Am I skinny fat or just fat?

[AverageJow]

I'm currently 5'7" @ 145-148lbs, 22 years old, with a small frame. I have no idea if I have to eat at a caloric deficit, at maintenance or more than maintenance. I've been pretty small for a guy my whole life, and the most I've done is bodyweight exercises like pushups and pullups, but never really using heavy weights at a gym (my squats are embarassing.) Throughout my years of college, I went from 140lbs at the beginning of my freshman year, and because I always felt small, I felt like eating more was the way to go. I hit my highest weight of 172lbs in the middle of my senior year, and looked and felt like ****. From there I started tracking calories, going on the 40/40/20 diet and ate around 1500 calories. Now, I'm down to around 145lbs, but I still just feel like a smaller version of what i was at my heaviest. Face is still chubby as **** and I really don't know how I should go about this. Should I try to lose more, then slowly bulid up from there?

For pictures, since I'm new to this site and can't post url's, I posted 3 pics of me right now at 145lbs in my gallery photo section.

Thanks guys.

[CharmAnders]

I'm currently 5'7" @ 145-148lbs, 22 years old, with a small frame. I have no idea if I have to eat at a caloric deficit, at maintenance or more than maintenance. I've been pretty small for a guy my whole life, and the most I've done is bodyweight exercises like pushups and pullups, but never really using heavy weights at a gym (my squats are embarassing.) Throughout my years of college, I went from 140lbs at the beginning of my freshman year, and because I always felt small, I felt like eating more was the way to go. I hit my highest weight of 172lbs in the middle of my senior year, and looked and felt like ****. From there I started tracking calories, going on the 40/40/20 diet and ate around 1500 calories. Now, I'm down to around 145lbs, but I still just feel like a smaller version of what i was at my heaviest. Face is still chubby as **** and I really don't know how I should go about this. Should I try to lose more, then slowly bulid up from there?

For pictures, since I'm new to this site and can't post url's, I posted 3 pics of me right now at 145lbs in my gallery photo section.

Thanks guys.

Where's the picture?

[runuali]

You should be able to add a photo, if you select advanced options when making a post, there is a button "Manage Attachments", this will allow you to add a photo

[GuloGuloQC]

Honestly you don't look skinny fat / fat to me. Just no muscles.

IMO, don't lose more : eat at maintenance or with a small deficit and start hitting the gym (3x a week, with 2x cardio on off days - preferable 15 minutes HIIT).

Possibly supplement with creatine (worth a try to maximize power and reduce soreness).

Get your confidence up with dumbbell / kettlebell exercises :
- goblet squats / dumbbell front loaded squats instead of regular squats
- kettlebell / dumbbell swings instead of deadlifts

Once you gain more confidence, move on to more traditional movements (barbell back/front squats and deadlifts).

Go check out the exercise section to get a routine, or other resources (I really dig the musclehack 3 & 5 day routines).

Monitor your weight, but also notice how you feel in your clothes (same weight but looser belts/pants/shirts = gaining muscle and losing fat).

Godspeed!

[swizzyJ]

I'm currently 5'7" @ 145-148lbs, 22 years old, with a small frame. I have no idea if I have to eat at a caloric deficit, at maintenance or more than maintenance. I've been pretty small for a guy my whole life, and the most I've done is bodyweight exercises like pushups and pullups, but never really using heavy weights at a gym (my squats are embarassing.) Throughout my years of college, I went from 140lbs at the beginning of my freshman year, and because I always felt small, I felt like eating more was the way to go. I hit my highest weight of 172lbs in the middle of my senior year, and looked and felt like ****. From there I started tracking calories, going on the 40/40/20 diet and ate around 1500 calories. Now, I'm down to around 145lbs, but I still just feel like a smaller version of what i was at my heaviest. Face is still chubby as **** and I really don't know how I should go about this. Should I try to lose more, then slowly bulid up from there?

For pictures, since I'm new to this site and can't post url's, I posted 3 pics of me right now at 145lbs in my gallery photo section.

Thanks guys.

What was your caloric deficit during your time cutting down?
You might have gone a bit too aggressive and at a certain point, lost your gains from your body eating itself. The easiest way to get a 6 pack, even if you don’t lift heavy weights. Is being as accurate as you can with the food you eat. This means understanding what a cup of rice looks like, what 6 ounces of chicken looks like, etc.
Without giving us some data, it’s the blind leading the blind here.
If I were you, I would stop trying to lose weight as quickly as possible. Take a minute to ask yourself why you’re doing this. Because having an extraordinary physique requires you to do the things most people won’t do. And tracking your food is one of those things