Pot belly (working out, muscle build)

[steveT95]

So as some of you know I've recently started working out seriously and watching my diet.

I have seen some very good gains in my strength and my muscle mass I reckon.

 

I haven't been strictly counting what I eat but I have kept an eye on things. The last couple of days I have started drinking semi-skimmed milk as well as whey protein shakes.

 

Before I started on the milk and shakes I noticed my belly seems to be getting bigger. My pecs are becoming more prominent but they aren't noticeable because my stomach isn't flat.

I would do some running or cardio to try and burn the belly fat but I am an ectomorph trying to gain a serious amount of weight in muscle.

 

My stomach muscles are good but I have a handful of gut that needs to go for abs to start showing and to have a flat stomach.

 

How can I get rid of the stomach fat?

 

Thanks

[AllTooWell]

In my opinion you need to continue to eat clean(er) than you are, and do some cardio.

 

You don't need to start running 10ks or anything like that. Do HIIT once a week. (Google it).

 

You should also look into what your "protein shakes" are, when you are drinking them, are you drinking enough water, etc because you could just be bloated/bloating.

[pink_sugar]

A lot of stomach fat comes from consumption of too many carbs and/or sugar with a combination of inactivity. Eat less carbs (pastas, breads and starches), consume more protein and if you drink soda or beer, stop now. The body will store sugar as fat. Carbs and starches will often convert to sugar, which will later be stored as fat. I know it really worked for my husband. Basically, you need to ditch anything with empty calories and no nutritional value.

Edited August 1, 2013 by pink_sugar

[tman666]

Is it belly fat or bloat?

 

Fat is flabby and tends to be loose, while bloat (which can be caused from all kinds of things from your diet-i.e. whey shakes) is mostly from gas.

 

I think clean eating is a great idea, but keep in mind that you still need to eat a lot to gain muscle as an ectomorph type guy.

 

If it's just fat: stay the course. Keep lifting heavy with intensity. Keep eating well. Don't stress.

 

If it's bloat: try to systematically eliminate certain things you are eating that may be causing it (whey shakes, dairy, wheat, etc.) to try and see what is causing it. The trick is to eliminate only one thing at a time for a couple of weeks at record (a log book can be helpful) how you're feeling. If you take out a bunch of stuff at once, you'll have a tough time replacing those calories, PLUS you will defeat the purpose of trying to figure out what is causing you to bloat up.

 

The other thing to keep in mind is that nobody feels good and looks good all of the time. Everyone wakes up some days looking watery and soft. Also, you've been lifting now on, what, a scale of weeks? I've been lifting/paying attention to my nutrition consistently for almost 10 years, and I while I like my physique, there's always room for improvements. Accept that this is a long term (i.e. the rest of your life) pursuit, that there will be ups and downs, that progress will come at different rates for different people, and go with the flow.

[pink_sugar]

Is it belly fat or bloat?

 

Fat is flabby and tends to be loose, while bloat (which can be caused from all kinds of things from your diet-i.e. whey shakes) is mostly from gas.

 

I think clean eating is a great idea, but keep in mind that you still need to eat a lot to gain muscle as an ectomorph type guy.

 

If it's just fat: stay the course. Keep lifting heavy with intensity. Keep eating well. Don't stress.

 

If it's bloat: try to systematically eliminate certain things you are eating that may be causing it (whey shakes, dairy, wheat, etc.) to try and see what is causing it. The trick is to eliminate only one thing at a time for a couple of weeks at record (a log book can be helpful) how you're feeling. If you take out a bunch of stuff at once, you'll have a tough time replacing those calories, PLUS you will defeat the purpose of trying to figure out what is causing you to bloat up.

 

The other thing to keep in mind is that nobody feels good and looks good all of the time. Everyone wakes up some days looking watery and soft. Also, you've been lifting now on, what, a scale of weeks? I've been lifting/paying attention to my nutrition consistently for almost 10 years, and I while I like my physique, there's always room for improvements. Accept that this is a long term (i.e. the rest of your life) pursuit, that there will be ups and downs, that progress will come at different rates for different people, and go with the flow.

 

This brings up a good point. I added about 5lbs in the last few weeks and feeling terrible about it. But I've been extremely gassy lately and often feel bloated. I don't drink dairy hardly at all, but it could be due to wheat consumption.

[steveT95]

I think the majority of it was bloat, which comes and goes regularly.

 

I do have a layer of fat that I would like to lose but in time, it isn't a concern too much at the moment since I am making big improvements in my muscle mass. I have put on 3IB in the last two weeks!

[theonlyjuan]

HIIT is good for losing stubborn fat around stomach.

 

They are shorter workouts but they are a killer. Worth doing though.

 

Obviously you need to have a good diet

[Cali408]

Do 2 24 hour fasts a week. Eliminate sugars and carbs. Eat vegetables instead of fruits. No long term cardio. HIIT, Complexes, and Circuits. Work out in a fasted state.

[RonaldS]

Do 2 24 hour fasts a week. Eliminate sugars and carbs. Eat vegetables instead of fruits. No long term cardio. HIIT, Complexes, and Circuits. Work out in a fasted state.

 

Ummmm, no.