how to go from skinnyfat to lean?

[pinkman]

used to be fat now im just skinnyfat and want to be lean but dont know where to start what should i do to go from this to that? btw im 16 5”11 160-170

 

[RealNinja]

In skinnyfats the problem is not the bodyweight itself, but the bodyfat percentage and the lack of muscle. Your BMI is not overweight or obese but you have very little muscle mass on your frame, making your bodyfat undesirably high. The solution here is not to bulk or cut. If you bulk and gain weight too fast you will get fat because muscle gains come slower than fat gains. You can't cut either because there is nothing to cut to, if you lost 30lbs you'd look like an auschwitz survivor.

That means that for now you should do this: start lifting weights. Get stronger on bench press (DB and barbell), close grip bench press, squat, deadlift, barbell row, overhead press, pull-ups. For fun you can throw in accessories like bicep curls, tricep pushdowns, lateral raises. Eat enough to simply maintain your current weight, don't lose or gain. With that being said, you need to eat 140-170 grams of protein per day to allow for muscle gain. This is called body recomposition.

Do this for 6-8 months. At this point your physique will look much better due to having gained lean mass. From there, you can begin bulking and cutting- although be aware that it will probably take 1-3 years of bulk and cut cycles to acquire the physique you posted in the second image. What I'm saying is dont body recomp for 6 months and then immediately cut down, you will be disappointed. Hope this helped.