Large belly

According to my mirror, when I let my core(abs) relax, my belly hangs out and I look like I'm 2 months pregnant.

I brought this up about 5 months ago and somebody told me it was just due to bodyfat. I accepted that it might be true...

I now have to disagree from firsthand experience. I've been busting my ass in the gym for awhile now with the weights, running over 3 miles per day 5 days a week, eating cleaner than a bar of soap, eating about 300g of protein every day, cut down on alcohol to the point where I drink probably once a month, fixed my sleeping patterns so I get 7-9 hours of sleep, I take a compliment of supplements every day(zinc, green tea extract, omega, calcium/magnesium, multivitamin, vitamin c), I drink several bags of green tea every day, I've cut out milk almost completely, and the only grains I eat is oatmeal.

On top of that, my abs are now visible. When I flex I have a 4pack(top 4 abs), so obviously my bodyfat isn't terribly high. My issue is that when I relax my abs, my belly hangs out and I look like im acouple months pregnant.

What the ****?

It's almost to the point where I'm going to go to my physician about it.

Don't get me wrong, its not a life-ending problem(atleast I don't think it is), I'd just rather not have to keep my abs tensed my whole waking life.

Anybody with experience, advice would be welcome.

I've heard it said that that sort of thing can be caused by gummed up digestive tract, and taken care of by those colon cleansing methods (waxy maize, etc.) I don't know anything first hand though, including whether or not there's any truth to the above mentioned stuff.

Hmmm, this seems to happen to me, although not to your extent. I will look into the cleanse, as I have wanted to do that anyways. For me, Im pretty sure its a muscle imbalance for me, my lower back is extremely strong and my abs are only averagely strong, so i think thats why. like you i have low body fat, around 10% or so, so Im sure its not that.

It is possible that you have either some kind of food allergy or condition that is causing you to be bloated.

this happens to me except I'm more like 6 months pregnant...

do you do cardio? I look better if I've been running or not eating much...

I think you're gonna have to keep tensing it dude

ah right re-read - how do you look after cardio?

guys looking back I think this is actually a problem!

laxatives...?

Just acouple more bits of info, incase it's useful...

I refrained from mentioning that I also take a dump once a day, so I'm not constipated or anything. I used to have a problem with this several years ago, but that was due to very poor hygeine and habits.

I was also told I had a milk allergy when I was very young(7-10yrs old?), but I believe I've grown out of it. I do drink milk occasionally(2 glasses a week, mabye 3), but it's always skim.

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I made an appointment this afternoon, for next week, with my physician for an allergy test, and I figure I'll ask him about it then.

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Again, it's not causing me pain or anything, but I honestly don't know what it feels like to relax the abs and not have a belly sticking out. For all I know, this is normal and everyone else does it, but for some reason I doubt it. Since I started getting into self-improvement last year, I've been pinpointing all my social, habitual, physical and mental flaws one by one and working on them, and this is one of the few I haven't been able to fix. I also think it has some sort of affect on my confidence/self-esteem, though I've had it for so long that I don't notice it anymore. Just imagine yourself having to flex your abs/suck-in whenever you're out in public. I also believe it's limiting my cardio workouts too. Notice how if you flex your abs, your lungs shrink abit? I have trouble taking really deep breaths, possibly also stemming from this. Lol I can just keep going with the negatives of this...Another thing is that I have an unusually nasal voice(not terrible, but I've had plenty of comments about it before), because i use the top of my vocal cords...When you use the full range of your vocal cords your voice is deeper, but if your abs are clenched and you're taking shorter breaths, you can't do that.

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Well there, I just spilled it all onto the floor... I'm going to take a wild guess and say that I should probably see my physician about this.

Any thoughts?

I couldn't be the only one out there like this, so if I actually manage to fix this issue I have, it would be useful to all others like me...

peace

I have had a beerbelly since I was ten, and Im pretty skinny otherwise, so I feel your pain. Luckily for us, a lot of chicks, actually think its cute. Working out, can actually make it bigger, but mine has stayed the same, working out or not. Iv'e seen a commercial for Relacore?, and it says stress can contribute to beerbellies. That stuff is designed to cut ab fat. Im never gonna take it or anything, but I've seen the commercials. I went psuedo-vegan for a couple years, and it still didnt shrink the ole gut. I think its in my genes. I stopped worrying about it.

Search "relacore." for more info.

how's your posture?

do u look lik e one of those anorexic ethiopians with massive bellys?

I don't know if it was you who posted this in another thread but - it's important to distinguish between stomach bloat from water or food and fat. If you're eating as much as you should be to gain weight (I don't know if this is your goal) then you should look pregnant most of the day, otherwise you're simply not eating enough. For most people, gaining calories are in the 3500-5000 range unless you're really advanced or really small; this is gonna give you a gut.

Check yourself in the morning before any fluid or food intake - do you have a gut then? If so something's amiss. This isn't the only reason you might have a gut, but you can throw down 5k squeaky clean calories and still be bloated to heck.

