Anyone know why I might have a bigger belly even though I’m so damn skinny? I’ve been told it might be due to drinking too much water around meals, excess sugar, sodium, or lactose…is there any logic to any of these?
Is there any way to “lean” this area out while still on a bulk. I’m hoping if I build up more muscle it won’t appear to be bigger than everywhere else.
Picture is from about a month ago.
Thanks
It’s hard to have a small looking waistline when everything else is also small. A waist that size would look small on you if you weighed 50 lbs heavier, and it was mostly muscle. The rest of you is small, therefore belly looks big, that is all. Don’t let it get you down, it should only motivate you to get bigger and stronger.
About all that nutrition nonsense with excess sugar, sodium, lactose, yada yada yada, that’s a bunch of BS, unless you have an actual medical condition. Don’t major in the minors.
you’re on the right track. make everything else bigger in comparison. there could potentially be some bloating due to lactose or some other food allergy, but in the long run it’s likely nothing to worry about. for now, just build them shoulders, lats, and legs if you’re looking for an X shape.
ok thanks for the advice guys! I might try taking the milk out of my PWO shake and drinking a little less water, but I’ll just on chugging with my clean bulk to gain more mass.
A guy my size shouldn’t be stressing about macros too much right? I aim for about a 40/40/20 split P/C/F on oats, brown rice, sweet potatos, beans, chicken, whole eggs, whey, yogurt, avocado, PB, some fruit and LOTS of veggies. Trying to K.I.S.S. though
[quote]dgallagher88 wrote:
ok thanks for the advice guys! I might try taking the milk out of my PWO shake and drinking a little less water, but I’ll just on chugging with my clean bulk to gain more mass.
A guy my size shouldn’t be stressing about macros too much right? I aim for about a 40/40/20 split P/C/F on oats, brown rice, sweet potatos, beans, chicken, whole eggs, whey, yogurt, avocado, PB, some fruit and LOTS of veggies. Trying to K.I.S.S. though[/quote]
Less water? No. You need plenty of water for healthy digestion. If anything, drinking water will decrease any bloat that might occur, provided you’re regularly drinking enough. Most men around here shoot for a gallon; I’m a chick (I weigh between 125-130) and I get about 2/3 of that amount. You may also want to Google “gastric emptying” and “hydration,” for reasons why fluid intake is so important for athletes.
Cut back on some veggies and substitude fiber. I use to eat green veg like my life depended on it and I became intolerant to broccoli. I bloated huge and had terrible heart burn.
One or more of the foods you eat could be reactive to you.
[quote]Darkane wrote:
Cut back on some veggies and substitude fiber. I use to eat green veg like my life depended on it and I became intolerant to broccoli. I bloated huge and had terrible heart burn.
One or more of the foods you eat could be reactive to you. [/quote]
What the living fuck? This is really the advice people are giving in this thread?
This guy is damn near a walking skeleton and you are telling him to eat less of things?
Do any of you people lift weights?
Newsflash, hippies, that isn’t a “big belly”. That is a skinny fucker with no muscle mass and no muscle tone in his abdominal region.
Looking like a man would take care of that.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]Darkane wrote:
Cut back on some veggies and substitude fiber. I use to eat green veg like my life depended on it and I became intolerant to broccoli. I bloated huge and had terrible heart burn.
One or more of the foods you eat could be reactive to you. [/quote]
What the living fuck? This is really the advice people are giving in this thread?
This guy is damn near a walking skeleton and you are telling him to eat less of things?
Do any of you people lift weights?
Newsflash, hippies, that isn’t a “big belly”. That is a skinny fucker with no muscle mass and no muscle tone in his abdominal region.
Looking like a man would take care of that.[/quote]
He’s telling him that the problem could potentially be caused by intolerance to ONE particular food. Even if the advise is tainted, you are incorrectly interpreting that he said to “eat less food”.
If he said “decrease your protein” or “eat less calories” then your response would be reasonable, but he didn’t.
OP, eat steak, lift weight /mantra.
[quote]WP wrote:
He’s telling him that the problem …[/quote]
No, but wait…what fucking problem?
The “being skinny with a bigger belly” problem? You mean the “problem” where the OP didn’t mention the word “bloating” at all or the problem that is easily fixed by actually gaining some muscle mass?
[quote]E99_Curt wrote:
you’re on the right track. make everything else bigger in comparison. there could potentially be some bloating due to lactose or some other food allergy, but in the long run it’s likely nothing to worry about. for now, just build them shoulders, lats, and legs if you’re looking for an X shape.[/quote]
prof x, if your ‘bloating’ comment was directed at me, you can kindly go fuck yourself. i am pretty sure i told him to get bigger. all i ever see you post about is bitching about ‘the kids these days’. lighten up.
[quote]E99_Curt wrote:
[quote]E99_Curt wrote:
you’re on the right track. make everything else bigger in comparison. there could potentially be some bloating due to lactose or some other food allergy, but in the long run it’s likely nothing to worry about. for now, just build them shoulders, lats, and legs if you’re looking for an X shape.[/quote]
prof x, if your ‘bloating’ comment was directed at me, you can kindly go fuck yourself. i am pretty sure i told him to get bigger. all i ever see you post about is bitching about ‘the kids these days’. lighten up.[/quote]
I think he actually quoted who he was bagging on. Maybe your reaction was a bit misguided?
