What should you do if you’re skinny fat?
The problem is that you don’t want to cut (or lose weight) and look skinnier.
And you also don’t want to bulk (or gain weight) and look any softer.
I’ve done a decent job of dealing with the excess fat I carried, and building muscle on the skinny frame I had…
But I wish I’d done things differently, and saved myself a lot of time and headache along the way.
So, in order to give you the complete picture of where you’re at, and what to do next…
Let’s look at:
what skinny fat actually means
the 3 skinny fat silver bullets I ignored early in my fitness journey
your plan for the next 90 days
and how to work toward your dream physique long term
Defining Skinny Fat
Skinny fat isn’t a precise term.
It’s a range.
People who are skinny fat don’t have much muscle compared to people with a similar height and weight to them, but have a noticeable amount of body fat.
Not particularly muscular or lean, just kind of average physique but with extra softness, especially in the belly area.
You might describe your body like an old honda civic.
It’s not a terrible thing to look at, but it’s nothing special from the outside.
But if you know anything about cars, you know that there’s potential for something great to happen there.
Now let’s get into the first skinny fat silver bullet:
Bullet 1: You’re Fine
A big part of overcoming this whole ‘skinny fat’ curse that you’ve placed on yourself is realizing that it’s not that big of a deal.
Seriously, everything is going to be alright – your body doesn’t determine your worth in this world.
You care more about it than anyone else.
There are literally billions of amazing people on this planet who don’t give a shit about their appearance, muscularity, or leanness.
You think Beethoven gave a fuck about his body fat percentage?
No.
There’s so much more to life than how much fat and muscle you have.
But if you want to make some changes, that’s cool.
You’ll want to start or continue lifting weights, with a focus on growing new muscle.
Bullet 2: Building Muscle
The second silver bullet.
This should be a priority for someone who is skinny fat.
Because muscle is like compound interest in the game of fitness.
Build it as early as possible, and it will benefit you for years to come.
It’s never too late or too early to start.
It’s a thousand tiny inputs that grows over time
And once you’ve got it, it’s very hard to lose.
Even if you carry a bit more fat, but have more muscle, you’re just THICC.
Even with a bit of a wider waist, but with broader shoulders, some traps, and meatier arms… Thick fit is a good look.
Muscle fixes a LOT.
And if you decide to lose fat later, you’ll get that awesome fitness model look.
Think of it like a house.
If you have an extremely well built house with proper plumbing, architecture, design, and electrical work – it’s not the end of the world if the house is a little messy inside.
The house is still incredible.
And cleaning up the house is a breeze compared to building a whole new one.
Building muscle is the long term play that makes your physique look better at EVERY body fat percentage.
I don’t want to get too nitty gritty here, but here’s a brief summary of what you need to know to have productive workouts:
5 Muscle Building Training Principles
Most people don’t see results because they ignore the fundamental principles of training to build muscle.
There’s a reason you hear this advice everywhere – it’s because it works.
And if you’re not taking notes right now, what are you doing?
Nothing I’m about to tell you matters without you doing it consistently:
So find a training plan you can stick to – even if that’s just 2 or 3 workouts per week to start.
Stick with a handful of exercises for at least 6-8 weeks before swapping them out.
Changing it up constantly is like trying to write a novel but jumping around from chapter to chapter every time you sit down to write.
Your workouts should have continuity, building on the previous sessions.
Exercise Selection: Focus on basic movements like squats, deadlifts, pressing, pulling, bicep, and tricep movements. They’re highly effective, and time-tested.
Your goal is to gradually increase the reps and weights you use on these exercises over time.
That’s called progressive overload.
If you can take your barbell curl from 45 lb for 10 reps to 85 lb for 15 reps, your biceps will certainly have grown.
While you’re doing those reps, you’ll want to lift in a way that targets the muscles you’re trying to grow without bothering your joints or connective tissue.
So play around with your technique by adjusting your hand position, foot position, machine settings, or attachments until you find something that works for you.
Once you’ve got a nice stable exercise that really hammers the muscle, just keep doing patient reps.