Other reasons as stated above might be poor digestion; increase your fibre intake through food or supplementation, and also consider digestive enzymes (bromelain, papain) with every meal. Do this for a month and see if there's a difference.

Another huge culprit is dairy consumption (again, as stated above), not JUST milk. Cut out ALL dairy for a month. No, not even once a week. And I mean all dairy: milk, cottage cheese, yogurt, cheese, cream anything. Again, run this for a month and see what happens.

And lastly, try losing more bodyfat and see what happens. It could just be a fat gut, after all, abs or no abs.

simba_ said:

how's your posture?

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I was wondering the same thing. I used to think that my stomach stuck out too much for someone that is skinny, but after I started lifting my posture improved and it doesn't look that way anymore. Even with the stomach bloat from food and water that I see at the end of the day (I'm bulking), if I stand with correct posture with my back straight and chest out, it doesn't look like my gut is sticking out too much.

You may already have good posture and something else is causing this, but it is something simple that you can examine and correct if there is a problem in this area.

Have you gone on an honest fat loss plan where you really had everything set up correctly ? Have you ever done a TCD?

Running 3 miles everyday isnt effective fat loss cardio.

Do this for the next 10weeks an post back here with your results (Give me some bodyweight and bf stats and i can give you some good starting point numbers for cals)

1. take in carbs for your first 2meals of the day only and from there its protein and fat the rest of the day. (unless its postworkout then have your normal postworkout shake)

2. Do low intensity cardio first thing in the morning 5days a week for 1 hour walking on the treadmill at 2.5-3.5mph with a 2.0-5.0 incline.

3. Keep up with your green tea and take this as well http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/al/sesa.html


Only take in the good carbs like youve been doing, and cut the dairy like alex suggested.

A big belly isn't always just due to bodyfat. Look into issues pertaining to your digestive system.

Quiksilver said:

I was also told I had a milk allergy when I was very young(7-10yrs old?), but I believe I've grown out of it.

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this is implausible. lactose intolerance is genetic, and usually kicks in when you are young (before age 6) and remains with you for life.

unless 100% of your genetic stock is from Holland or Scandanavia, it's highly plausible that you're lactose intolerant. Other Northern European populations are the next most likely to be lactose tolerant.

Okay, I'll start a program this coming monday for 8-10 weeks to try to fix the problem, or atleast narrow down the potential candidates for it.

Originally posted by Simba_
how's your posture?

Click to expand...

I've been told by a bunch of people that I have 'perfect' posture. This is unusual because until acouple years ago, I was one of those PC gamers who played entirely too much, so it's possible posture plays a role. I'll make an appointment with a chiaropractor(sp) this week just for the heck of it.

Originally posted by dj ben2
do u look lik e one of those anorexic ethiopians with massive bellys?

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If I relax my abs completely, yes. Although not anorexic by any means, because I have a decent muscle base. If I push out my stomach as much as possible, then my fully relaxed abs are about 75% of that size. One might call it a pot belly.

Originally posted by Warboss Alex
Other reasons as stated above might be poor digestion; increase your fibre intake through food or supplementation, and also consider digestive enzymes (bromelain, papain) with every meal. Do this for a month and see if there's a difference.

Click to expand...

I'll try this, although I've been taking a good amount of fibre for awhile in the form of oatmeal and a bowl of vegetables at dinner. Where do I pick up bromelain and papain?

Originally posted by Warboss Alex
Another huge culprit is dairy consumption (again, as stated above), not JUST milk. Cut out ALL dairy for a month. No, not even once a week. And I mean all dairy: milk, cottage cheese, yogurt, cheese, cream anything. Again, run this for a month and see what happens.

Click to expand...

I'll give this one an honest effort. It shouldn't be too hard, the only time I drink skim milk even is in my morning shake, to slow the digestion. I eat cheese occasionally, at like 8pm if I'm still hungry after dinner, but I'll cut that out completely and stick with the green tea.

Originally posted by EFFORT
Have you gone on an honest fat loss plan where you really had everything set up correctly ? Have you ever done a TCD?

Running 3 miles everyday isnt effective fat loss cardio.

Do this for the next 10weeks an post back here with your results (Give me some bodyweight and bf stats and i can give you some good starting point numbers for cals)

1. take in carbs for your first 2meals of the day only and from there its protein and fat the rest of the day. (unless its postworkout then have your normal postworkout shake)

2. Do low intensity cardio first thing in the morning 5days a week for 1 hour walking on the treadmill at 2.5-3.5mph with a 2.0-5.0 incline.

3. Keep up with your green tea and take this as well http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/al/sesa.html

Click to expand...

1. What do you mean carbs only at first two meals of the day? I have a bowl of vegetables at dinner, i'm guessing its only starchy carbs though(bread, oatmeal?) My diet is pretty good, but there's room for improvement so I'll cut carbs completely after lunch. The exception is ofcourse the occasional weekend beers

2. I'm going to give this a shot, starting monday. It means I have to adjust sleeping patterns, but I'll give it a go. Right now my cardio is postworkout 5 days a week.

