Belly ruining my bulk

The Cowboy

Hi guys,
Started a new programme 6 weeks ago, Starting Strength, with a view to increased strength and size.
Im 26 and 5'7". Weight has gone from 65kg to 70kg in the 6 weeks, with gains all over, most of which i am impressed with, except for the belly.
Im getting in plenty of cals, enough protein for my goals and plenty of carbs, plus the required fats.
I eat 5-6 times a day, every day, with medium sized meals each time, eg
Wake Up Big Whey(23g)
Meal 1 Porridge, Banana, OJ, Multivits, Fish Oil.
Meal 2 Scrambled Eggs and 2 Slices Toast and 500ml Milk.
Meal 3 Chicken/Tuna on toast w Mayo, pesto, mozz cheese and 500ml Milk.
PreWorkout Big Whey(23g) and 5g Creatine
PWO (Meal 4) Big Whey(23g), 2g Creatine, 2 Eggs, 1 Banana, 25g Oatmeal, 25g Dextrose, 500ml Water(All blended)
Meal 5 Chicken Pasta Bake/Korma/Tikka/Thai Sauce and rice/pasta.
Meal 6 100g Cashew Nuts.
Prebed MassX, 45g Cottage Cheese, 500ml Milk, 20g Oatmeal(Blended)

And i also try and drink 2L of water a day.
Obviously, on non workout days(4days) i dont have the Pre or PostWorkout Shakes, but i still usually have the WakeUp and Prebed shakes.
There was also a 2week period where i ate ice cream after meal5 most days but thats stopped now.
I wouldnt be fond of doing cardio as it will interfere with my goal, so any suggestions on how to continue growing, while shrinking the gut?

rubadub

Have you calculated what your calorie intake properly?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=50956807&postcount=4

According to that guide I should eat about 500kcal more per day for gains. That would be just your cashews giving that.

BossArky

The Cowboy wrote: »

Im 26 and 5'7". Weight has gone from 65kg to 70kg in the 6 weeks

Same stats as myself, except I'm 73kg. That is pretty rapid weight gain. Perhaps too rapid and putting on too much fat at the same time as muscle?

justsomebloke

rubadub wrote: »

Have you calculated what your calorie intake properly?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=50956807&postcount=4

According to that guide I should eat about 500kcal more per day for gains. That would be just your cashews giving that.

agreed and you seem to be following that with a monster of a meal prebed as well.

amazingemmet

Too much carbs In your diet imo.

The Cowboy

Ok, so im consuming too many calories and too many carbs.
I was thinking that anyway.
Then what changes to my diet should i make, ie which meals should i reduce the cals and carbs, without sacrificing any gains in positive size i may make...
1. Lose the toast with my scrambled eggs?
2. Reduce the pasta/rice in Meal 5?
3. Get rid of the nuts completely?
4. Get rid of the prebed shake completely?
5. Lose the oatmeal in the PWO shake?

amazingemmet

1. Lose the toast with my scrambled eggs? no
2. Reduce the pasta/rice in Meal 5? yes
3. Get rid of the nuts completely? I think nuts are good to have in a diet generally you just need to fit them into your allowed cals
4. Get rid of the prebed shake completely? No a pre-bed shake is a good way to gain muscle you just need to get rid of the carbs in it really, I normally have 2scoops whey, olive oil, milk some pb and cottage cheese for a shake not a "gainer"
5. Lose the oatmeal in the PWO shake? yes but not for the sake of getting the carbs out

Drussaxe

spread that out over at least 10 meals a day if you want to keep the gut smaller lol, and dont overdo the carbs, unused carbs get turned into fat, and too much protein results in kidney damage over time. the right balance is to be no more than about 5 % over your daily needs when trying to gain.

Energy your body wastes on eliminating or converting the excess, is energy thats not going into muscle production.

