My gut

MustangMark83 · 06-07-2007, 05:56 PM

I'm a pretty skinny guy. 6'5 195 lbs, my arms are toned, my shoulders, chest, legs, back... there's no rolls of fat anywhere, except my BELLY! It won't go away

I started working out about a month ago. I goto the gym and jog 3 miles on the treadmill 4-5 times a week, I do some series of lifting weights to build my arms, and I do 50-100 crunches each time I go. The belly still looks the same!

Here's my diet

I wake up and eat a bowl of plain oatmeal with some healty almond special K type garbage, you know the stuff that doesn't taste anywhere near as good as cocoa puffs or cinamon toast crunch. That was a big enough hurdle to deal with, but I'm managing. Now let's goto brunch. About 2 hrs after breakfast I'll eat a small powerbar and an apple. Lunch I have a chicken breast on a wheat bread hamburger bun. For dinner I will eat mashed potatoes, 1 chicken breast, and a bowl of mixed frozen veggies. If I eat desert it's usually a fat-free fruit on the bottom yogurt. I drink water all day long, but with dinner I enjoy a class of OJ for vitamin C.

That's not really a whole lot of food for a grown 24 yr old man, is it? The belly is still there! Am I expecting results too quickly? Or eating the wrong stuff? I guess it really doesn't help that I'm a semi truck driver for a living, and I am on the road for 10-12 hrs a day, so I can't do any excercise till I get home. But while I'm driving instead of stopping at the gas station for a soda, I just keep a gallon jug of water with me all day... I'm really trying here.

Here's a couple pics of my belly. Standing up I don't look so bad, but when I'm front leaning rest position, the gravity takes a toll and my belly really sags down.

The first pic is me standing, the next 2 are taken at angles of me in a push-up position, with my belly sagging down to the floor. Warning - the pictures are repulsive. So don't click unless you have no fear of seeing a gross man.

MustangMark83 · 06-07-2007, 05:58 PM

oh I just wanted to add. Yeah I have stretch marks all over my belly, but what can I do? Those don't bother me too much, they are a result of me losing 100 lbs over the past 3 years. I went from 295 lbs down to 195 within a couple years.

DaCougarMech · 06-07-2007, 06:05 PM

perhaps you dont have any muscle to show under that fat
try doing heavier weights that will target your abs with less reps
like 2-3 sets of weighted situps for 6-8 reps

MustangMark83 · 06-07-2007, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaCougarMech

perhaps you dont have any muscle to show under that fat
try doing heavier weights that will target your abs with less reps
like 2-3 sets of weighted situps for 6-8 reps

Ya I have no abdominal muscle whatsoever. I can only do 20-25 situps without needing a break. I take a 2 min breather and do the other 25, and I'm done for the day... lol

How do you do a weighted situp exactly?

Also, do you think my gut is caused from excess skin after losing all that weight? If it's extra skin, I'm probably gonna have to get a tummy tuck, which I don't want

I hope I don't need that... but what can I do with all that hanging skin? Is it that bad?

mark

Jim_C · 06-07-2007, 06:13 PM

I would cut out the power bar, orange juice and the mashed potatoes.

Doesnt look like you are getting much protein, maybe 100 grams if I am looking at it right. Go to www.fitday.com and chart your macros. Make sure you are gettin at least 200 grams of protein in and 2000 - 2200 calories.

ScottC · 06-07-2007, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MustangMark83

Also, do you think my gut is caused from excess skin after losing all that weight? If it's extra skin, I'm probably gonna have to get a tummy tuck, which I don't want

I hope I don't need that... but what can I do with all that hanging skin? Is it that bad?

You most likely will need to do what some of us here have to do: cycles of cuts and bulks and cuts and bulks and cuts to remove as much fat as possible. I have been cutting for over 13 months and my trainer says I have another 2-3 months of cutting before I start my first bulk. Since I didn't see much muscle in pic #1, maybe you should clean bulk for a while and then cut. Very hard to tell from your pics.