3. Yeah, I'm sticking with the green tea. I also take green tea extract in the morning. I'll see what I can do about buying the sesame supplement thing, might take a week or so to get hold of it.

What is a TCD?

Originally posted by Francisco d'Anconia
A big belly isn't always just due to bodyfat. Look into issues pertaining to your digestive system.

Click to expand...

I was reading articles into the wee hours of the morning last night about this. There's something about intra-abdominal fat...Although it's only prevalent in post-pregnancy/old women..wtf? Apparently the solution to this is just general exercise...Surgery doesn't work because the fat is in amongst the intestines or something.

Originally posted by Throttle
this is implausible. lactose intolerance is genetic, and usually kicks in when you are young (before age 6) and remains with you for life.

unless 100% of your genetic stock is from Holland or Scandanavia, it's highly plausible that you're lactose intolerant.

Click to expand...

My grandparents are spanish and australian, so I suppose it's plausible. I always saw lactose intolerant people as people who's throat swells up or some ****, I guess there are different symptoms, so this might be the case.

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So, just to list off the possibilities:

1. I could very well be lactose intolerant, and an expanded stomach/digestive tract could be the side affect. I've scheduled an allergy test for afew days from now, so that should clear this up. Also, on monday i'll start a program which involves no dairy for 8 weeks, so these effectively take care of the possibility of lactose intolerance.

2. It could, although unlikely, be bad posture. I'm going to get a chairopractic exam done, to cross this possibility off.

3. I'll follow EFFORTs advice and do the morning cardio as well as crack down on my diet, again starting on monday. I somehow doubt that this is the case, but its certainly a possibility, I just have hard time believing it. Again it couldn't hurt to clean up my already clean diet. Shedding afew more % of external fat couldn't hurt, atleast not yet.

4. It could be the intra-abdominal fat thing, in which case the only solution is...*drum roll*....more dieting! If it's this one, I'm going to be uber-mad, because this is only common in old women. My mom works at a hospital so I'm going to ask for a CT scan, which is the only way to test for intra-abdominal fat. This will take acouple weeks to get hold of, but it'll conclude this possibility as well.

5. another thought I have is just that I might be a hardline endomorph.
If this is the case, then I guess there's nothing much I can do, except mabye surgery.

6. Perhaps it is just slack abdominal muscles and has nothing to do with digestion or bodyfat. If it's this, I believe there's a surgical procedure to fix it, but I won't consider anything for the time being.

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Aight, that's all we know so far about it. I'm gonna take some before/after pictures at some point, just to measure results, if there are any.

Hopefully for all others out there like me, this post will give some insight. The only real frustration for me is that I'm only 18 and shouldn't have to be dealing with weird things like this, especially since I'm an athlete and not sedentary.

Ahh well, writing about this is depressing, and I have to go to the gym anyways...

peace

Hang on mate. Most people have the ability to push their bellies out with their abs. My abs are always slightly tensed, yet even at quite a low bf% (8%), I could still deliberately "relax" (it's not relaxing, it's more like pushing) my abs and make my belly look big. Are you sure anything is amiss at all?

-shaun

Quiksilver said:

My grandparents are spanish and australian, so I suppose it's plausible. I always saw lactose intolerant people as people who's throat swells up or some ****, I guess there are different symptoms, so this might be the case.

Click to expand...

That would be a true 'allergy' that causes your immune system to freak. Most lactose intolerant folks simply lack an enzyme (lactase) that allows you to process lactose (milk sugar). So it goes straight through your system, with the potential to cause all sorts of GI problems. For a more specific first-hand description of symptoms, you'll have to ask some of the lactose intolerant guys here like WBA. Couldn't hurt to have 'em check for lactose intolerance along with the standard battery of allergen-tests -- unless you specifically mention it, they probably won't test that since it's not an autoimmune 'allergy'.

BTW -- most humans are lactose intolerant. The very phrasing of it betrays a bias, but we're stuck with the terminology.

I have this problem also. I have a slight curvature in my lower spine. My dad has it also, we walk the exact same way. My belly is always poking out. It's just one of those things in life you have to deal with.

The less fat you have, the better, of course. More weight will pull on your spine even more. I recommend a very high rep routine for abs, obliques and lower back, combined with moderate weight deadlifts. Basically strengthen your core but don't bulk it up. Strengthen what you have.

Then, it's a matter of sucking in and flexing. Of course, a bigger chest makes you look that much bigger. If you look closely, ALOT of wrestlers have this problem. Ripped up abs that stick out past their chests.

All you really can do is lose weight on the waist, strengthen up your spine, and build wide shoulders and a big chest. My girlfriend kind of thinks it's cute.

Just a quick note here in case some haven't noticed as not to confuse the two of us.

I am LoneSilver and then you have QuikSilver who started this thread.

LoneSilver