Skinny Guy, Fat Belly

[jdotpitts]

Hello,

I have been doing the Stronglifts 5x6 program for one month.

When I started I had a protuding belly that I wanted to get rid of and gain some definition thereafter. The thing is, I am 5'11" and 161 lbs. I am eating 6x a day (chicken and rice, mainly), and my goal is to get to Mehdi's suggested weight of 175 lbs. My question is: if I keep gaining weight, won't my stomach just keep getting bigger? When I start cutting after I gain to 175, will I get more definition then?

I know that I should just keep on doing what I am doing, but it's hard for me to see the endgame right now. i guess I am just feeling discouraged staring at this round guy in front of me.

[dhw]

One month is very, very, little time for a beginner in a strength program. At 5'11 you can easily carry much more than 175 lbs, probably more like 195. Your stomach is also the hardest place to lose fat. Just keep at it and see where you are 4-6 months out. Once you start squatting the heavier weights is when you really start to burn the fat as you are building muscle. There is no instant gratification in this program. But, if you stick with the program you will get stronger and also look stronger. Start a log, set some goals and use the progression in weight as motivation. You will get to where you want to be, just not overnight.

[ricepower]

I have the type of body which is pretty skinny all over, especially upper body and arms. But I have always had a big unproportional gut and big hips too.

Over nearly a year of lifting weights ive come to understand that this belly fat is pretty much the bottom line for me. If I lost so much fat that it started to go I would be weak, have no energy and ave a dangerously low total bodyfat percentage. I would also need a totally unenjoyable diet etc.

So with my fundamental goal which was getting stronger/fitter I totally embraced the idea of putting on weight to achieve this. I have been eating all I can whenever I can. I even snack on jars of peanut butter and have started eating avocado's at 400kcal a pop. But still my weight refuses to gain, in fact it sometimes goes down. When I started it was 64kg I got it up to 70kg pretty quick, but these days I find it slides back to 68kg unless I really try hard and push eating all the fat I can.

Belly has definetely not gotten any fatter at any stage. It in fact now has a shape which suggests there is muscle underneath and is rock hard even when not tensing. Also, significantly, pecs, lats & triceps have grown which gives a much more proportioned shape. upper body is now bigger than hips or midsection. This would have not been possible without all the food.

I really want to put on a lot more weight, but am struggling to find a way. Im not in a position to do full GOMAD.

[David]

Ok, let's take a look at a few things; 161lbs at a height of 5'11 is not overweight so we can eliminate that factor. So now we need to look at what would cause a belly at that weight. My first thought would be that you are impacted in your bowels, which is not uncommon. Without being graphic, you need to be eliminating several times a day, normally once after a sizable meal. Many people only have a bowel movement once a day and even more people only once every other day or few days. They consider this the 'norm', but it is not. If you aren't having a movement AT LEAST daily, every day then you are impacted to some point. This can cause abnormal abdominal extension. You may be carrying multiple pounds of fecal matter in your intestinal tract that has not passed through. In the long term this can cause a whole host of medical problems including cancer. Not to mention that the lining of your intestines get coated with a kind of fecal gel which diminishes nutrients being absorbed through your intestinal tract.

Recommendations would be to get a quality product that will cleanse your entire intestinal tract. I use a product that has an A.M. and a P.M. dose that gently gets that fecal matter moving and out of the body. Currently I use a product called 'Spring Valley Ultra Cleansing System". I've used others every so often as well that work great. Also consider a colonic or series of colonics as that gets so much moving you'd be amazed and probably a bit horrified! It also helps eliminate parasites which you very probably have...most people do to some extent. There are also gentle OTC herbal remedies that will kill and pass parasites from the blood and intestinal tract. I sometimes use a product called "Chantilly Health Parasitefree" which is drops you place in water.