And lastly if your taking any steriods, some cause distended abdominal muscles. (not implying you do just saying...)

amazingemmet

Drussaxe wrote: »

And lastly if your taking any steriods, some cause distended abdominal muscles. (not implying you do just saying...)

And lastly If you're giving advice keep it relevant. And its peptide usage not AAS that gives the distended gut

Hanley

Drussaxe wrote: »

spread that out over at least 10 meals a day if you want to keep the gut smaller lol, and dont overdo the carbs, unused carbs get turned into fat, and too much protein results in kidney damage over time. the right balance is to be no more than about 5 % over your daily needs when trying to gain.

Energy your body wastes on eliminating or converting the excess, is energy thats not going into muscle production.

And lastly if your taking any steriods, some cause distended abdominal muscles. (not implying you do just saying...)

I'm sorry, but these are two of the most ridiculous things I've ever read.

Too much protein won't damage your kidney. The right balance is certainly not 5% over your daily needs. How convenient that it works out to EXACTLY 5% too if it is. I'd like to see your sources on this.

And steroids causing distended abs... A little knowledge really is a dangerous thing. It's primarily growth hormone that cos this distend look, for two reasons. Firstly GH makes EVEYTHING grow, that means joint, jaw line and yes, internal organs, hence the distension. And the amount of food being consumed by these guys to support their needs is so massive it will tend to inflate the stomach somewhat.

These really aren't concerns the general gym population are ever going to have to be concerened with. The OP's belly is nothing more than some excess fat that you will inevitably gain while bulking up. If people were to read this thread without realising it I'm sure many of them would hit the panic button and think their 6 small meals a day and 200g of protein would make them look pregnant.

justdoit

I'm at 5'7", and 70kg also. My weight gain has not been anywhere near as rapid as the OP, but I have added 5 kg over about the past year. Pretty happy with my BF percentage, so for what it's what it's worth, here's what i eat...

Meal 1: porridge with full fat milk, blueberries, honey and pumpkin seeds

Meal 2: dark chocolate rice cakes x 2 or handfull of nuts or biltong (posh beef jerky!)

Meal 3: wholemeal roll with chicken fillet and salad, popcorn and fruit or quiche or similar plus fruit

Meal 4: banana or protein bar

Post work out creatine/ protein shake

Meal 5: stir fry vegetables with beef/ chicken or brown pasta/ rice with chicken or similar

My dilemma (sorry if hijacking) is a somwhat similar- my diet has improved, but my weight is now pretty constant at 70kg. I'd like to add about 3.5 kg, but not in the ned kelly department- is the simple answer to just eat more? For information, my current workout looks like this:

Day 1: Chest

Incline Bench Press (smith machine) 5 Sets, 6,6,8,10,12 Reps
DB Bench Press 5 Sets, 8,8,10,10,12
DB Decline Fly 4 Sets, 8,8,10,12
Weighted Dip 3 Sets, 8,10,12.

Day 2: Back

Deadlift 5 Sets, 6,6,8,10,12 Reps
Bent Over Barbell Row 5 Sets, 8,8,10,10,12
Seated Cable Row 4 Sets, 8,8,10,12
Lat Pulldown (to front) 3 Sets, 8,10,12

Day 3: Legs

Squat 5 Sets, 6,6,8,10,12 Reps
Leg Press 5 Sets, 8,8,10,10,12
Leg Ext 3 Sets, 8,10,12
Straight Leg Deadlift 4 Sets, 8,10,10,12
Good Mornings 4 Sets, 8,10,10,12
Calf raises 3 Sets, 15,15,15

Day 4: Shoulders/Arms

Seated Barbell Press 5 Sets, 6,6,8,10,12 reps
Wide Grip Upright Rows 5 Sets, 8,8,10,10,12
Barbell Curls 4 Sets, 6,8,10,12
Preacher Curls 3 Sets, 8,10,12
Close grip Bench Press 4 Sets, 6,8,10,12
Weighted Bench Dip 4 Sets, 6,8,10,12

justsomebloke

well when was the last time you upped the amount of food you eat

justdoit

current diet is a result of a recent attempt to eat more and eat better. been doing so for about a month. during that time weight has stayed pretty constant, to be honest.

justsomebloke

well the thing that jumps out at me is the lack of a protein in meal one and 2. Also make sure you have some simple carbs with your post work out shake. However if you have stalled just try and increase the portions that you are having and see if that makes a difference

justdoit

I was guessing that might be the response- I will definitely try to up it. Stupid question time- simple carbs?