The muscle will start to burn.
It will start to get tired, and feel uncomfortable.
That’s the point where you continue pushing.
Double down on the effort you’re giving.
Continue controlling the weights, all the way down.
Keep pushing HARD until you get to the point where you can’t do any more quality reps, or just leave 1 or 2 reps in the tank for stuff that might fall on you.
It will be hard, but it’s necessary for growth.
Follow these guidelines, and you’ll start noticing results you can actually see in the mirror.
Clothes will start to fit and feel different on your body.
But you’ll never see the muscle and definition show up the way you want it to if you only focus on working out.
So what should you do outside of the gym to support muscle growth?
Bullet 3: A Lean Lifestyle
The final silver bullet.
Training is the spark that tells your body it’s time to build muscle.
Your diet and lifestyle is the tinder that burns afterward.
They permit the changes you’re encouraging your body to make while you’re in the gym.
Training hard and properly in the gym without getting your diet and recovery in check is like sending a bunch of construction workers to a job site and telling them to build a building without giving them any supplies or tools.
When it comes to your lifestyle, there are two factors that affect your ability to build muscle and lose fat more than anything else.
The first is your sleep.
If you’re not sleeping well, life sucks, you’ll carry more fat, and build less muscle.
We covered this in last week’s letter, Why You’re Tired All the Time
With sleep, you’ll get the most benefit from consistently getting adequate sleep quantity and quality.
Not everyone needs the same amount of sleep, so you might feel great on 6 hours, or on 9 hours.
But extending your sleep is a pretty effective way to get hurt less in the gym, build more muscle, and lose more fat.
Spend 1 hour extra in bed each night this week, and see how that feels.
With sleep quality, you’ll want to keep your room dark and cool like a cave. Avoid screens for 1 hour before bed.
Only use your bed for sleep and sex.
Use any combination of melatonin, earplugs, an eye mask, white noise, aromatherapy, or deep breathing before bed to help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.
The second factor to consider is your stress management.
For stress management, you’ll want to avoid stressful situations like taking on too much work when possible.
Find a good stress outlet that relaxes you.
Even 10-15m of deep breathing each day with eyes closed, in a comfortable position, can be a huge deal.
I find spending mindful time with my dog or my girlfriend to be a powerful destresser.
All else being equal, the person who manages their sleep and stress better will build significantly more muscle and store less body fat.
It also just makes life so much better.
When you sleep better you’re less stressed.
When you’re less stressed you sleep better.
These two are the most underrated results multipliers when it comes to body composition.
They’re positive results multipliers when you do them well.
And negative when you don’t.
So choose wisely.
What should you eat if you’re skinny fat?
Every time you sit down to eat, there should be a protein-dense food on your plate.
For men, you’re looking at 1-2 palm sized portions of protein on your plate.
Anywhere from 2-4 meals per day will work just fine.
If you’re tracking your protein intake, then you’ll want to be in the neighborhood of 0.7 g to 1 g of protein per pound of body weight.
You’ll feel a lot more energized by eating mostly healthy foods.
Think whole foods like lean meats, fish, eggs, dairy, legumes, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
Junk food, snacks, and treats are fine in moderation – in the next section, I’ll hshow you how to tell if you’re eating too much of those.
As for hydration, just drink when you’re thirsty and you’ll be good in 99% of cases.
Should you bulk or cut if you’re skinny fat?
The truth is – probably neither.
Here’s why:
Your 90 day plan
When you’re starting out, aim to eat at maintenance calories.
This means you’re eating enough to hold your weight steady.
Not gaining. Not losing.
You might see a 2 or 3% fluctuation in either direction, but overall the trend is staying about the same.
Enough food and protein fuel your workouts and support muscle growth but not so much that you’re gaining any fat.
In most cases, you’ll start building muscle while losing some fat (recomp).
My free guide Body Recomp 101 covers this in more detail.
You’ll also learn to manage your nutrition and training properly without the added stress of a fat loss diet on top of it all.
The goal is here to get you into a consistent routine of eating well, training hard, and sleeping well.
