Still feeling flabby (almost a year later)

So almost a year ago (August '11) I posted that I was feeling flabby after losing 45 lbs and having 30% bf. Eventually I reached 128 lbs and still had a high body fat percentage of 27- yet my friends were telling me I looked too thin. My body type is very strange- I am thin/bony up top but very bottom heavy at the same time. So I felt a lot of pressure- my thighs and legs hold most my excess body fat, so I'm thinking I need to keep losing, but then I'm starting to look almost anorexic from the waist up. It seemed that no matter what I tried exercise/diet wise I was getting leaner (my goal) but it only happened to be from the waste up. 

 Anyway, I ended up gaining and reached 135 lbs. But in no healthy way at all. I started binge eating and pretty much ditched the gym. Anyway, I've been seeing a psychiatrist for over a month and I've only binged maybe 3 times in 6 weeks. I'm starting to get back to my weight lifting and eating healthily. To continue my goals- but I don't want to lose anymore weight. I just wish I could replace that fat with muscle which I know is impossible. Can someone help me figure out what I was doing wrong? Cause I've seen some amazing transformations in some ppl on this site- but it's not happening for me. I'm tired of being skinny fat! I want people to look at me and know that I work out. I want more muscles! But right now I have lots of fat from being overweight (195 lbs) in the past.

I remember in my last post someone said I should eat at a tiny deficit- but when I was I was still losing too rapidly (eating at 1800). Maybe I maintain on more than I thought? I got the fitness part down packed...I know what to do and I work with a personal trainer- I only lift weights. But my diet is screwed up- how many calories should I eat to each my goals?

I'm 24, 5'3", 135 lbs. 

Get a full body weight lifting routine - you can't create muscle on a deficit, but you sure can transform the way your body looks by using heavy weights and working the muscles.

Look into Starting Strength, New Rules of LIfting ( any of the books are good) Female Body Breakthrough is good too.

If you eat at a surplus you will gain muscle and some fat - with a good full body weight lifting program.  If you eat at what you burn then you could probably lose some of the fat and keep the muscle you have and then reshape your body that way.

By far the best way to get visible results and not look skinny fat is weight lifting.

Thanks. I will check out those books. I'm pretty sure the main problem is my diet. Because that is all I do now- lift weights. I do a little Plyo too. 

So I should try eating at maintenance? I will try it...it's been difficult lately because I tend to burn so much I think and at the end of the day I'm about 500-1000 calories behind. I just don't have enough time to eat! But I will make time. Thanks a lot...I will see how I do for a few weeks and let you know!

for your body type Id say try lifting heavy for upper body exercises, workouts for muscle growth, such as chest press, lat pulls, shoulder presses, in sets of less than 10 (10 being the most times you can lift the weight) and make your lower body workouts a little more cardio based, such as step ups, jump squats, mountain climbers... the trick is to gain muscle in the upper body to make the lower body look smaller, youll still be burning fat, cause your metabolism will rev from the muscle gain so it should trim your thighs a little too.

I have the same body type, op. Losing weight is awesome for my upper half, but I'm always bottom heavy. My face becomes boney and fair but my legs and but look to out of shape (even when I was in the best shape of my life). When I was really in shape, I was still a medium top and a size 10 pants (sometimes 8).

Are you really curvy with wide hips? I would say, keep lifting and embrace your shape, because I think that's just the way we're built. Don't have much more to add to that.  Good luck!

@fearicka 

I will have to talk to my personal trainer about that. He told me that I need to try to gain muscle all over- that one of the reasons I'm still flabby is that I do not have much muscle in the lower half of my body. Basically that the more muscle I have, the more fat I will burn. And that I need to try not to do so much cardio- I'm not sure what's going on with my metabolism but I burn rapidly. I can eat 2000 calories and still lose really fast. I'm guessing I probably maintain on about 2500+ calories depending on my activity. (I'm a cashier: I stand and lift heavy items at work for 6-8 hours. And then I work out at the gym for 60-90 mins) The problem is that I cannot find enough time in the day to eat enough without feeling miserably full. So I know if I don't get my diet straight I will end up maintaining on much less than I'm meant to- I'm damaging my metabolism!

@mjsophia

Someone feels my pain! We probably have the same exact body type. I am very small up top...have a tiny waist BUT I'm like a size 9 or 11 in pants (I'm going by junior sizes). My hips are very wide! I try to embrace it- sometimes I just wish my top and bottom half were proportionate. Shopping for clothes would be so much easier- especially bathing suits! So I will keep lifting heavy, try to eat more and see where I go from there. If I'm going to have big thighs I would rather them be more muscular than fat. So that is my goal. Thanks a lot! =)

Oops, posted twice ;)

I'm starting female body breakthrough tonight. Get the book and we can work through it together!! The first 4 weeks don't look too intense but are all about getting the form down. It seems like a good book, excercises are explained well in general. I plan on doing this one for the 16 weeks and then doing New Rules for women for the next set after that (I think its a 20 week program). That will take me to the end of Jan and then I will likely do New Rules for Abs and then start the whole shebang over again.

To lose fat, I know everyone suggests weights but maybe you need a bit of cardio too. How is your cardio ability?

the workouts I mentioned for the lower body will still build muscle.. they actually build your fast twitch muscles, the ones that make you explosive which is kinda cool. But theyre also designed to burn a lot of fat cause your heart rate will be up. I would never suggest leaving a body part out, especially the lower body cause it helps your produce more of the right hormones to build muscles and burn off some fat.. Im just saying to do more bulking exercises on the upper body to even out your shape (bonus, building your lats helps make your waist look smaller too:)). You cant spot reduce or change what your mama gave ya but you can make it work for you... nice tone upper body, tight lower body and a lil waist is what most ppl want:P

@wtfrail

I still need to check out those books! And I think I'd be better off without the cardio or with very little cardio. I'd end up burning muscle more than fat I think which would make me look even more skinny fat. Also, I'm still struggling to eat enough calories- I just got off work at 9pm and was about 800 calories behind. 600 calories later I'm stuffed! So if I add cardio back into my routine, I'd have to eat a lot more =/ Anyway, I will try it again- see how my body does. But if I start looking sickly/skinny from the waist up again, I will have to stop.

@fearicka

I'm kinda doing those things that you suggested. I do a lot of Plyometrics and a lot of weight training (arms, chest, shoulders, back, abs, legs) at the gym. I know spot reducing isn't possible =( so I will just take what I have and try to improve all over.