Subcutaneous fat .

[woodbutchmaster]

I cycle quite a bit and although my legs are well muscled and have a reasonable fat layer ,the rest of me is all skin and bone. My hands and arms are especially thin with a fair amount of muscle but hardly any fat under the skin. I'm sure this isn't desirable but l have no idea what sort of diet would help build a "healthy" protective fat layer.
Any advice / comments would be welcome !

 

[Slick]

Can you have thin arms with a fair bit of muscle?

Also, you don't say how old you are, sadly that is relevant.

 

[Drago]

You definitely want subcutaneous fat. Fat on the outside of the skin attracts flies.

 

[Profpointy]

You definitely want subcutaneous fat. Fat on the outside of the skin attracts flies.

I was wondering "shall I be a smart arse or not" but you'd already beaten me to it

 

[Oldhippy]

I've spent most of my life being told I'm too thin, need fattening up, put on high calorie extras ad nauseum. I was told I'd spread out in my 40's. I'm 60 in a few months, fit, lean and 64kg. Lifestyle and diet and a very fast metabolism it would seem. Also life long veggie which may be significant. Its never bothered me personally.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I've spent most of my life being told I'm too thin

Likely by people who are overweight and couldn’t run to catch a bus.

 

[woodbutchmaster]

I've spent most of my life being told I'm too thin, need fattening up, put on high calorie extras ad nauseum. I was told I'd spread out in my 40's. I'm 60 in a few months, fit, lean and 64kg. Lifestyle and diet and a very fast metabolism it would seem. Also life long veggie which may be significant. Its never bothered me personally.

I'm with you , l recall that there once was an expression "You can never be too thin or too rich" . In my youth l used to row competitively in a four and occasionally in an eight on the Thames in the head of the river race, so l was very fit and quite muscular but never with much fat on me. I also eat a largely veggie diet with lots of carbs. I am 77 next month and l ride almost every day 26/7 km here in SW France ...lots of hilly bits as well as flat stuff. The circuit takes me just over one hour on average.

Can you have thin arms with a fair bit of muscle?
Long and lean rather than short and bulky .....and sadly you are right ....l'm 77 next month.
Also, you don't say how old you are, sadly that is relevant.

 

[Slick]

I'm with you , l recall that there once was an expression "You can never be too thin or too rich" . In my youth l used to row competitively in a four and occasionally in an eight on the Thames in the head of the river race, so l was very fit and quite muscular but never with much fat on me. I also eat a largely veggie diet with lots of carbs. I am 77 next month and l ride almost every day 26/7 km here in SW France ...lots of hilly bits as well as flat stuff. The circuit takes me just over one hour on average.

Carry on cycling then, it sounds like you are doing just fine.

 

[ColinJ]

You definitely want subcutaneous fat. Fat on the outside of the skin attracts flies.

I was wondering "shall I be a smart arse or not" but you'd already beaten me to it

Subcutaneous fat vs visceral fat. (Though obviously visceral fat is itself also under the skin!)

 

[dan_bo]

You definitely want subcutaneous fat. Fat on the outside of the skin attracts flies.

Beat me to it.

 

[Chief Broom]

I would only worry if i was a seal

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I don’t think I’ve heard of someone wanting to gain fat. There are obviously anorexics and bulimics , but that needs medical intervention of some kind. I guess being overweight has become normalised, and people of a normal healthy weight are made to feel there’s something wrong and they are skinny or underweight.

 

[ColinJ]

I have been everywhere in the range from Chris Froome-skinny to morbidly obese. Obviously, the obese end of the range isn't great, but I found being 68 kg at 1.86 m height (10 st 10 lbs, 6' 1") wasn't brilliant either. I was incredibly bony, looked gaunt, and felt the winter cold terribly. I also seemed to get ill more often than when bigger. I looked and felt much better after putting on 5+ kg. I was still very slim at that weight.

 

[stephec]

Here you go, you'll be hench in weeks with this stuff - https://www.discount-supplements.co.uk/products/mutant-mass-2-2kg

 

[dicko]

I cycle quite a bit and although my legs are well muscled and have a reasonable fat layer ,the rest of me is all skin and bone. My hands and arms are especially thin with a fair amount of muscle but hardly any fat under the skin. I'm sure this isn't desirable but l have no idea what sort of diet would help build a "healthy" protective fat layer.
Any advice / comments would be welcome !

I was a lot like that in 1987 and was diagnosed as a type 1 Diabetic. My body was eating all the fat it could get as having no insulin to make it was burning fat to provide me with energy. Fortunately putting me on four insulin injections a day and eating plenty of carbohydrates got me back to almost normal.