Moving beyond skinny fat

[leon_guillot]

Hey everyone,

I have been reading NF for a while, and finally built up the motivation (and free time) to finally transform my body to what I want. I have been skinny fat my whole life, and got a lot of shit for it. I look skinny in clothes but in high school kids made fun of me when I took my shirt off for having man boobs. Not great for my self esteem. Since then I've developed bad posture and haven't really worked out very seriously ever, apart from doing some serious distance running in high school.

I've started the Rebel Strength guide and have been enjoying my time in the gym. I actually relish the feeling of tiredness I carry in muscles I didn't even know I had. One issue I'm having is not knowing what to do in terms of bulking v. cutting. There is a lot of conflicting information on the internet, and I am confused. I am also probably over thinking things. I have a belly and man boobs, but with almost no muscles on my upper body. My legs are pretty developed so I look like one of those Russian dolls with only the top half taken off. As is fitting my European heritage, I have a proclivity for fine food, but tolerate healthy eating most of the time...

My current stats:

weight: 173 lbs

height: 6'1"

fat%: (from the accumeasure caliper) 21-22

And my workouts and most recent weights are:

pull ups 5x5 with 120 lbs assistance, can't totally finish the last two sets

dead lifts 5x5 45lb bar + 50lbs weight - 95lbs (could probably go higher, I'm trying not to injure myself just yet)

squats 5x5 45lb bar + 20lbs = 65lbs (could probably go heavier, see above)

overhead press 5x5 45lb bar. This was really working muscles I completely lacked, but I was just barely able to do full sets with the bar, while maintaining decent form.

I am looking for some good advice, motivation, and cheer from the forum. I look forward to meeting everyone.

[MintyFresh]

How long have you been working out like this and how often do you lift? Sometimes it just takes time to see the changes in your body. I'd try to be patient, keep eating clean (make sure you really are consistent with healthy foods-sometimes we think we're eating well but a lot of junk food can sneak in) & keep going with weights! Slowly increase your weights as long as you're not sacrificing form, especially at the end of sets. You'll start to notice the difference after a while. Good luck & welcome to the Rebellion.

[leon_guillot]

Thanks for your reply. I have been working out for a week now. I know it takes a while for good things to happen, and I should say that the mental products of lifting only a week have been quite positive.

[erawka]

Fellow skinny-fatty here, and I've only been lifting for a month or two (and I've only been haunting NF forums for a matter of weeks). I can already see an improvement! I definitely had to reset that progress when I realized I was sacrificing form for higher weights. If you're diligent, you'll see the strength gains come quickly!

Welcome!

[MintyFresh]

Oh yeah, give it time, you'll see a lot of changes! It takes me at least a few weeks to start seeing any difference in appearance. And that's a year or so into maintaining a weight removal that trimmed enough fat to finally give me some muscle tone. Keep up that lifting!