Fixing skinny fat isn’t easy but the approach is fairly simple. If you are skinny fat it is more than likely you have low levels of lean mass or muscle tone and medium to high body fat levels. Without a high enough level of muscle, any fat you have will look many times worse as there will be nothing to balance it out. With some well-placed muscle tone, it is far easier to project a look of fitness and athleticism, despite carrying a few more pounds of fat then you’d like. Strip away the muscle and that bit of fat that wasn’t really a problem before is now wobbly, flabby and saggy and highly visible.

So What Can You Do To Fix Skinny Fatness?

In a nutshell, all you need to do to stop being skinny fat is lose the fat and gain some muscle. Sounds easy right? In reality for most people, it isn’t that easy at all.  If you’ve become skinny fat then you’ve probably developed some bad habits over the years, such as I did, which included a poor diet and lack of exercise and no history of going to the gym or weight training.

This left me with a skinny body that had a few problem areas where fat had slowly gathered over the years. For me these fatty areas were in my chest and belly but for you they could be anywhere. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is you’ve had enough and don’t want to be skinny fat anymore. So what can you do to fix this problem?

If you are serious and want to change how you look, then you need to be prepared to put in some work. It’s not complicated work like building a house, or designing an engine but it does take time and dedication. If you’ve decided enough is enough then keep reading, however, if you are still not sure being in good physical condition with a great body is worth the hassle then see you later!

Step one is to clean up your diet. Cut out all the processed junk that is easy to get hold of and even easier to consume. If it comes in a packet and contains ingredients you’ve never heard of and can’t pronounce then it might be worth avoiding for a while.  No matter how much exercise you do, it is almost impossible to out train a bad diet (click here to Tweet this). Eating a packet of biscuits with the intention of burning off those extra calories tomorrow is a recipe for disaster. To make your life much easier and your journey to a great body shorter, remove bad food choices from the equation by not buying them or having them around the house.

Step two is to start exercising with weights. Thisapplies to both men and women and is the most important part of how to fix being skinny fat. Without muscle tone, no matter how much fat you lose you will still be wobbly and floppy. If you are ok with that, cut out the calories and do no exercise or just do cardio. But if you want a firm and athletic looking body then you need to start exercising with weights in order to change your body from what you have had in the past. I’m not talking about bulking up and get all ‘hench’ and ‘swole’, I simply mean adding classic weight training exercises to your fitness routine such as squatting, pressing and curling exercises. By doing simple exercises at home with kettlebells or dumbbells a few times a week, you can make a great start on firming up and toning your body.

Adding cardio to your exercise routine is always a good idea as it is a great way to increase your cardio vascular health. Whether you choose to run outside or work on the treadmill at home is up to you. Even skipping at home is a great cost effective and convenient way to start getting the blood pumping. But remember simply doing cardio isn’t enough to fix skinny fat for either men or women.