When it comes to the causes of skinny fat, they are a couple of usual suspects. The main thing that nearly everyone who is skinny fat has in common is that they have very little or no muscles. If you don’t have any muscles, then any fat you do have will look like much more than it really is. Without any significant muscle tone to keep you firm and toned, any fat on your body will be much more prominent as it wobbles around and is generally more visible.

Both men and women can really benefit, not just from a health perspective, but also when it comes to their appearance but developing some muscle tone. They say a well-tailored suit can hide a multitude of sins but you could also say a little bit of muscle tone can hide a fair amount of body fat.

Why Having No Muscle Tone Can Cause Skinny Fat Syndrome

Although you need to have some body fat in order to become skinny fat, a small amount of body fat doesn’t atomically mean you will become skinny fat. By having some muscle tone you can get away with holding some fat before starting to look skinny fat or just plain old fashioned overweight. Both men and women can benefit from having more muscle tone in many ways:

• Having muscle means having a toned and firm appearance. More muscle = less wobble.
• Muscles use more of the calories you eat. This prevents those calories from being turned into fat.
• Muscle tone improves your posture. Poor posture can make you look more saggy and flabby as well as run down and old. With a good posture your shoulders will be back and your back will be straight with your head held high. This will give you the appearance of being slim, toned and not fat.
• If you stop exercising the muscle will turn into fat.  Muscle cannot turn into fat. If you stop exercising the muscle will slowly shrink or atrophy until it is back to how it was before you started.
• Women will look too bulky if they exercise with weights. For women to become bulky and visibly muscular they need to train extremely hard for many years.  Even then it is very difficult. A women trainer who exercises with weights a few times a week for years will eventually become toned and in great shape but won’t develop muscle in the way a man does. If after a year or so you feel you have too much muscle tone, then simply stop training for a while and let the muscles atrophy. Beware: they will shrink quicker than you think!

Gaining muscle isn’t easy, especially for those who are skinny fat. But it can be done, and you can read about the best ways to do it in this article on muscle gaining for skinny fat people.

Other Reasons People Become Skinny Fat

Although having a regular amount of body fat but having no muscle tone is the main cause of being skinny fat it isn’t the only one. If you are in the top percentile for height and have long limbs and a small frame, this can be a factor in giving you the appearance of being skinny fat. You might have good muscle tone but as your arms and body are longer it won’t necessarily show as much and could leave you with a soft and flabby body in certain areas. If this body type applies to you there isn’t much you can do apart from work harder in the gym! But on the bright side, at least you are tall and can benefit in all the ways being taller than your peers can bring, such as a higher salary and greater dating prospects.

If you are wondering how you became skinny fat, it was probably the same way I did all those years ago: eating too much and not exercising or having any muscle tone. Now you know why it happened you can start on the road to recovery. Start working out with weights at home or in the gym to improve your levels of muscle tone and then work on cleaning up your diet and your skinny fat days will be behind you. For some home workout ideas, head to our home weight training article index for some top tips.

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