Now here is a HUGE consideration...PROBIOTICS! People are familiar with antibiotics but usually not probiotics. A good probiotic puts helpful bacteria back into your intestinal tract. We absolutely need various strains of bacteria in our intestinal tracts in order for proper elimination to take place and have a healthy colon. I take either 'Jarro-Dophilus EPS' or 'Dr. Ohhira's Probiotic 12 Plus'. They are both Enteric Coated which means they don't dissolve until they've reached the intestinal tract. Jarrow has 5 BILLION eight live species strain of helpful bacteria and Probiotic 12 Plus has 900 million. Both work will, particularly in conjunction with a good intestinal cleanse.

Yet another consideration is FUNGUS! You have no idea how deadly fungi can be in your body and the damage it can cause...trust me, I know. There is a LOT of research both historical and current that places fungus as the cause of cancer and other degenerative disease. Fungus feeds on sugar. If I were you, I'd cut out IMMEDIATELY sodas, white bread, white pasta, sugary desserts and anything else that contains white refined sugar. White rice and pasta converts the starch to sugar in your body. There are alternatives such as spelt pasta, stevia or honey instead of sugar, gluten free bread etc. And of course water...water and then more water!

Do some research into all the above and then put it into effect. It will make a more healthy you which in turn will translate to your appearance.

[tenkev]

Skinny all around and fat belly means you have pre-diabetes.

Cut the carbs.

[jdotpitts]

holy shit, the last two posts are scaring me now.

[pangram]

holy shit, the last two posts are scaring me now.

Especially the last one - It seems to me you just have a 'skinny fat look'. But indeed, cut carbs, follow the nutrition guidelines, and lift. You'll be fine.

[dhw]

holy shit, the last two posts are scaring me now.

Just eat clean and keep lifting. You will do fine.

[David]

holy shit, the last two posts are scaring me now.

Not meant to scare you, simply inform you that there is often more than just eat more/train harder. There is a cause and effect relationship where the cause needs to be examined and corrected.

My point is to give you options to consider from which you can make an educated decision. Eating clean and training hard are always good advice, but not always the complete picture.

[ricepower]

Skinny all around and fat belly means you have pre-diabetes.

Cut the carbs.

No it doesnt, dont be so blunt about something so serious. You are not the best doctor that ever lived - able to diagnose from vague descriptions on a web forum.

[wrenchhands]

Ricepower, by the way you jumped on tenken, it sounds like you may have slight bipolar, schizo oriented.

[Teak]

It seems abundantly clear to me wrenchhands is suffering from fundamental attribution error diagnosing others with his own problems/disorders. PM me for the name of a good psychiatrist.

[Bman1]

Actually both David and Tenkev are guilty of jumping to some pretty far out conclusions about the OP's health conditions with no more to go on than he has "a protruding belly" that he wants to get rid of. How protruding is it? Is it truly a lot of fat or does it just appears to the OP to be "protruding"? Does appear protruding because he has doesn't have much upper body muscles, particularly in the back and chest? (If you have a small upper back and chest, it wouldn't take much to make a belly appear protruding).

Certainly there was nothing in the OP's description to suggest either bowel impaction or "pre-diabetes" (whatever that is) so I don't think there was anything wrong with Ricepower calling Tenkev out on it.

[tenkev]

Actually there is alot to suggest he has prediabetes. 41 million Americans suffer from prediabetes and the one easy indicator is an apple shaped body.

Taken from the front page http://www.pre-diabetes.com:

People with an apple-shaped body have an increased risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, and gall bladder disease.
Having an apple body shape can be a warning sign of insulin resistance and pre-diabetes.

FTW!

[Bman1]

Tenkev - Thanks for the link. At least I know now that pre-diabetes is a real term and potentially a real cause for concern. Nonetheless, the OP is clearly not overweight or obese at 5"11" and 161 lbs and when I look at the risk factors listed for pre-diabetes (http://www.pre-diabetes.com/info/prediabetes-risks.html, I don't see anything about skinny fat or a protruding belly. The OP may indeed be disposed to have an apple shaped body if he gets too fat but he isn't there yet at his current height and weight. So I stand by my point that you jumped to a medical conclusion without any real information.