Hanley

justdoit wrote: »

I was guessing that might be the response- I will definitely try to up it. Stupid question time- simple carbs?

Fast digesting/sugary carbs.

Think glucose/dextrose.

dpddave

What are your goals? What weight do you want to be? You may just have to put up with the belly for a while and go on a cut before Summer to lean up a bit. And you really should be doing some cardio, even if you are trying to put on weight.

justdoit

Thanks guys, and agree on the cardio point, but aside from the time in gym, I coach a rugby team, so am training twice a week for that too, so am getting some cardio in. Used to do some triathlon, but found it way too detrimental to weight gain, so think two sessions a week should keep me going.

Overall aim is to add between 3 and 5 kg more. Would be happy at 75kg.

Just to go back to simple carbs point- is drinking a Lucozade sport afetr working out any good, or should I be looking for something else?

dpddave

justdoit wrote: »

Just to go back to simple carbs point- is drinking a Lucozade sport afetr working out any good, or should I be looking for something else?

To get simple carbs after my workout I throw a couple of scoops of whey in milk shake it up and add some Rice Krispies, tastes yummy aswel and helps the protein get to your muscles quicker.

Mhmm...weetabix

dpddave wrote: »

What are your goals? What weight do you want to be? You may just have to put up with the belly for a while and go on a cut before Summer to lean up a bit. And you really should be doing some cardio, even if you are trying to put on weight.

+1
Do some cardio (even light) you'll regret it if you dont in the long run.

Also, I dont know how exact this is but I'd have a read around on Casein protein. I've been told that it's better for fat burning because it's a slow release protein compared to Whey so potentially it'll help the gut issue, as I said I'm not saying it's fact, its just what I've been told

Hanley

Mhmm...weetabix wrote: »

Also, I dont know how exact this is but I'd have a read around on Casein protein. I've been told that it's better for fat burning because it's a slow release protein compared to Whey so potentially it'll help the gut issue, as I said I'm not saying it's fact, its just what I've been told

Did someone who works for a certain high profile chain supplement store/gym tell you this? Certain people have ulterior motives based mainly on increased sales and will warp the truth to facilitate this. I've no idea how a slower release protein would be better for fat loss. I know it wasn't you that said it, but I would be interested in hearing the rationale behind it.

smashey

Hanley,

Careful what you accuse people of when you're on a public forum.

Hanley

smashey wrote: »

Hanley,

Careful what you accuse people of when you're on a public forum.

Touche, name edited it out too.

Mhmm...weetabix

Nope,
Dont set foot inside said chain store and I've never seen an edumathingy.
just had a look around found this:
http://www.mens-total-fitness.com/casein-protein.html

BossArky

Mhmm...weetabix wrote: »

Also, I dont know how exact this is but I'd have a read around on Casein protein. I've been told that it's better for fat burning because it's a slow release protein compared to Whey so potentially it'll help the gut issue, as I said I'm not saying it's fact, its just what I've been told

A while back it was mentioned on here that Casein lacks the thermogenic of the likes of tuna when absorbed.

i.e. if you eat tuna you will get heaps of protein, plus the body has to burn calories to actually break it down.

Apparently Casein dosen't have this thermogenic effect, so you get the protein, but you also get an extra few calories as the body dosen't need to burn anything to take it onboard.

[If I've used the wrong terms above then someone please correct it. That is the gist of it anyway]