We can all agree that being skinny and fat is not a very popular body type to have.
However, running is very popular, but note that I’m not talking about short-distance sprinting, I’m talking about long-distance running.
What causes the skinny fat body?
It’s caused by lacking muscle mass, and rather having more body fat.
This can give you an appearance that you’re skinny, but when you look at your body in the mirror, you appear fat.
The fat often accumulates on your belly which isn’t nice either.
Although genetics is a contributor, this could be because of various reasons that make it more extreme:
- Not consuming enough protein – Protein is the building block of muscle mass, so lacking that will cause you to have less muscle mass. But then where does the fat come from?
- Consuming junk food – This food causes fat gain as it’s often sugary and contains oils that slow down your metabolism
- Not being active – You may have a slower metabolism and genetics that result in you carrying less muscle, so if you don’t move about enough, you won’t be burning enough energy which may get stored on you
How cardio like extensive runs affects your body
Long runs burn more calories, which means it has the potential to help you lose weight. But this is only if you don’t consume enough calories. Because if you do, then your body can burn those calories for energy when running rather than breaking down skeletal tissue.
When you do extensive cardio without eating enough, your body will break down your muscles as energy, resulting in you losing muscle mass.
If you consume enough protein, for example, 1.6 times your weight in kg grams of protein, you probably wouldn’t lose muscle mass even if you did extensive cardio because your body would have enough protein to recover your muscles, and some to use as energy if needed.
Non-extensive light may not affect your body
Light jogs don’t burn calories at a fast rate, for example, a light jog for 10 to 15 minutes most likely wouldn’t result in you losing muscle mass.
And it may not even affect your post-workout recovery. Since it can be a form of active recovery, it may aid in your recovery, but it’s not necessary because walking can be as good for active recovery.
Extensive running wouldn’t result you in being skinny and fat
Your body’s preferred energy source is fat, because it has the most calories per gram, so it wouldn’t make sense that all your muscle mass is being lost through running.
If that were the case, marathon runners wouldn’t just be skinny, but skinny fat. Because the runs you go on should burn most of your fat.
The only reason pro long-distance runners are skinny is that they purposefully avoid putting on muscle mass, and this can be by not consuming too much protein and not working out.
The real reason why you are skinny and fat
The skinny fat body type is mostly genetics. Maybe your body finds it harder to put on muscle mass (like an endomorph) and burn fat (like an ectomorph).
It’s unlikely that is due to you not being active, although playing sports and moving around more can help suppress it.
So it’s perfectly ok to do cardio, and it won’t cause you to become skinny fat. Although you may get skinnier or lose weight, it shouldn’t cause you to be skinny fat.
How to prevent the skinny fat body type
If you don’t want to be skinny fat, here are the main tips to follow:
#1: Consume more protein
Protein is converted into muscle mass. So you need more protein. Aim to consume 1.6 times your body weight in kg grams of protein daily, and if you’ve tried that for 3 months and you haven’t noticed that you’ve gained muscle mass, increase it to 2 grams.
Since your body burns more calories digesting protein, it can help you burn fat even at rest. Carrying more muscle mass can also help you burn more calories at rest, resulting in your metabolism speeding up.
<< The Best Protein Sources for Building Muscle >>
#2: Work out
You’ll build even more muscle when you work out, so start doing resistance training to build muscle.
Since working out creates micro-tears in your muscles, with adequate recovery, they’ll rebuild into bigger and stronger muscles.
Working out also burns calories, so you’ll be losing fat on the way.
<< How to Build A Workout Plan for Beginners >>
#3: Avoid ultra-processed foods
These foods cause fat gain due to their high sugar content, and also other high GI sugars and refined oils.
these foods also mess up your hormones, like your hunger hormone (ghrelin) and other hormones like dopamine, which can increase your cravings for these foods, making it even harder for you to give them up.
Fast food is often drenched in refined oils, and these can mess up and slow down your metabolic rate.
These foods can alter your emotions, which can increase the chances of you emotionally binging on those foods.
<< Unhealthy Foods to Stay Away From >>
#4: Be more active
- Play sports you enjoy
- Every time you finish eating, take a 10-minute walk
- Avoid sitting down for longer than 50 minutes
- Do house chores
Simple things like these can help you burn fat and also benefit your well-being, meaning you’ll be less stressed, which will decrease the chances of you emotionally eating.
Diet
Your diet must consist of high animal protein, but it must also consist of more healthy fats, because these will teach your body how to solely use its fat stores as energy, hence you burning fat.
It will also keep you satiated, preventing you from binge eating junk food. You should aim to consume whole carbs, and not refined carbs, then when you finally lose some fat, you can bring the refined carbs back in. Avoid snacks like biscuits and crisps, because they classify as ultra-processed foods.
Remember these diet tips:
- High animal protein
- Medium healthy fats
- Low to medium carbs
- Avoid refined carbs
- Avoid ultra-processed foods
