The Skinny Fat Solution (3 Causes of Being “Skinny Fat”)

By Adrian| May 14, 2023

What is Skinny Fat?

For 19 years of my life, I was “skinny fat” until I decided to change.

And while there is nothing wrong with being skinny fat, it wasn’t a look I was comfortable with and I wanted to change it.

What is “skinny fat?”

In my clothes, I felt kind of skinny yet when I took my shirt off, I had some belly fat I wanted to lose.

On top of this, I was not confident wearing a short sleeve shirt or taking my top off & I felt insecure in my body.

Some other common traits of being skinny fat include:

· Not Looking Overweight: No one would ever classify you as being “fat” or as someone who has a lot of weight to lose.

· Lack Muscle Definition: You have a lack of muscle across your entire body and don’t have much “shape” or “tone” to your frame.

· (Often) A Relatively Normal Bodyfat Percentage: Your bodyfat percentage isn’t overly high – you just seem to carry some excessive belly fat around your tummy & waist.

· Look “Soft” & Out of Shape: You feel a bit “pudgy” or “chubby” around the edges and would like to trim and tone everything in.

If you’re the same as I used to be – not to worry! Being “skinny fat” is often as a result of one of three things:

1. Not Focusing Enough on Strength Training


  1.       Not Focusing Enough on Strength Training

The root cause of being “skinny fat” comes from having a lack of muscle across your entire body.

And this is often as a result of not having a big enough emphasise on getting stronger in the gym – particularly at the compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, bench press and barbell rows.

Another common cause of being “skinny fat” is lifting lighter weights for higher reps.

Too many people think that lifting in the 15-20 rep range is what will help “tone” your muscles.

While this can help, training exclusively in this rep range is not the most optimal.

2. Inadequate Calorie Intake/Low Protein Diet

2. Inadequate Calorie Intake/Low Protein Diet

On one end of the spectrum (particularly if you are on the “skinnier” side) are the people who simply have been restricting their calories for too long and not eating enough.

I fell into this bracket when I was “skinny fat” which explains the reason why I didn’t have a large amount of muscle mass!

Not to mention – severe calorie restriction can make further fat loss challenging and slow down your metabolism.

On the other end of the spectrum, (particularly if you have more fat to lose) are the people who are not consuming the right number of calories and type of food yet their protein intake is particularly low.

This can make it harder for you to build lean muscle and drop stubborn body fat.

1. Not Focusing Enough on Strength Training


3. Excessive Cardio

There’s nothing wrong with doing cardio (I’m not one of these bros that says you shouldn’t do it - I’m actually a big fan!) but if this makes up the majority of your training, it can contribute to being “skinny fat.”

Remember – being “skinny fat” is as a result of having a lack of muscle across your entire body and by solely just doing cardio, you end up becoming a smaller, “skinnier fat” version of yourself with less muscle.

Doing excessive amount of "HIIT” cardio (e.g. burpees, mountain climbers, spinning classes etc.) and an absence of strength training can also contribute to this.

The Takeaway:

If you have a “skinny fat” body, it’s likely because of:

1.       Not focusing enough on strength training and getting stronger in the gym.

2.       Spending excessive time doing cardio without lifting weights.

3.       An inadequate calorie intake for your specific goals and presumably a low protein diet

Now that we know the 3 common causes of being skinny fat, in

next week’s blog post I’m going to describe:

How to Fix a “Skinny Fat” Body – so stay tuned!

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.

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