Skinny fat to skinny fatter?

I’m looking for some clarification and advice on how to become more fit and healthy. I’m 21F who weighs 145lbs at 5’4. Like many other skinny fat people, I don’t look fat with clothes on, but I’m covered in cellulite and fat. I’m currently at my biggest and am confused as to why.

Since COVID, I’ve really struggled with weight fluctuations and proper dieting. In 2020, I started riding a stationary bike doing resistance training every other day for an hour or hour and a half. I saw minimal results, lower fat to muscle ratio but still undefined muscle and a prominent layer of fat. I did this until late 2021 when I went off to college. Late 2021, I was at my lowest weight at 125, but was still skinny fat. I was so stressed with the transition to college that I was only eating an eggo waffle, scrambled eggs, and peanut butter crackers every day in small quantities. It was a very noticeable change and friends and family commented on how skinny I was; however I still looked healthy, even going to a doctor who said I was perfectly healthy weight and composition. I didn’t really have negative side effects to this horrible diet, but I was definitely unhealthy and had little muscle.

Cut to now. I slowly started gaining weight in fat in 2023. I was eating more than I had been in 2021, but was definitely still in a deficit. I’ve started counting my calories and realized I am severely under the recommended, like 800 calories under the recommended deficit for weight loss (1800). My friends always comment on how little I eat, but I don’t feel hungry very often and sometimes eat sugary snacks, so I thought I was overeating. I’ve always read that you only gain weight if you’re eating in surplus, so I assumed I was just eating too much.

Many of the other women in my family are overweight, having a lot of fat compared to muscle, and they also don’t eat very much. I’ve had my thyroid checked, although the doctors didn’t test each hormone, but they said I was fine and just “slowing down with age”—I’m 21!

I’ve been reading a lot which says I need to increase my protein intake and cut out added sugars, which I’m currently trying to do but haven’t done long enough to see results, but there is also a huge emphasis on strength training. I’m a full time college student with two part-time jobs, and I just don’t have the time or money to get to the gym. I used to love working out at home, but I have no energy after a long day at school and work. Maybe the lack of energy is diet, and I should eat more, but I fear gaining even more fat if I increase my caloric intake. I was walking 10,000 steps a day late last year into this year, but got so demotivated.

TLDR: I used to be visibly skinny but “healthy”, but I was eating dangerously low like 400 calories a day. Suddenly started gaining fat and look and feel unhealthily large when I started eating more, but still at a calorie deficit. I’m trying to eat more protein and cut sugars, but I just can’t seem to hit the recommended caloric intake for one pound a week weight loss plan. I know I’m not sneakily eating stuff that’s high in calories and lying to myself, so what gives?

My questions are:

Should I be eating more in general to see fat loss or will I just retain even more fat?

Is exercise more important than diet if you’re skinny fat? I’ve always heard it was 80% diet 20% exercise?

Why am I retaining so much fat if I’m truly at a deficit? Am I not really burning calories because I’m pretty sedentary?

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Frustrating Conversation with Surgeon

I just got off the phone with a surgeon and the conversation was so disheartening. Sorry if there's any gross details. If you don't want to hear about bowel stuff, maybe stop reading.

I'm 35F, and have lost 80lbs or so over the last year (220lbs -> 140lbs, 5'5"). It's been a tough battle, but worth it and rewarding. I've really focused on eating super clean healthy foods in reasonable amounts and working on my fitness. I even ran my first half marathon!

My family doctor referred me to a surgeon to do a colonoscopy after I complained to her about hemorrhoids being super painful. She said it was just a precaution. Either way, I just got off the phone with the surgeon for a consult, who asked a bunch of screening questions, including about any weight loss. I told him about it. While he had seemed undecided until then whether it was required or recommended or not, he said he definitely wanted to do the exam in that case.

He did ask if the weight loss was intentional or not, and I explained that I had worked super hard at it, but he said that "80 lbs is more than most people can lose intentionally." It felt so dismissive of everything I've worked for.

