Skinny Fat

I've recently discovered the concept of "skinny fat." There are a number of articles online that describe what skinny fat is and what goes into it, but it's basically this -- by weight standards and BMI, you appear to be healthy, but you still have a high body fat percentage. In other words, you look great in clothes, but as you begin to peel off the layers (read: bathing suits!), things aren't as fit and trim as you might think (or hope for!).


Unfortunately, I've come to realize that I fall into the category of skinny fat (or at least, it wouldn't take much to get there). I don't know that I've been skinny fat for the duration of my years on maintenance, but I think I've drifted that way over the past year or two. I suspect that I've reached this point for a number of reasons -- my eating habits have gotten a little lax lately and, though I've been going to the gym, a good chunk of the past year was spent focusing on running (to train for my first 5K last June). While there's nothing wrong with running (and cardio in general), my downfall was that I stopped weight training in lieu of spending more of my gym time on the treadmill. As I now realize, weight training is one of the keys to being fit, instead of just skinny. Without pushing and developing your muscles, the flab stays flabby.


And so, that's where I am today. Seeking to turn my skinny body into a fit one. As best as I can tell through my very un-scientific Google search for online body fat percentage calculators, I seem to have approximately 24-26% body fat, which I don't think is horrible but leaves room for improvement. I'm also currently about 3 pounds heavier than my initial goal weight that I set when first losing weight. 


That said, my new goal is this: in 6 weeks (March 11), I will be celebrating my four-year anniversary of reaching my WW goal weight. Between now and then, I would like to 1) reduce my body fat percentage (that is, tone up from where I am now) and 2) return to my goal weight. While those two goals can actually work against each other (muscle weighs more than fat), I think they are reasonable goals. I'll be able to measure goal number 1 through body fat percentage and body measurements; goal 2 will be tracked through my home scale. I'll keep you posted on my progress!