Pot belly won't go away!

JoeA3

Hi folks,
Just looking for a bit of advice particular to my own situation.

I'm early-30's, male, small and fairly slim build (5' 7" or 5 8"-ish), apart from one specific area - the belly! There are days when it feels very bloated if I don't "suck it in", but on other days it looks and feels noticeably better. Odd! My sister cracked some "jokes" about my "tight shirt" over the weekend, so clearly, people are noticing!

The frustrating thing is, I regularly go to the gym in these winter months (and run outdoors in summer) so I would consider myself relatively fit. I'm thinking therefore that perhaps my diet is the crux of the problem.

My gym routine follows something like this:

Cardio:
20-25 mins on treadmill (high speed intervals)
20 mins on cross-trainer (on a cross-country program, where the resistance goes up and down)

Weights
I do a mixture of the following. Some days I might do 2 or 3 of these, sometimes more:

- free weights chest press (3 or 4 sets, increasing the weight each time from 12kg --> 16kg ish)
- Chest fly weight (3-4 reps)
- Lat pull down (3-4 reps)
- shoulder press (3-4 reps)
- biceps curl (3-4 reps)

There are a couple of others, but I can't think of them now. I do feel as though my upper body (shoulders, upper arms) have bulked up somewhat in the last few months, but the stubborn belly is as bad as ever.

My diet then....

Breakfast
I've never been a big brekkie eater. Ashamed to say, I sometimes skip it completely if I'm in a rush. On a occasional good day I try to down a bowl of porridge (mix in a spoon or two of jam/honey). On a bad day I might have a banana going out the door and maybe even a couple of sausage rolls from the local Deli. Not good I know.

Then at the weekend mornings I tend to have a grill (couple of sausages and rashers).

Lunch
I usually head out to get a carvery dinner. On the odd occasion I would get a meat and salad wrap / sandwich instead.

Dinner
I usually head to the gym straight after work. When I get home (after 8:30pm), I'd have something light. Maybe some pasta. Maybe just a small sandwich.

Throughout the day (particularly at work), I would usually have a few pieces of fruit and several cups of tea (milk, no sugar).

At the weekend, I'd usually go out at least one night, often two. I would have 5-6 pints of beer on average if I went out. I really don't do junkfood very much at all. I hardly ever have takeaways or fast food, I don't eat much sweet stuff, but I do realise my diet is still far from perfect!

Any pointers on areas I could concentrate on, whether it be at the gym or my food intake would be great.

EdenHazard

just to say your weights routine is bad imo but not the reason you have a pot belly.

I really don't know, you prob just need to push yourself even harder with cardio.

Your prob not getting enough protein soo add some protein do your diet,

Zamboni

Do you know how many calories you need on a daily basis?
And are you consuming less than that?

ntlbell

A big carvery for lunch and pasta/sandwiches late in the evening?

try cut out some of the carbs imo

OldPeculier

Drop the bread and pasta for a week, substitute for rice or something gluten free. If you notice a difference in that 'bloated' feeling, then great, if not you can revert back and try somthing else.

BraziliaNZ

A carvery dinner at lunch? Daily???

JoeA3

ntlbell wrote: »

A big carvery for lunch and pasta/sandwiches late in the evening?

try cut out some of the carbs imo

Yes, the carvery tends to be piled high too... i.e. lots of mashed potato, but then it also has meat (beef/chicken/turkey) and veg (carrots, greens), which I would have thought are good, no? What would be a good alternative to carvery? My problem is that I find that if I only grab a sandwich (e.g. today I had a beef/salad wrap), I will feel hungry again at 4pm!

just to say your weights routine is bad imo but not the reason you have a pot belly.

What would you say is bad about the weights? I'm loosely following a program I was given. I also have started a circuits training class once per week.

Do you know how many calories you need on a daily basis?

I really don't know, and it does tend to vary a bit anyway as I tried to outline.

JoeA3

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

A carvery dinner at lunch? Daily???

Yes, most week days I take it you reckon that's not good!

ntlbell

JoeA3 wrote: »

Yes, the carvery tends to be piled high too... i.e. lots of mashed potato, but then it also has meat (beef/chicken/turkey) and veg (carrots, greens), which I would have thought are good, no? What would be a good alternative to carvery? My problem is that I find that if I only grab a sandwich (e.g. today I had a beef/salad wrap), I will feel hungry again at 4pm!

Maybe a bit of salmon and some steamed veg?

veggie cassarole?

so eat again at 4, some fruit a few nuts. if your hungry eat.

john_cappa

JoeA3 wrote: »

Yes, most week days I take it you reckon that's not good!

There is nothing wrong with that. I have 3 dinners a day most days.

Your overall diet and calorie expenditure is what counts.

Nervous Wreck

JoeA3 wrote: »

Yes, the carvery tends to be piled high too... i.e. lots of mashed potato, but then it also has meat (beef/chicken/turkey) and veg (carrots, greens), which I would have thought are good, no? What would be a good alternative to carvery? My problem is that I find that if I only grab a sandwich (e.g. today I had a beef/salad wrap), I will feel hungry again at 4pm!