I'll be crushed if I thought I was working through this on my own and it turns out there's actually something wrong with me.

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Feeling inspired, and wanted to share with others who might be in the same boat!

I get a lot of inspiration from this community, so whenever I can share something that might encourage others, I rush over here to do so! In 2020, I was 195lbs at 5’9. Through portion control and exercise, I worked my way down to 143. My life exploded in several ways and I got back up to 172. I am now at 166, with a goal of getting to a 150-155 range.

Well, I was on a walk today and decided to listen to the Half Size Me podcast. In the episode, she was talking about how we often don’t think about how we could’ve gained all the weight back, instead we focus on our lowest. So for example, instead of me being proud of myself because I was able to recognize what was happening at 172 and started to make my way back down, I often am disappointed that I’m no longer at my lowest. I don’t think about how great it is that I’m not back at 195 or even higher.

This just felt like a great motivator and inspired me to continue forward, and be proud of myself because I did several things right and have maintained about a 30 pound weight loss for 4 years now, even through the hardest times of my life. The several things I did right: kept exercising (inconsistently but I did), portion control and not going back for seconds (again inconsistently but I did), and weighing in weekly.

I hope this helps others who have also gained some weight back. You might not be at your lowest, but you’re also not at your highest- and that is amazing!

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Should I report my female coworkers for consistently bullying me for my weight loss?

I’m a 28 year old woman who got up to 215lbs due to drinking, depression, and fast food. It’s taken me two years of sobriety and lifestyle changes, but I am now 130lbs at 5’8. I think because of the alcohol, I carried the weight horribly and was EXTREMELY bloated, especially in my face. I actually looked sickly. Now, I have never felt better in my life physically or mentally and my desire to drink is almost completely gone. I don’t need booze or McDonald’s to get dopamine anymore.

I’m a nurse, and many of my coworkers are the same weight I used to be. I don’t concern myself with other peoples weight and only noticed this because of their obsession with mine. I thought the novelty of my weight loss would get boring to them, but there are comments made every single day about it. For months. I’ve started to wear multiple layers of baggy clothes, but it doesn’t work, as evidenced by my coworker coming up to me, lifting up my shirt, and saying “wow look at your ribs!” in front of the entire floor of staff and patients. Here are some more examples of what is occurring on a daily basis:

-A female coworker casually asked me if I’m “starving myself” in front of my other coworkers -A female coworker grabbed my butt and told me I’m losing weight in the “wrong places” -Another female coworker told me that my “bra must be empty now” in front of my male colleagues -They will take food from our MANY potlucks and put it at my computer without asking -A female coworker said loudly “stand beside (another coworker) and lift up your shirts, I need to see which of you is more skinny” -A female coworker randomly told me that my boyfriend will leave me for a “real woman” after a patient had passed and I was just trying to get through my shift without crying -I was publicly asked by a female coworker if I “steal ozempic” I think it was a joke, but I don’t find these funny at work.

What I don’t understand, is that there are many women who are much slimmer than me. Yet they don’t receive this same attention publicly (that I have noticed). Maybe it’s because they have been slim their entire employment? Now, I am almost wondering if I should report this behaviour, or if that’s just being childish. I genuinely don’t know what to do and the social anxiety it’s giving me almost makes me want to drink again after my shifts. Luckily I am past that point, just not sure how to move forward. I appreciate any and all advice. If someone had told me two years ago I’d be upset at people commenting on my weight loss, I wouldn’t have believed you. But here I am.

I have been vocal in my responses to these comments, and have gotten some great advice from this sub on how to shut them down. Sadly no matter how vocal I am, it isn’t working in getting them to leave me alone.

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Stalling from High Fiber?

I have always had problems with my appetite on the weekends due to meds. I usually eat around 7000-10000 calories in one weekend because I am so hungry. However, I usually end up losing 1-1.5 pounds after each week because I exercise and eat well on the weekdays.

