out) I would start here.

Find out what your maintenance calories are by searching online for a TDEE calculator (e.g. Harris Benedict Formula) and keep your calories around (or slightly lower) than your maintenance.

Example: Your estimated maintenance calories are 2,500 so eat around this amount (e.g. 2,300-2,500) per day.

Regardless of whether you follow step 1 or step 2, some universal principles you can also adhere to include:

· Eating around 2g of protein per Kg of BW

e.g. 80kg x2 = 160g of protein

· Following the 80/20 principle (80% calories from “whole foods” & 20% from “processed foods”).

· Drinking around 40-50ml of water a day per Kg of BW e.g 80Kg x40/50ml = 3.2 Litres/4 Litres per day.

Case Study 3: Darren, Aged 30

When Darren & I Started working together, we got him eating more food which gave him more energy to train harder and recover faster.

In the space of 12 weeks, as you can see, he managed to drop bodyfat and build muscle (body recomposition).

The Takeaway:

If you have a “skinny fat” body:

1. Focus on pursuing strength and getting stronger in the gym.

2. Spend a lot of time getting good at and practicing the compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, chin ups, overhead press, bench press etc.

3. Reduce your cardio if you do a significant amount (or at least ensure you’re doing cardio + weights).

4. If you have more bodyfat to lose than muscle to build (above 15% bodyfat +), drop bodyfat firstly by being in a calorie deficit.

5. If you are below 15% bodyfat, focus on building muscle and losing bodyfat by eating around your maintenance calories or even being in a slight calorie surplus.

Thank you for reading – I hope you learned something new and got some value from this.

Free 3-Day Total Body Training Program:

Depending on your goal, I have some free resources which might be of benefit to you.

If you’d like a copy of my free, 3-day Total Body Transformation Program click HERE! (Enjoy the core finisher!).

If you’d like a copy of my Free Living Lean Cookbook to prove to you that it’s possible to eat foods you enjoy and get results, click HERE.

(Try out some EPIC protein pancakes!).

And if you’d like access to my Free 7 Day Fat Loss Accelerator (which has helped some members drop up to 7lbs inside 7 days),
click HERE and it will be sent straight to your email.

I hope these free resources help you!

1:1 Online Coaching Application

If you’d like a coach to help get you out of a routine that isn’t currently working for you and into one that will , then book your
free consultation call today to see if you’d be a good fit for my Online Coaching.

This is where having the structure and accountability of a coach comes in. I’ll help you get the results you’ve always desired and
make your journey much easier and quicker than doing it on your own.

You’re just one click away of becoming a success story.

About Adrian McDonnell & McLifestyle Fitness:

IAdrian McDonnell is a highly specialised Personal Trainer & Online Fitness Coach from outside of Tuam, Co.Galway, Ireland.

Previously a primary school teacher for almost 5 years, Adrian followed his passion and pursued a career in fitness after seeing first hands the results he could achieve with himself.

Although Adrian is a Personal Trainer & now Full-Time Online Transformation Fitness Coach from outside of Tuam, Co.Galway – he not only coaches clients locally, but also nationally and internationally.

Adrian specialises in helping working professionals:

- Be confident in themselves·
- Feel more comfortable in their clothes·
- Look better in the mirror·
- Increase their energy and go for more promotions at work·
- Get fitter, leaner & stronger without following rigid meal plans·
- Go on more dates (this is a common one)·
- And feel proud of themselves for doing something they never thought was possible!

To date he has helped Transform over 500 Clients into fitter, more toned & confident individuals.

Transforming people’s lives through proper fitness, sustainable & enjoyable nutrition practices & mindset mentoring is something Adrian is truly passionate about and this is his mission in life.

Want to find out more? Contact me today & I’ll answer any questions you have.

Read Last Week's Post

The "Skinny Fat" Solution (3 Common Causes of being "Skinny Fat")