3 Ways to Eat Your Way Out of a Skinny Fat Body

If you’re skinny but fat at the same time, you’re in a catch-22 situation. To gain muscle you should, ideally, eat more, but to lose fat you’ve got to eat less. You obviously can’t do both at the same time?

So, what are you going to do?

In our last article, we spelled out just how you need to train to transform your way out of a skinny fat body. But training is only part of the equation. In this article, we focus on how you should eat to lose weight around your middle as you build muscle through your upper body and legs.

Your skinny-fat transformation nutritional plan should be based on the following principles …

By eating fewer calories than you burn off, you will give your body no choice but to draw upon its stored body fat reserves to supply your energy needs.

Eating a high protein diet will allow you to maintain your current level of muscle mass while you are in a caloric deficit. But you will need more protein than that to build new muscle. That is not easy when you are maintaining a caloric deficit, but it must be your goal. As a result, you will focus on high protein, low calorie foods.

The nutrition plan outlined here needs to be done in conjunction with the training program detailed in our companion article.

Here's a plan for women you should try:

And for men:

Unlike guys who are purely focused on gaining muscle, skinny-fat guys shouldn’t eat whatever protein they can get their hands on. You need to prioritize foods that have both a high protein and a low energy (or calorie) count.

The best low calorie high quality protein source is eggs. These also represent a relatively cost-effective form of protein. An average sized egg contains 6 grams of protein. Egg protein is also considered to be the most bioavailable of any protein.

Other good sources of protein that are low in calories are tofu, salmon, trout, mackerel, chicken breast, and bone broth. You should also get your proteins from low calorie vegetables. The best of these are broccoli, asparagus, collard greens, asparagus, and spinach.

As far as how much protein you should take in each day, there is quite a lot of variance among researchers. Most studies, however, give a range of between 0.7 - 1 1 gram per pound of lean body mass. I recommend aiming for 1 gram per pound.

It is important to understand that you should base this on your lean mass rather than your total weight. To work this out, subtract your body fat percentage from your overall weight.

Here’s an example …

Joe weighs 160 pounds, with a 20 percent body fat percentage. His lean mass is 128 pounds (160 - 20%). So he should consume around 129 grams of protein per day.

During the time that you are trying to get rid of body fat, I do not recommend using more than one protein shake per day, as it can be easy to get a lot of calories through these drinks. If you are going to take a protein shake post-workout, make sure that it is low or zero carb and has less than 150 calories. Mix it with water rather than milk.

To lose the stored fat around your middle, you will need to create a caloric deficit in relation to your caloric maintenance level. Your maintenance level is how much you need to maintain your current weight.

There are several ways to work this out. Most of them are based on the Harris-Benedict Formula. To calculate your caloric maintenance level use this calculator.

Now that you know how many calories you need to stay at your current weight, you should reduce that figure by 500 calories.

Let’s go back to our example of Joe …

Joe has worked out that he needs 2,534 calories per day to maintain his current weight. To lose weight he needs to eat around 2000 calories per day.

Joe should eat every 3 hours for a total of 5 meals per day. This will provide a steady flow of protein to his muscles, while also stimulating his metabolism and warding off hunger pangs. I recommend that Joe’s meals be equally sized in terms of calories and protein content. Let’s see what that will look like …

2000 calories per day divided by 5 meals = 400 calories per meal.

128 grams of protein per day divided by 5 meals = 26 grams of protein per meal.

For the first few days, you will have to do some calorie counting to make sure that you are hitting your figures. Use an app like MyFitnessPal to make this easier. A key to success on this plan is to find some basic foods that work for you and stick with them. So, after a while, you will know how many calories in what you’re eating and no longer need to count calories.

The narrative that you need to cut all carbs to lose weight is not correct. Carbs are your body’s preferred source of energy and you will need plenty of energy to fuel your muscle-building workouts. The key is to get the right type of calories into your body.

You need to avoid all processed carbs. That means no pies, cakes, sugary drinks, and sweet desserts. It also means cutting out alcohol, which contains nearly as many calories as fat. Instead, you should include low calorie vegetables and other low glycemic carbs. Here are half a dozen examples …

• Fruit
• Berries
• Green leafy vegetables
• Green Peas
• Oats
• Sweet potatoes

To reshape a skinny fat body, you have got to walk that fine line between caloric reduction and increased protein intake. Here is a sample day’s eating following the recommendations provided in the paragraphs above …

Follow an eating plan similar to this until you have lost the weight around your middle. Don’t, however, rely on the scale to judge your success. You will be adding muscle as you lose fat, so the scale will not be accurate. Instead, use a tape measure and the mirror to gauge your progress. Another option is to make use of a smart scale which includes body composition tabulations.

We also have a dedicated 8-week training and nutrition plan available here:

• Women's 8-Week Strong Foundation: Workout And Meal Plan
• Men's 8-Week Strong Foundation: Workout And Meal Plan