Overweight, plus firm/bloated stomach.

[JMoeller1982]

Hello! first post here on the site. I am 25 years old, and mainly due to COVID, I have reached my highest weight of 230 lbs. Also, as in the title, my stomach is quite firm as well as large. I will be talking to a doctor soon because I have heartburn and indigestion. Gladly, I started changing my diet again, mostly focusing on reducing processed food, significantly increasing vegetables, lean meats, etc. I was wondering if anyone has dealt with similar issues as I have, and if anyone has other helpful advice, thank you in advance!

EDIT: I take 100% responsibility for gaining weight, and it is 100% my fault. Anyway thanks again for the responses!

[AdamWW]

Hello! first post here on the site. I am 25 years old, and mainly due to COVID, I have reached my highest weight of 230 lbs. Also, as in the title, my stomach is quite firm as well as large. I will be talking to a doctor soon because I have heartburn and indigestion. Gladly, I started changing my diet again, mostly focusing on reducing processed food, significantly increasing vegetables, lean meats, etc. I was wondering if anyone has dealt with similar issues as I have, and if anyone has other helpful advice, thank you in advance!

Let's not blame COVID for your weight gain...

Bloating can be caused by a number of issues, usually gas, constipation, or food intolerance.

[JSim83]

That big and firm belly sounds like you have plenty of visceral fat and likely you'll get rid of that by losing weight. As for heartburn, I am not adoctor, but I used to have that occasionally back in the day and for me it was always related to eating junk food and drinking beer.

[Junsuiakai]

Covid got me in the best shape of my life lol at covid making you gain weight.

[Luclin999]

Let's not blame COVID for your weight gain...

I'm also getting tired of people blaming "COVID" for their bad eating/lifestyle decisions.

Just because a person is stuck at home doesn't mean that they have literally nothing to do but eat.

I chose to put my extra time into working out and re-focusing my diet and I've lose over 20 pounds of fat since March.

[AdamWW]

I'm also getting tired of people blaming "COVID" for their bad eating/lifestyle decisions.

Just because a person is stuck at home doesn't mean that they have literally nothing to do but eat.

I chose to put my extra time into working out and re-focusing my diet and I've lose over 20 pounds of fat since March.

Agreed.

If anything, I've actually been MORE active since COVID started because I sensed early on that isolation might be a mental struggle for me... and making sure to get outside as much as possible, be more focused on standing vs sitting, and finding more ways to enhance my training/fitness just became a hobby/habit I built on.

With fewer options to be social, etc, I actually have an MORE time to move around and focus on work.... so I've actually been more productive and more 'fit' than previously.

I know not everyone deals with these things in the same way, but like you said, it's not COVID's fault.

Will Smith actually put it well (paraphrased): 'It may not be your fault that something happened, but how you react is still your responsibility'

[Junsuiakai]

Agreed.

If anything, I've actually been MORE active since COVID started because I sensed early on that isolation might be a mental struggle for me... and making sure to get outside as much as possible, be more focused on standing vs sitting, and finding more ways to enhance my training/fitness just became a hobby/habit I built on.

With fewer options to be social, etc, I actually have an MORE time to move around and focus on work.... so I've actually been more productive and more 'fit' than previously.

I know not everyone deals with these things in the same way, but like you said, it's not COVID's fault.

Will Smith actually put it well (paraphrased): 'It may not be your fault that something happened, but how you react is still your responsibility'

Exactly. Also it is really sad that those people in our lives, be it at work or just our friends can have such a profound impact on us. I learned this more than ever before during this lockdown.

I am a manager at a spa and work at Hilton so I always work around tons of people, especially women. And always hearing how good I look and I shouldn't diet. Really did prevent me from ever achieving my goal physique.

You hear it from friends family and even strangers. Being away from all that garbage. I could focus on myself entirely. And now people question why I didnt do it sooner.. it is really sad how subconsciously those people can affect us.

[faithbrah]

And always hearing how good I look and I shouldn't diet. Really did prevent me from ever achieving my goal physique.

man, this grinds my gears so much sometimes. some non-lifting people seem to think you have an eating disorder if you cut @ 15-20%

my grandma was horrified when i started cutting back in march (~27-28% bf), and my friend was wondering it in the summer too when i was maybe 18%

when you say "i'm on a diet"
- what you mean: "i want to get lean, look good and feel healthy"
- what non-lifting people hear: "i'm fat, i look disgusting and need to lose weight"

how the hell do you tell people that a normal body @ 20% bf is not enough for you, and your soul (or ego?) needs more than that?

[Junsuiakai]

man, this grinds my gears so much sometimes. some non-lifting people seem to think you have an eating disorder if you cut @ 15-20%

my grandma was horrified when i started cutting back in march (~27-28% bf), and my friend was wondering it in the summer too when i was maybe 18%

when you say "i'm on a diet"
- what you mean: "i want to get lean, look good and feel healthy"
- what non-lifting people hear: "i'm fat, i look disgusting and need to lose weight"

how the hell do you tell people that a normal body @ 20% bf is not enough for you, and your soul (or ego?) needs more than that?

They are just projecting how THEY feel. They are angry we arent happy how we look because they would KILL to look 15-20% muscular. But in reality if you look decent at 15-20% muscular you will look insane at 10-12% I'm glad I learned how much others had an effect on me. So in the future it wont be the same.

[vansnxtweek489]

Hello! first post here on the site. I am 25 years old, and mainly due to COVID, I have reached my highest weight of 230 lbs. Also, as in the title, my stomach is quite firm as well as large. I will be talking to a doctor soon because I have heartburn and indigestion. Gladly, I started changing my diet again, mostly focusing on reducing processed food, significantly increasing vegetables, lean meats, etc. I was wondering if anyone has dealt with similar issues as I have, and if anyone has other helpful advice, thank you in advance!

Soda/beer/and basically any and all junk BEVERAGES. Cut them out. Like someone said, a distended stomach would lead more towards visceral fat which is extra bad for you and needs to be addressed. Drink more water and absolutely make that appt. with your doctor. Good luck.

[W.I.N.]

Had a bit of this too with constant reflux after poor diet, lots of coffee and nicotine, which can all affect your stomach.

Doc got me on proton pump inhibitors for a few weeks to block acid production, I fixed my diet, quit nicotine and reduced my coffee intake by a lot(I was really abusing it before) and it's much better now. Alcohol can be bad too but honestly I only drink socially so I haven't had any alcohol since quarantine started lol.

Check with your doctor though, as maybe lifestyle changes can be enough, or he might prescribe you something.

I also have to say, good on people who have healthy coping mechanisms, happy for yall, but OP these have been stressful times, sometimes we just make the wrong choices, it's not blaming covid, but covid is definitely a stress factor which does make us more likely to seek unhealthy but pleasurable activities. Glad you're looking to fix the issue now, good luck!