This is something that I overlooked, and just jumped directly into a hardcore weight loss approach before getting my fundamentals in check first.
Eat at maintenance for at least three months before moving on to anything else.
And it doesn’t matter if it’s not perfect right off the bat, because of what comes next.
Monitor Your Progress
During this 3 months of maintenance, I want you to monitor your progress to keep an eye on how things are going.
This is another crucial skill for getting long term results.
Otherwise you might change things that are already working.
Or keep working on something that isn’t working.
Track your workouts by keeping a training log.
Track the exercises, weights, sets, and reps you do.
Track your diet by journaling your food intake.
That will ensure you’re getting enough protein and keeping a consistent calorie intake.
If you’re not maintaining weight after 2 weeks, you can adjust calories up or down by 10%.
Then wait another 2 weeks before adjusting again.
Track your body measurements by weighing yourself daily or at least 2 x / week.
You can also use a tape measure once a month on your waist, biceps, and wherever else you want to keep track of.
Track your visual progress by taking progress photos once per month to see how your progress is coming along.
The Recomp Phase
Now that you’ve done 3 months of maintenance, it’s time to make your big choice.
Don’t pull your hair out about this choice, because both roads lead to the same place.
After 3 months of maintenance calories and training with weights, you might find that you’re looking better and better.
Firmer. Tighter. Leaner. More defined.
That’s because you’re undergoing body recomposition, or “recomp,” which means you’re gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time.
Again, Recomp 101 for the free guide on this.
If you’re feeling good about the progress you’re making, just keep doing exactly what you’re doing.
Another 3 months, 6 months, or even a year at maintenance calories.
Getting stronger in the gym
Sleeping well
Eating enough protein
You will continue to make all kinds of awesome progress.
But after the 3 months, 6 months, or a year of consistent training and healthy eating, you might really want to shed the excess fat you’re holding.
That’s when it’s time to do a cut.
The Cut Phase
Here’s how to do it:
You’re going to keep doing all the productive habits you were using before.
Training to build muscle in the gym.
Keeping protein intake high.
Sleeping well and managing stress.
But now you’ll aim to lose 0.5% to 1% of your weight per week.
A smart fat loss rate like this helps you lose fat while preserving muscle mass.
Now drop your calorie intake by about 20-30% from your maintenance level.
Plan to stick with this for 8-10 weeks.
Pick a start date and an end date.
Then get to work.
If you want my 45-Day Fat Loss Plan – Four Point Fat Loss
Protein. Calories. Steps. Bodyweight.
That’s The Four Point Fat Loss Framework I’ll teach you inside.
Your Dream Body
After you finish your fat loss diet, or your recomp, it’s up to you where you go from here.
In any case… you’ll keep training, and stick with your new healthy habits.
Depending on how you feel about your progress, you have 3 choices:
Maintain: Keep your current routine to sustain your results.
Bulk: Start a slow muscle gain phase if you want more muscle mass.
Cut further: Another fat loss phase after a maintenance period of 4-6 weeks.
The advice on how to fix a skinny fat physique is shared widely on the internet.
But nobody seems to follow through with it.
Here’s what you need to do:
Focus for the next 3 months.
Pick one plan to follow for your food and workouts.
Ignore other fitness information.
Get consistent.
Develop healthy habits.
Build muscle.
Lose fat when you’re ready.
Then maintain, cut further, or bulk.
Commit to doing this properly, and you’ll be glad you did.
Even though you won’t see progress instantly, you need to stick with it.
A lot of the gains you’re making are under the surface, and will continue to show up when you least expect it.
You’ll keep learning, improving, and solving problems as you go.
Then boom, one day you wake up and it seems like an overnight success.
Basically exactly what happened to my YouTube channel 🙂
Thank you so much for reading, as always.
Hope you have an excellent weekend.
– Matteo
PS: If you have 20+ lb of fat to lose…
Check out Fifty for Fifty.
It’s our group coaching program for guys who want to lose fat, build muscle, and upgrade their lives in the process.
The energy in the group is awesome, and I’m in there coaching guys daily.
