Skinny guy with fat belly

BrianD3

I'm naturally skinny and find it very hard to put on weight. For years I was really skinny and no matter what I ate, I never put on any weight. Eventually, I got fed up with being skinny so for nearly a year now I've been making a determined effort to build muscle, through weight training and a very high protein and very high calorie diet. I haven't been doing any cardio work, except when warming up for the weights. I have built a bit of muscle and am pleased with myself but annoyingly I've also acquired some fat in my abdominal area and I want to get rid of it. But I'm afraid that if I change my training and diet, I'll lose the muscle that I've put in so much effort to gain.

I'm 11 stone 2 now @ 5' 9", still quite thin with a 40" chest and a 30" waist. A year ago, I had a 36" chest and 28.5" waist. I'd like to get my waist down to 29". At the moment it just feels too soft and flabby and I can pinch 1 inch of skin over the rectus abdominus and about 2 inches over the obliques. I can still see the muscles underneath with some definition and have a flat stomach but the fat is definitely there.

If I can maintain my current muscle mass while at the same time losing the fat from my belly, I'll be happy. Is this a realistic goal for me? My thinking is I need to increase calories expended by doing more cardio, decrease calorie intake through diet change, eat loads of clean protein and continue doing the weights. Seems like a difficult balancing act. Has anyone any comments or tips to help me achieve this?

Ta
BrianD3

silverside

Keep going, sounds like you're on the right track.

I wouldn't worry too much about calorie intake. As long as you are eating a healthy balanced diet and not drinking too much your body will find the right weight for itself.

Keep up the training with a good mix of cardio and weights, maybe vary your routine a bit every few months to keep the variety in. Maybe having a layer of fat is in your genes.

No offence but you're sounding a bit girly worrying about an inch or two on your waist. If you're getting fitter/stronger don't worry about it - set yourself targets in terms of what your body can do instead of what size it is.

silverside

Just reread your post again - you're doing NO CARDIO ??

There's no way you'll lose fat through weights alone. Start jogging/biking/swimming (gradually) it's good for your heart as well. You could switch to a maintenance regime on the weights (twice a week) and do 2 or 3 cardio sessions as well.

I believe the experts say a high protein diet (i.e. using supplements and powders) is unneccesary - if you eat a reasonable amount of protein (milk/fish/chicken) that's enough and more than that is putting strain on your kidneys.

silverside

Enough of the lecturing from me - sorry .

Why not try cycling 1 evening a week for 1 hour, jogging 1 evening for 20-30 minutes, and swimming 1 morning for 20-30 minutes, together with a slightly higher reps/lower weights on your current circuit (if you're doing the cycling/running you could ease up on any lower body weights) - 2 times a week in the gym, that will increase muscle endurance without bulking up any more. As you get fitter increase the jog/swim to 30-40 mins. Join a running club (no need to be very serious about it) or do a circuit class once a week if you want a bit of company / competition.

Hills sessions and/or interval training sessions are great for fitness as well but you would want to have a few months jogging behind you first.

Corksham

I used to lift weights before but I stopped. I was over 13 stone and had alot of fat as I was doing little cardio as well. I cut the weights and got into cardio 3/4 times a week and am now 11 stone 6 and have lost little of the actual muscle and feel much fitter and healthier. You can lose the fat and still maintain alot of the muscle. You won't be able to lift as much but I have no interest in a 100kg bench press any more. I found a high protein diet helps you bulk but too many people fool themselves into thinking that bulk is healthy muscle when like me they have a fat face a belly and are over-weight. I can understand the buzz of lifting heavy but I'd rather the cardio as I personally feel much better and to be honest a more confident person. This is my personal opinion and am in no way condeming high protein diets, weight lifting or the like.

Easygainer

I've gotten advice on this from a pro bber before (IFBB top ten athlete) so he'd know about this - I'll add his advise in a minute but a couple of things first.

Firstly, decide what you wanna do - cut fat or gain muscle. Unless you're a complete newbie or on drugs you CANNOT do this. Your body cannot be in two metabolic states at the same time. Commit to either and then stick to it until you achieve your desired results.

At the moment I'm weighing in at 18stone 9lbs and intend to bulk up to around 19 and a half or twenty stone for april. I'll prob gain an extra 7 lbs of fat in the process (started bulking from just under 18stone @ around 15%bf (genuine 15%)). Anyways, then I'm gonna diet down for 11 weeks keeping a low carb diet, doing morning cardio and towards the end twice a day cardio and maybe take mild fat burners (I'm drug tested for powerlifting so what I do should be universally applicable).

Splitting up the phases into cutting and bulking is what all bbers do. However, if it is just your stomach holding fat the problem may be with your meal structure. If you eat large meals infrequently (ie around 3 times a day is infrequent), you will become bloated and have a gut. The way around this distention is quite simple, and here's what the pro advised. Simply maintain your calorie intake but divide it over more meals with smaller portions. This way you will not be as bloated nor will you be hungry.

If you could post a meal plan I'd be happy to help more.