I was excited to find that eating 130-150g of fiber per day on the weekends satiated me enough to the point where I was okay with eating only 4000-5000 calories in one weekend. I eat 3 pounds of berries and 7-10 slices of Hero Bread to get up to that much fiber. I probably eat only 20-25g of fiber per weekday.

However, I have stalled in my weight loss. I've heard that low carb bread stalls weight loss. What could the biochemical reason behind this? Could it just be the uneven consumption of fiber? Too much fiber? Or is it the hero bread?

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([vent] having mixed feelings about losing ~70lbs (428 ? - 359lbs)

basically i started working a labor intensive job at a warehouse, and that increased my steps to anywhere between 7-13k, and sometimes even up to 24k steps per day while lifting and rushing constantly. i only track the steps because quantifying the lifting would just stress me out even more and make me spiral. afaik my typical calorie needs are somewhere just short of 4000 when accounting for weightlifting. when i first started, i was easily burning over 5,000 calories a day and was absolutely gorging myself because i was so ravenous. so even now it’s still not terribly difficult to stay in somewhat of a deficit. i basically track by the hundreds and try not to go over 3500, making peace with going over some days. i try to max my protein and get enough fiber, and don’t stress to much about anything else including sugar.

my first 2.5 months i lost (based on my “starting weight”) 35lbs. 2.5 months later, i’ve somehow at least doubled that.

i’ve been told i look like i’ve lost weight. my “before” weight of 428 was definitely not even my highest….i would venture to guess i was probably headed toward 450 at my worst. just weighed myself and am at 359……it feels a little unbelievable to me. i can see that my pants are too loose to wear without a belt, and my arms have a little extra loose skin, but i feel like i look almost exactly the same. granted, 70(ish) lbs will not look as dramatic on me as it would another person. but still. i’ve also gained muscle, and i have no idea how to even factor that in.

i don’t know. i’m anxious about where the plateau will come. my goal weight tbh was 350. if i hit that….325? could i ever be under 300? that feels INSANE. i haven’t been under 300 since high school (26 now). i’m terrified of ever getting a new job and gaining it all back. idk.

i feel awkward trying to talk to anyone about it. i feel proud of/happy about my weight loss, and want to continue, but even when receiving praise, i constantly feel like my weight is all anyone ever sees about me. i’m also nervous because i feel that it’s bordering unhealthy - especially after the initial loss, the fact that it’s still this consistent is shocking to me. about 2 weeks ago the scale said 370. idk if i was bloated that day or sm just low on fluid today (walked 13 miles). i’m afraid i wouldn’t be taken seriously by my pcp because of course they want me to lose weight. in a way, it’s isolating

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I just had my first (of 3) skin removal surgery- thought some may find my experiences useful

Hello /r/loseit,

I've been a long-time member, mostly lurker, of this supportive community/subreddit. My highest known weight as measured on a doctor's office scale was 338 lbs (153 kg) and I'm a female who is 5'8" tall (172 cm). My method of weight loss was/is CICO via logging calories and using a food scale. It took me a little over 2 years to originally reach a maintenance weight, which for me ranges between 145 lbs to 155 lbs (66 to 70 kg), and I've had a few pregnancies/childbirths/breastfeeding stints since entering maintenance. Each return back to maintenance weight has taken about 1 year after giving birth, as I gained during each pregnancy. Since having my last child, I've nearly returned to a (final!!!!) stable maintenance weight and I thought that others may find it useful if I shared a recent experience with my first of three planned skin removal surgeries.

Truthfully, I was not planning on having the surgeries after initially reaching maintenance weight. The cosmetic concerns with having a lot of loose skin were not enough of a motivator for me to undergo what I had dismissed as potentially risky and expensive procedures. I developed an interest in upping my casual jogging into running regularly, though, and I started encountering challenges with keeping the skin contained in compression gear and free from infection. I decided the surgery was worth learning more about. After some initial consultations and shopping/price comparisons, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that improvements in physical function, which was/is my main goal, was possible. I'm currently 2 weeks post-op and I'm delighted and optimistic at the change so far. I'm happy to answer questions, and here is a quick list of things that I learned and a few things that I wish I had understood better beforehand:

Things I learned:

-Depending upon your age, personal priorities/goals, health status, financial status, and skin situation, it is possible that more than one body area will be recommended to be addressed with a procedure (i.e., more than one procedure may be recommended and these may or may not be able to be done at the same time). Based on my circumstances, three procedures have been recommended. This first procedure was skin removal in my lower abdomen with muscle repair of split abdomen muscles (abdominoplasty with diastasis recti correction).

