Not just weight gain, but flab

i.need.a.job

I am 22, 5'7 and always been between 10 and 11 stone. My body had no excess fat and was always toned. I don't have a car so get plenty exercise walking.

My diet is balanced, but recently, as in the last few months, I have started to put on weight, around my stomach area. This is turning to flab instantly which is impossible to shift. I can actually grab the spare tyres on my stomach. The rest of my body is a nice shape, but my stomach is getting me down.

I have never joined a gym, and I understand that I can't expect a perfect body with no hard work, so I am going to join a gym soon. But what foods should I keep away from / eat more of?

metamorphosis

i.need.a.job wrote: »

I am 22, 5'7 and always been between 10 and 11 stone. My body had no excess fat and was always toned. I don't have a car so get plenty exercise walking.

My diet is balanced, but recently, as in the last few months, I have started to put on weight, around my stomach area. This is turning to flab instantly which is impossible to shift. I can actually grab the spare tyres on my stomach. The rest of my body is a nice shape, but my stomach is getting me down.

I have never joined a gym, and I understand that I can't expect a perfect body with no hard work, so I am going to join a gym soon. But what foods should I keep away from / eat more of?

1st off - outline your daily diet in detail for a typical day.

2nd - read the stickies at the top of this forum and in the fitness forum. You don't ever have to step a foot inside a gym door to get fit ot exercise.

i.need.a.job

Im not big on breakfast, normally I would skip it, but if I am hungry I'd have sauages / rashers.. This isn't too often.

During the day I would have a sandwich or chicken roll.

Dinner would be around 6 or 7, usually some sort of Chicken, with pasta, rice, or chips.

Might have something top eat later on, this varies, if some one puts down a pizza I'll have a slice, could be a yogurt... anything.

Now that I've wrote it down, doesn't seem to good....

menoscemo

i.need.a.job wrote: »

My diet is balanced

i.need.a.job wrote: »

Im not big on breakfast, normally I would skip it, but if I am hungry I'd have sauages / rashers.. This isn't too often.

During the day I would have a sandwich or chicken roll.

Dinner would be around 6 or 7, usually some sort of Chicken, with pasta, rice, or chips.

Might have something top eat later on, this varies, if some one puts down a pizza I'll have a slice, could be a yogurt... anything.

These two statements do not match.
Your diet is far from balanced. No fruit no veg, no good fats, loads of crappy carbs and junk food. No wonder you are putting on fat especially if you are doing no excercise. If your diet has been like this for long, it's a wonder it hasn't happenned earlier.
As UL Students says read the stickies for an idea of what you should eat.
You should be cutting bread, pasta, chips, refined carbs and only eating whole fresh foods. Fruit, vegs, butters and nuts, lean meats etc, basically cut out all processed foods and you can't go far wrong.

Frogdog

i.need.a.job wrote: »

Im not big on breakfast, normally I would skip it, but if I am hungry I'd have sauages / rashers.. This isn't too often.

During the day I would have a sandwich or chicken roll.

Dinner would be around 6 or 7, usually some sort of Chicken, with pasta, rice, or chips.

Might have something top eat later on, this varies, if some one puts down a pizza I'll have a slice, could be a yogurt... anything.

Now that I've wrote it down, doesn't seem to good....

BINGO!

First off, breakfast. Cardinal sin not eating it. It is the most important meal of the day, as you hear everyone say. When you eat early in the morning, it kickstarts your metabolism (your body turns food into energy).

Secondly, everything I have underlined above is carb-heavy, which is no problem once you are sensible about it. Tell me is it white bread, white rice, white pasta etc.? They aren't the best choices if you're keen to lose the fat around your stomach. Switch to the brown options in my opinion. Something that has worked for me previously is that I gave up all bread.

Thirdly, do you eat any fruit, or more importantly, vegetables??? Do you drink much water? Are you getting any fat into your diet?

corkcomp

firstly, join a gym now, not soon! of course you can get exercise elsewhere but a gym with good trainers will offer better motivation and structure.

diet is not great tbh.. major lack of fruit and vegetables to start with .. there is nothing wrong with carbs but it looks like the ones you are taking in are of the non-nutritious type..

have a read of the stickies on here.. mine of information!

--Kaiser--

corkcomp wrote: »

there is nothing wrong with carbs but it looks like the ones you are taking in are of the non-nutritious type..

Doesn't make any sense to be honest, OP complains about putting on weight (torso fat is a sign of insulin resistance BTW), I would say it's obvious they're putting on weight because of excess carb consumption, I don't think it matters whether they're coming from fresh veg or from pizza.