It is better to do the bulk/cut cycles before thinking about surgery. I didn't see someone that needed surgery, just someone who needs a more strict diet plan, knowing the right amount of calories needed for fat loss. How many calories are you currently eating?

MustangMark83 · 06-07-2007, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottC

You most likely will need to do what some of us here have to do: cycles of cuts and bulks and cuts and bulks and cuts to remove as much fat as possible. I have been cutting for over 13 months and my trainer says I have another 2-3 months of cutting before I start my first bulk. Since I didn't see much muscle in pic #1, maybe you should clean bulk for a while and then cut. Very hard to tell from your pics.

It is better to do the bulk/cut cycles before thinking about surgery. I didn't see someone that needed surgery, just someone who needs a more strict diet plan, knowing the right amount of calories needed for fat loss. How many calories are you currently eating?

Less than 2000 a day, probably in the 1500 area.

Can you tell me how to properly "bulk"? That's where you eat a lot of protein and calories right? I'm scared that if I do that, I'll get heavier and my belly will get bigger. I've just been dieting and doing as much cardio as I can, which is working, I've lost 15 lbs in the past month... Belly is still there though!

MustangMark83 · 06-07-2007, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim_C

I would cut out the power bar, orange juice and the mashed potatoes.

Doesnt look like you are getting much protein, maybe 100 grams if I am looking at it right. Go to www.fitday.com and chart your macros. Make sure you are gettin at least 200 grams of protein in and 2000 - 2200 calories.

No orange juice? How am I going to get my daily vitamin C?

Jim_C · 06-07-2007, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MustangMark83

No orange juice? How am I going to get my daily vitamin C?

multi vitamin, your new best friend.

MustangMark83 · 06-07-2007, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim_C

multi vitamin, your new best friend.

I'm such a newbie with all this, I come from a household of eating twinkies and chocolate ice cream (which is how I used to weigh 295 lbs in highschool). Thank god I have a whole new outlook on life huh?

K now can somebody tell me what Multi vitamins are? I'm guessing they're pills correct? Available at a GNC store? While I'm there I'll get some whey protein.

Oy Vay this is going to cost me some $$$

ScottC · 06-07-2007, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MustangMark83

Less than 2000 a day, probably in the 1500 area.

Can you tell me how to properly "bulk"? That's where you eat a lot of protein and calories right? I'm scared that if I do that, I'll get heavier and my belly will get bigger. I've just been dieting and doing as much cardio as I can, which is working, I've lost 15 lbs in the past month... Belly is still there though!

You are not eating enough calories. Your body is burning what muscle you have and some fat, but your body is holding onto the fat. Counting calories is huge, whether you are cutting or bulking.

When you add muscle your metabolism, which has slowed due to lack of calories, it will increase and help with burning fat. If you do a clean bulk, and not eat a bunch of junk, you will put on less BF.

Here is a good bulking article to educate yourself about it:
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1268956

Link to ALL the nutrition articles on BB.com's main site:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbmainnut.htm

Plenty of diet plans, including bulking diets. Even sample meal plans, and calculators to help you figure out your macros. Spend some time reading and learning about nutrition.

DaCougarMech · 06-07-2007, 06:47 PM

do some decline situps holding a plate to your chest

Jim_C · 06-07-2007, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MustangMark83

I'm such a newbie with all this, I come from a household of eating twinkies and chocolate ice cream (which is how I used to weigh 295 lbs in highschool). Thank god I have a whole new outlook on life huh?

K now can somebody tell me what Multi vitamins are? I'm guessing they're pills correct? Available at a GNC store? While I'm there I'll get some whey protein.

Oy Vay this is going to cost me some $$$

I come from the same kind of background. If you stick to a clean diet you will eventually lose all of the cravings for those kinds of foods.

You can get a bottle of multi vitamin pills at just about any grocery store or health store. You can buy fancy kinds, but I just go with the good old "One a Day" brand.

Don't worry about doing an extensive ab routine until you get your diet in check. Research, research, research.