“Skinny” can be such a deceiving word. Just because you look skinny doesn’t mean that you’ve a healthy body and fall into the “physically fit” category. Yes girls, there is something called as skinny-fat’. This means that you appear skinny, but you’ve a body which has high body fat that puts you at the same health risk as an overweight person. Do not consider BMI (body mass index) as a marker of perfect health, because you may have perfect BMI, but you maybe metabolically obese. One may not look overweight or obese, but when you lead a sedentary lifestyle and do not practice clean eating, you might be skinny fat. Still confused? Here are 9 Signs That you Are Skinny Fat or Metabolically Obese. And it’s important to find out whether you are skinny fat because then you are the same risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, etc.
1. Flabby Arms: If the back of your arms are loose and flabby, it is a sign of skinny fat. It is generally an indication. This is generally prevalent in older men and women and younger inactive women. Proper weight training can tighten the triceps and exercise can help get rid of unwanted fat from everywhere.
2. Fatigue/Always Tired and Exhausted: Deficiency of nutrients, vitamins, minerals are common in people who are skinny fat and as a result, they always feel tired and exhausted in spite of getting good rest.
3. High Body Fat Percentage: Another way is to find out the amount of body fat and the amount of muscles in your body. Unlike body mass index, it is a very useful method to actually measure the amount of extra fat in your body. If the % body fat is greater than 25%, it is highly likely that you’re skinny-fat.
4. Belly Fat: If your arms and legs are thin, and you’ve a tendency to accumulate fat in the middle, i.e. around the tummy, this is an indication of high-stress hormones like cortisol, adrenaline. These hormones tend to break down the muscles and store fat, and make you malnourished in the long run.
5. You Don’t Like Healthy Food: Maybe you’re able to eat burgers and guzzle sodas without gaining a pound. Or maybe you count your calories, but you fill up on white bread and junk food rather than fruits and veggies. Either way, consuming too much sugar and fat – and not enough vitamins, fibre, and lean protein — can damage your organs and raise your risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and more. Also read: “14 Superfoods That Can Make You Overweight.”
6. You Have Sugar Addiction: White sugar/added sugar is bad news for your health. When sugar breaks down to glucose, it stimulates release of free fatty acids in the liver and these fatty acids cause an inflammatory response. Everyone knows that inflammation is a trigger to metabolic diseases and if you have sugar addiction, and cannot live without sugar, you might actually be skinny fat, particularly visceral fat. Also read: “What Would Happen if you Stop Eating Sugar For 15 Days?”
7. Your Meals are all Made from Processed Foods: What you eat on a daily basis does decide whether you are healthy or not. A diet high on processed food can make you overweight and skinny fat too because such foods do not have any nutritional value and the empty calories cause buildup of visceral fat.
8. You Lead a Sedentary Lifestyle: Have you heard how “sitting is the new smoking?” If you hardly move out of the couch or sit for hours together on the work desk, you are at a risk of diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, etc. Exercise on a regular basis to get fit, burn fat, and decrease the risk factors of chronic diseases even if you do not look obese.
9. Elevated Triglycerides/Cholesterol/High Blood Pressure: You look thin, but then the lab profile paints a different picture. Elevated triglycerides, high cholesterol values, and high BP reading all show that something is just not right and higher body fat percentage might be the reason.
So, if there points tick some boxes, it’s time to straighten up your diet, be more active, and exercise on a regular basis to get lean and fit. Check out the Rati Beauty diet for more details.
14 Superfoods That Can Make You Overweight
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