Have fewer potatoes, the rest is grand. Don't eat bread or, at least, limit it.

JoeA3 wrote: »

What would you say is bad about the weights? I'm loosely following a program I was given. I also have started a circuits training class once per week.

Doing 1 set of 3-4 reps of anything isn't much good. More work needed. Also, constantly pressing between 12 and 16kg won't do much either. You need to progress by pushing yourself. If you can do 16kg four times a week, you can easily do 18kg. Up the weight or the reps. Progression is key.




The main thing is your diet. Plenty of threads here to read through. Adjust your diet, follow it well and remain patient. Won't happen overnight.

Runner Boy

What weight are you ?

Runner Boy

i would cut white bread, potatoes, rice, replace with more salads and lean meat chicken steaks, and stick to diet 100% and also allow one cheat meal a week, as long as you have stuck to the diet 100%, the stricker the diet the fast the weight comes off

Burkatron

You don't eat in the morning, you don't get home at night till 8:30. you're leaving gaps in your diet!

How often do you do you lift weights & do cardio?
When you run in the summer how often & how far?
If you don't mind answering would you consider yourself stressed or in a stressful job?

JoeA3

Thanks guys.

Runner Boy wrote: »

What weight are you ?

I'm a little over 5' 7" and I'm about 12 stone (or 76 kgs).

JoeA3

Burkatron wrote: »

You don't eat in the morning, you don't get home at night till 8:30. you're leaving gaps in your diet!

How often do you do cardio?
When you run in the summer how often & how far?
If you don't mind answering would you consider yourself stressed or in a stressful job?

I do the gym routine as I outlined about 3 times a week. Sometimes 4. I switched from all-treadmill to splitting it between the treadmill and the cross-trainer as I found that my ankles/calves were too sore if I did treadmill every day.

In the summer, I'd probably try to run 5 or 6kms maybe 3 evenings a week. I'd do the odd competitive run too, but the longest I've done is a 10k.

No, the job is relatively stress-free! As it's an office job, its obviously not very physically demanding.

Mack_1111

First things first, are you drinking 2L of water a day? Processed foods such as sausage rolls and foods that you eat out tent to be high in salt & believe it or not there can be a lot of salt in bread. Lower your salt intake and consume 2L of water a day and you will notice a change to your bloating.

JoeA3

Mack_1111 wrote: »

First things first, are you drinking 2L of water a day? Processed foods such as sausage rolls and foods that you eat out tent to be high in salt & believe it or not there can be a lot of salt in bread. Lower your salt intake and consume 2L of water a day and you will notice a change to your bloating.

I tend to drink a good bit of tea (3-4 cups at work, 1-2 at home) and I don't tend to drink much straight water... however, I would drink quite a bit of water while at the gym (maybe 500 - 750 mls).

Obvious question, but it is called a "beer belly" by many and I do enjoy the few pints most weekends so I'm sure that doesn't help at all? Sometimes I wonder am I completely wasting my time at the gym, although I do tend to feel pretty good and refreshed after a visit.

EdenHazard

Add water(like 3 litres) and make sure to get 30 minutes cardio in everyday and change your weight lifting routine to be better, your diet seems like your starving yourself tho so mayb just change that up a little.

It seems like your training for aesthetics so these 4 reps your doing of are useless really.

Sashmo

Hi JoeA3

You've been so honest about your diet and you admit yourself it's probably not too good. Previous posters have given lots of good advice. Ruling out bread and potatoes is good advice but the bread's the toughest I know!

In my personal opinion circuits twice a week then walking and jogging/running is the thing. That's maybe cause I just an not too keen on the gym.


About the carvery lunch you do realise chefs love adding butter and salt.


It's worth a shot and good luck with it.

Mack_1111

It sounds like you just need a bit more structure to your eating habits and how you train. I found the stickeys at the top of the form excellent for planning diets and for training plans. Get up a little earlier and have a breakfast, bring a healthy lunch into work with you.
Make time on the weekends to plan the week ahead and buy the food you need.

JoeA3

All good advice folks, thanks a lot.

I think my main obstacle is force-of-habit and the convenience factor. It's easy to just head out at lunch and spend a tenner on a carvery. It's hassle to be thinking of bringing in my own lunch! And I'm not that handy in the kitchen either, I don't tend to cook for myself very much at all.

If I could come up with a good and relatively convenient substitute for the carvery and also get up a bit earlier and have a good breakfast, I *think* that would be a good start...