-Recovery post-op is a serious commitment. I took a lot of work leave, and working from home was not doable for me for the first week post-op, as sitting up straight at a computer was uncomfortable for me for more than a few minutes. The recommended care routines for eating (consuming at or above maintenance calories), hygiene, and compression wear are not optional if you want good results and to heal quickly.

-The price was not as unaffordable as I had feared. If geographically possible for you, consider getting a consultation from a surgeon affiliated with an (academic center) university hospital. There may be discounts that are not readily advertised on their websites for people in certain professions (e.g., military veterans, educators) or those who are willing to have their consults with supervised trainees. My first procedure was $5k, and included all pre- and post-consultations, testing, supplies, and exams. Not cheap, but much less than I expected after googling had warned me to expect a range between $10k and $30k (ouch!) for a United States location.

Things that surprised me:

-How much time the surgery team actually spent with me during consultations and exams. I was truly shocked at this- I expected quick visits and questionnaires, but this team spent more than 2 hours at my initial consultation (of several) and then they took many, many measurements of my whole body, inside and out. They were extremely thorough and I have felt incredibly listened to and safe the whole time. To be blunt, this has been pretty much the opposite of many of my previous healthcare encounter experiences.

-The pain has been less than I expected so far. I was uncomfortable and curled up in a recliner for a few days, but I haven't really had a lot of 'pain'. The team checks on this constantly and also monitored carefully for post-op nausea for a whole week.

-The drains that the surgeons installed to pull off the fluid away from the incision sites are vile to me and have been more uncomfortable than the actual surgery. The drains are necessary and work well, but I'll be honest, make me squeamish. I was hugely relieved to have all but one removed recently but the removal was also a bit...well.. freaky. (Remember that scene in The Matrix when Neo has the bug sucked out of his belly button? Yeah. Too close to that.)

-I can't believe that I actually like the dang compression garment that you are required to wear after surgery. That was a roller coaster of emotions- I hated that thing the first few days as wriggling into a girdle (straightjacket?) on top of the drains was uncomfortable and odd-feeling, and then I started to realize that I had a 'favorite' garment a few days after the surgery, and now 2 weeks post-op I can't hardly stand to be out of the garment for longer than a few minutes without feeling uncomfortable.

-The weight fluctuations. I swelled approximately ~20 pounds in the days following surgery and this was considered well within normal range for my stature. My whole body felt wibbly wobbly and when I made the short shuffles from my recliner to the bathroom on post-op days 1 through 3 I felt that 'slish slosh' sensation of the swelling everywhere. I then began to pee, mightily, around day 3 post-op. At 2 weeks post-op, I'm still about 5 pounds heavier than I was pre-op, but the relief of the swelling going down every day is wonderful. Every day I feel a bit more like me again.

-If you are curious about what they actually cut off, they removed two equilateral triangle-sized swaths of skin with accompanying subcutaneous fat from my lower abdomen, each of which had an approximate 8" side length (math friends- is that about 27 sq inches in area per triangle/flap? please correct my faulty math methods memories). There was no accompanying liposuction. The abdomen before surgery was flat but had heavy skin hanging quite low. The current look is a relatively flat abdomen, pending a bit more swelling that will reduce.

-My belly button had to be cut off in the skin swath removal (it hung pretty low), and then it was re-built with re-located skin from the excised flaps. It is much higher than it was before and it looks natural! I am very excited about this and I had no idea that I was going to be so pumped about having a belly button.

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