Skinny but 'fat'

This post is off the back of another one I posted earlier about wanting to lift weights to put on 'weight' but not fat. I'm naturally slim and petite, and with clothes on I look skinny and people say I don't need to watch what I eat (a real gripe of mine!)

However, I do retain a lot of fat round my stomach. I never used to, and it matched the rest of my body. But now my legs, arms, back and finally my ass are all in shape but I still have a 'ponch' over my stomach and small love handles. They're not vastly out shape with the rest of my body but it is frustrating. I don't want to cut calories to 'lose weight' per se as I'm already 99lbs at 5'4. I know if I lift weights whilst doing aerobic  I should technically put on weight or at least maintain, as muscle is heavier than fat - but that doesn't happen. Last time I cut calories from 1400 to 1200 in order to lose the fat, I just lost weight (and some of the fat...).

I know this isn't healthy to do at my weight and heigh, as technically I'm 'underweight'. Someone mentioned in a previous post that often underweight or skinny people retain weight in their stomach as a defence mechanism to being underweight.

I know you can't spot-reduce fat, and I can't do anything to focus on losing the fat around my stomach.

But are there any healthy tips on how I could cut the fat down whilst maintaining, or even gaining, weight?

I do weight lifting 3 times a week, and running 2 - 3 times a week. I eat 1400 on non-workout days and 1600 on workout days.

I see pictures of people who are 'heavier' on the scales than me but have very cut stomachs with nothing to pinch and it is frustrating - that's what I'd like to acheive! Not 'skinniness' but 'cut'!

Herbalife is pretty much crap protein - it's mostly made from soy which has been shown to not have any net positive benefits on protein resynthesis post-exercise, unlike whey which is good for a decent boost in muscle protein resynthesis, and casein which is reasonably anti-catabolic.

 Not-so-coincidentally, the protein in milk is a mix of whey and casein. Which means that your best post-workout drink is standard milk, perhaps fortified with some milk protein (whey/casein blend for preference) in the event that you don't feel like drinking all the milk necessary to cover your protein needs. It can be a lot when milk has 3.3g protein per 1dl, and recommended post-workout protein dosage is 20-30g.  For you, 99lbs*0.25=25g or 7.5dl milk, about 1.5 pints. Can be a bit much to chug, so putting in a scoop's worth of some whey protein in a smaller amount of milk is more convenient.

 Or chug a carton of chocolate milk right after training to tide you over until you can get to some solid food; as long as you get a little something right after training and the rest soonish after you're good. Just be aware that most gyms for some odd reason frown on people who bring a camping stove and fry chicken breast in the shower so you might want to just have your milk there and then have the rest of the food someplace else.

try whey protein indeed, Optimin Nutrition makes really good and affordable protein, I get mine from bodybuilding.com, it gives you good deals.

also know that casein protein and whey protein are both dairy proteins, but they are digested differently.

think of whey as the equivalent of simple carbs, they are good post workout because the body is able to absorb them immediately and quickly, right when it needs it.

casein protein on the other side is the equivalent of complex carbs. that is that when casein reaches the stomach wall, it turn into a gel like form so that way the protein release is slower, and it also keeps you feeling full for a lot longer. Thats why its good to take a casein protein shake before bed, to make sure your muscles are being fed all night long. Casein stays in your stomach for roughly 5-7 hours, so thats why Casein is not soo good pre or post workout, altho casein is awesome for making meal replacement shakes :), and as a late night snack of course. you can also get casein protein from eating cottage cheese by the way 

Thanks melkor and lt_jesus! That's really useful!

I did read that soy protein wasn't as good as whey protein but wanted to see what the real-life verdict was. I've returned the Herbalife to my friend as they use it as a general nutrition shake but it really doesn't suit my needs. Also, I'm not a huge fan of drinking milk partly because it gives me a sour taste in my mouth after! But it's good to know it does provide a good mix of proteins after my workout so I'll have a glass with my lunch (I can get that 10 minutes after my workout) for now until I manage to buy some whey protein to mix in with it.

lt_jesus, that's really interesting about the difference beteween casein protein and whey protein and I'll def make use of the information! Considering the fact that I'm small, put muscle on quite slowly and don't retain it very well (all of which I'm hoping to change) would taking casein protein before bed so that it 'feeds' my muscles all night be too ott for me considering i'm not seriously weight training or body building.

Do you know of any other foods that have casein protein in them?

You sound sooooo similar to me.  I'm 5'1, 108.5 lbs and totally skinny fat.  I've had 3 kids and after each kid would lose the weight by dieting and not really exercising.  I would do a little exercise but certainly nothing like what I'm doing now.  Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I'm trying to transform myself as well.

Over the past month, I upped my protein.  Before I was only getting in maybe 50-70 grams.  VERY carb focused previously.  So the past month I upped it to 80-100.  But now I realize that I need even more than that.  So I am upping it to around 120. 

Now my challenge is eating more calories.  I typically eat 1300-1500.  But I think with the exercise and weights that I am doing, maybe 1700 is more realistic.  So I'm still playing with that.  We'll see.

Anyway, just wanted to let you know that you're not alone and that I totally understand where you are coming from. 

BTW, I've been doing weights and exercise for over a year (with NO change to my body or weight).  So finally I realized that it had to be something else....like the balance between carbs and protein and fat.  So I'm hoping that increasing my protein will help.  I'm lowering my fat but pretty much keeping my carb equal to my protein.  I guess we'll see where that goes.

Oh and as far a protein - I actually take a protein shake after my workouts.  I use the EAS Carb Control Strawberry Creme.  Low in carbs and 25 grams of protein.  Plus I like the taste.  :-)  Oh and I also drink Whey protein in my water in the afternoon.  I really like it.  I get the one at my local market called Designer Whey or something like that.  I like the chocolate one.

I recently ordered something called CLA.   Was hoping to get some advice here about the usage and effectiveness.  You are supposed to take it with each meal and it helps with controlling your body fat.  I'm hoping it gives my body the extra help it needs to process fat instead of my muscle.  We'll see.

Oh and I started taking fish oil as well. 

Good luck with your journey!  I'll be right there with ya!

I've posted a new thread with new questions regarding building fat whilst burning muscle in the Weight Gain forum here:

http://caloriecount.about.com/burning-fat-whi lst-building-muscle-ft155616

I felt this thread was straying away from 'fitness'. I really appreciate the advice everyone has given me so far, and do feel more knowledeable from the advice in my journey but do still have a few questions.

Also, lorawilson. I don't have much time just now as I'm at work, but thank you so much for you post! It's great to know there is someone out there with the same issues of weight gain and fat burning as me, and I'd love to keep in touch occasionally about how we're both getting on! I'll PM you soon!

Just as an update, I have posted photos to my gallery of my stomach, legs, arms and 'love handles'. I know I look petite and I only have a small amount of fat I want to burn, but I hope with these photos people will understand that I'm not malnourished, I don't have visible ribs or hips, I am trying to build muscle (as my arm and legs pics show) but I'm looking to cut fat as I do have a six-pac on my stomach that I can feel, but currently have a layer of fat on top!

I hope these pics help outline what I meant. Fitnessgirll - I think you specifically said that you could provide better advice if you saw photos.