Skinny fat, for men
Skinny fat: what it is and how to fix it
Skinny fat is a normal weight with too little muscle and a soft middle. Most men fix it with a recomp: lift your whole body three days a week, eat 0.8–1 gram of protein per pound, and keep calories near maintenance.
By Kris Oddo, NASM-CPT · Updated
What is skinny fat?
Skinny fat means a normal weight on the scale with too little muscle and too much body fat for your frame. Skinny-fat men typically measure 20–26% body fat, against roughly 12–16% for a lean man, while BMI still reads normal.
In a shirt you look slim. Without one, the waist is soft, the chest and shoulders are flat, and the belly is the first thing you notice. The scale cannot show any of this, because it cannot tell fat from muscle.
That is why the fix is not "lose weight." Most skinny-fat men do not have much weight to lose. They have muscle to build, and a waist that comes down as that muscle goes on.
How do I know if I am skinny fat?
Measure your waist and compare it with your height. A waist more than half your height is the clearest sign, and a review of studies covering more than 300,000 adults found waist-to-height beat both BMI and waist size alone at spotting health risk.
Measure at the navel, relaxed, first thing in the morning. A 70-inch man with a waist over 35 inches is past the line. Add a front and side photo and your best lifts, and you have a starting point the scale cannot give you.
If you want a number for body fat, the calculator below gives an estimate from a few tape measurements. Treat it as a trend line, not a verdict.
Source: Ashwell et al., 2012, Obesity Reviews (PMID 22106927)
Should a skinny-fat man bulk, cut or recomp?
Recomp first, for most men: build muscle and lose fat at the same time. In a trial of 40 young men eating about 40% below their needs, the high-protein group still gained 1.2 kg of lean mass and lost 4.8 kg of fat.
The low-protein group in the same trial gained almost no muscle (0.1 kg) and lost less fat (3.5 kg). These were young men lifting and doing intervals six days a week, so your numbers will differ, but the direction holds: protein and hard lifting, not a bigger deficit.
A hard bulk adds fat to a frame that already carries too much of it. A crash diet strips the little muscle you have and leaves you smaller and just as soft. Recomp avoids both. The exception is a man who is genuinely lean and under-muscled; he needs a small surplus instead.
Source: Longland et al., 2016, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (PMID 26817506)
How much protein does a skinny-fat man need?
Eat 0.8–1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight every day. A review of 49 trials and 1,863 people found muscle gains from lifting stopped improving at about 1.6 g per kg (roughly 0.73 g per pound), so this target clears it with room to spare.
For a 170-pound man that is 136–170 grams a day: four meals of 35–45 grams each, from meat, fish, eggs, Greek yogurt or a shake. Hitting the number most days matters far more than timing it perfectly.
Calories sit at maintenance or a small deficit of 250–400 a day. That is enough for the waist to come down without taking the energy you need to train well.
Source: Morton et al., 2018, British Journal of Sports Medicine (PMID 28698222)
What workout fixes skinny fat?
Lift your whole body three days a week and keep cardio easy. A review of 21 studies found running, but not cycling, cut into the muscle and strength gained from lifting, so walking and easy cycling are the cardio that fits.
Each session: a squat or leg press, a press, a row or pulldown, and a hip hinge. Stop each set with one or two clean reps left, and add a rep or a little weight when your form holds. Monday, Wednesday, Friday is enough.
For cardio, aim for 8,000–10,000 steps a day and one or two easy 20–30 minute rides or walks a week. That supports fat loss without competing with the lifting that builds the shape.
Source: Wilson et al., 2012, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (PMID 22002517)
Is skinny fat the same as being skinny?
No, and they need opposite plans. A skinny man is lean and needs a 300–500 calorie surplus to grow. A skinny-fat man already carries fat, so he eats at maintenance or slightly below and lets the lifting do the building.
The quick test: pinch the skin beside your navel. If there is very little there and your ribs show, you are skinny, and eating more is the hard part of your training. If there is a real pinch and a soft lower belly, you are skinny fat, and a big surplus will only make that worse.
Both men lift the same way. The difference is entirely in the food.
How long does it take to fix skinny fat?
Expect noticeable change in 8–16 weeks of steady lifting and eating. Strength and a smaller waist usually show up first, in weeks 2–4; visible chest, shoulder and stomach definition takes three to six months.
The scale often barely moves during a recomp, because muscle is going on while fat comes off. That is the point where most men quit, and the reason to track your waist, photos and lifts every two to four weeks instead.
If those three are moving in the right direction, the plan is working, whatever the scale says. If they stall for a month, adjust one thing, usually calories or protein consistency, not everything at once.
Every skinny-fat guide on this site
The plans
Check your numbers
The research behind it
Coaching for skinny-fat men
Want the plan built around you?
A skinny-fat recomp is exactly what Kris coaches. 1:1 coaching sets your calories, protein and training from your actual starting point, then adjusts every week. It starts with a short application: three questions, under two minutes.