V
I don’t feel bloated but I do probably eat more broccoli than most. I’ll just post my usual day
8am: 2 eggs + 4 whites w/ diced peppers, onion and spinach, 1.25 cup oats
11am: apple and 25 or so almonds
1pm: 8oz chicken, 1/2 cup black beans, 3/4 cup brown rice, some broccoli
230-330 lifting
330pm: banana or gatorade powder and 40g whey postWO
530pm: 8oz meat (usually chicken or steak), large sweet potato, 2 cups broccoli
before bed: cup cottage cheese and 2-3 scoops peanut butter
[quote]dgallagher88 wrote:
8am: 2 eggs + 4 whites w/ diced peppers, onion and spinach, 1.25 cup oats
11am: apple and 25 or so almonds
1pm: 8oz chicken, 1/2 cup black beans, 3/4 cup brown rice, some broccoli
330pm: banana or gatorade powder and 40g whey postWO
[/quote]
Erase the times, eat this for breakfast!(except don’t throw out ANY yolks, this should be illegal)
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]WP wrote:
He’s telling him that the problem …[/quote]
No, but wait…what fucking problem?
The “being skinny with a bigger belly” problem? You mean the “problem” where the OP didn’t mention the word “bloating” at all or the problem that is easily fixed by actually gaining some muscle mass?
[/quote]
Truth. The answer in the context of the question was poor. Also just by looking at him, it’s obvious that he simply has a small frame without much muscle on him. For now, just keep lifting heavy and consistently (if you’re doing so already) and work on putting as much mass on as you can. Focusing on your delts and traps is going to minimize the big belly/wide hipped look.
Build some lats. Everyone should have a back so wide that they can see it from the front.
[quote]Alex Stoddard wrote:
[quote]dgallagher88 wrote:
8am: 2 eggs + 4 whites w/ diced peppers, onion and spinach, 1.25 cup oats
11am: apple and 25 or so almonds
1pm: 8oz chicken, 1/2 cup black beans, 3/4 cup brown rice, some broccoli
330pm: banana or gatorade powder and 40g whey postWO
[/quote]
Erase the times, eat this for breakfast!(except don’t throw out ANY yolks, this should be illegal)[/quote]
Nice one. … dgallagher88, this guy came out of lurking just for you so you better do what he says.
V
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]WP wrote:
He’s telling him that the problem …[/quote]
No, but wait…what fucking problem?
The “being skinny with a bigger belly” problem? You mean the “problem” where the OP didn’t mention the word “bloating” at all or the problem that is easily fixed by actually gaining some muscle mass?
[/quote]
I didn’t say he was right either. It was just you simply misinterpreted what was said, irrespective of how incorrect it was. Reading comprehension…
And secondly, I am not disagreeing with the advice given: more muscle mass. It’s just that you end up looking like a jerk when your advice is tainted by the fact that you’re not reading what you respond to. Perhaps some of the animosity towards you by skinnier people is caused by your unnecessarily confrontational behaviour.
You might want to look into some of Poliquin’s BioSignature methods as well. His studies point out certain links between health issues (like bloated midsection, or uneven fat storage in the midsection) and certain digestive weaknesses or similar issues.
Getting your gut/GI tract healthy, as well as gaining more muscle on the rest of your body should help even you out.
Eat more, more often also, in addition to training. This will help speed your metabolism up.
[quote]WestCoast7 wrote:
Eat more, more often also, in addition to training. This will help speed your metabolism up.[/quote]
Great advice, for many people.
However, I don’t think he needs to speed up his metabolism. He needs to slow it down, like I do. I’ve been focusing on stuffing myself, 4 times a day (up 12 lbs in just over a month approx. [however, like OP, I was underweight, so hold the applause]). His belly just isn’t that big.
My breakfast this morning was:
10oz+ lean ground beef (we bought a side of grass fed beef, otherwise, I wouldn’t be scared of medium ground beef)
1 cup of almonds (yes, 800 cals worth)
2 eggs my son didn’t eat (he ate 2)
1 kiwi
1 orange
2 tsp (teaspoon, not tbsp) of fish oil
a couple digestive enzymes
and maybe ;), 3 homemade peanut butter cookies (peanuts, egg, sugar, that’s it).
If I wasn’t running my 4 yr old to school, I probably would have ate more.
On my non-training days, I add in more carbs, as too many make me groggy!
Oh look, it’s dinner time! 
[quote]dgallagher88 wrote:
I’m hoping if I build up more muscle it won’t appear to be bigger than everywhere else.
[/quote]
As Westcoast7 said, provided you don’t have any digestive issues, this should be the result!
[quote]dgallagher88 wrote:
I don’t feel bloated but I do probably eat more broccoli than most. I’ll just post my usual day
8am: 2 eggs + 4 whites w/ diced peppers, onion and spinach, 1.25 cup oats
11am: apple and 25 or so almonds
1pm: 8oz chicken, 1/2 cup black beans, 3/4 cup brown rice, some broccoli
230-330 lifting
330pm: banana or gatorade powder and 40g whey postWO
530pm: 8oz meat (usually chicken or steak), large sweet potato, 2 cups broccoli
before bed: cup cottage cheese and 2-3 scoops peanut butter[/quote]
You have a decent idea of HOW to eat (apart form that egg white bullshit), now it’s a matter of eating a LOT more of it to gain weight. Slowly but surely, start eating more and more food over the next couple weeks, until you’re gaining around 5 lbs a month, give or take. Focus on getting stronger on all lifts, and getting technically better at them. Do this for a couple years, and you’ll come a LONG way.