BraziliaNZ

I'm afraid if you want to lose weight you'll have to be hungry sometimes. You get used to it and adapt to eating less food from my experience.
I am 5'11'' and weigh about 84kg now and don't eat as much as you, so I'd try and clean up your diet for staters. Plenty of info on the stickies.

fishtank5

excellent thread.. really cant add anything that has not been all ready said .. How ever am some what in the same position with the pot belly / bloated ...
I think to see any real change you will have to kerb your drinking.. least cut back to maybe one night rather than two..
Or go out and not drink ..something I only have started and find difficult but to get where I want (flat belly) Im doing it.. am 25.. 5.8 and have a terrible naval despite been happy with every thing else

best things I found was a small breakfast when I got up ..your kick starting your Metabolism and come beak time in work you will be starving...trust me.. eggs man... bring boiled eggs and heat some beans

all that tea... ditch it.. its full of anti oxidants doing you no favors.. yuor only drinking it out of habbit.. replace for water.. have two cups of day.. trust me they will taste better for it...use low fat milk...

pasta going to bed .. its a no no.. try ot eat after 8pm as any thing you intake is just stored and not burned so dont clog yourself up

any thing white avoid... chips.. spuds.. rick ... bread.. replace for brown

if your going to drink try drink by calories counting.. diet coke and vodka has 56 cal... sml bottle bulmers light has 96...

best of luck with the change..

you only get out what you put it

JoeA3

JoeA3 wrote: »

All good advice folks, thanks a lot.

I think my main obstacle is force-of-habit and the convenience factor. It's easy to just head out at lunch and spend a tenner on a carvery. It's hassle to be thinking of bringing in my own lunch! And I'm not that handy in the kitchen either, I don't tend to cook for myself very much at all.

If I could come up with a good and relatively convenient substitute for the carvery and also get up a bit earlier and have a good breakfast, I *think* that would be a good start...

you'd save 200 a month as well, that's more incentive

Mack_1111

fishtank5 wrote: »

all that tea... ditch it.. its full of anti oxidants doing you no favors..

Anti-Oxidants are good for you! Vit C, Vit E etc. are anti-oxidants!

EdenHazard

Also man, mayb try a fat burner?

jmvane15

I guess all i can say is to make sure you are burning more calories than you are consuming.

Transform

EdenHazard wrote: »

Also man, mayb try a fat burner?

Oh Jesus!!!

Transform

Transform wrote: »

Oh Jesus!!!

getting the runs makes everything better!

gosuckonalemon

How do you consider yourself slim if you are 5'7" and 76kg?

I am 5'10" and 71 kg and would by no means consider myself slim.

Cut out the carveries. Piled with heaps of mash, and gravy both laced with salt.

Have a healthy wrap or sandwich on wholegrain bread. Why not make your own lunch so you know exactly what's in it?

As has been said before, if you find yourself getting hungry at 4 then have a snack, nuts, fruit etc.

Skip the pasta late at night too.

thehamo

Man gonna lay it out straight here and day your diet is completely what's holding you back. You said you don't eat junk food yet you eat saussage rolls some mornings? You have to get that sorted. Also the jam in the porridge is full of sugar which ain't gonna help.

Carvery = drop it. If you gonna eat this your gonna have a pot belly for the rest of your life. U may as well go and eat a mcdonalds. The veg thy serve has been boiled within an inch of its life. Bland and tasteless.

Pasta at night. Big time no. Youre basically filling up on energy before you hit the sack. Forget all this don't eat after 8 o'clock it's bull. But you do have to eat the right things.

There is no magic formula but what you need to do is this.

Eat a tonne of veg! Eat lean protein with every meal. Cut out the grains and starchy carbs and replace with veg or squash/sweet potato. Add healthy fats, organic butter, avacado, olive oil etc and don't be afraid of them. Breakfast change to a source of protein instead of carb sources. Be prepared! Learn to use your pots and pans! Cooking really ain't that hard. Surely you can grill a steak and steam some broccoli. Tho watch out for sauces they are generally laden with sugar!

The pints at the weekend obv don't cut the mustard. Try cutting it for a month and with proper diet u will notice big changes!

JoeA3

Thanks guys. All excellent advice.
I can find my way around the kitchen alright to some degree! I have been known to grill a steak! However, when I do, I'd usually accompany it with spuds (and little veg), so I guess I should replace those with brown rice or something?

How do people find the time though for cooking all the right things? I'm in work all day, then the gym in the evening and by the time I get home it's a little late to be pulling out the pots and pans

Zamboni

JoeA3 wrote: »

Thanks guys. All excellent advice.
I can find my way around the kitchen alright to some degree! I have been known to grill a steak! However, when I do, I'd usually accompany it with spuds (and little veg), so I guess I should replace those with brown rice or something?

How do people find the time though for cooking all the right things? I'm in work all day, then the gym in the evening and by the time I get home it's a little late to be pulling out the pots and pans

Cook twice or three times a week. Sunday evenings and non gym days.
Do it in bulk and buy containers in Tesco for pittance.
Freeze/store appropriately.
Work smart, not hard.

gosuckonalemon

JoeA3 wrote: »

Thanks guys. All excellent advice.
I can find my way around the kitchen alright to some degree! I have been known to grill a steak! However, when I do, I'd usually accompany it with spuds (and little veg), so I guess I should replace those with brown rice or something?

How do people find the time though for cooking all the right things? I'm in work all day, then the gym in the evening and by the time I get home it's a little late to be pulling out the pots and pans

Prepare a salad in the evening to accompany your chicken/fish/steak.

No pots or pans needed, just a bowl to toss it in. Make double the amount you need and use the other half for your lunch the following day. Simples.

baddebt

the consensus seems to be , to lose a pot Belly is more to do with diet than exercise ??????

BraziliaNZ

baddebt wrote: »

the consensus seems to be , to lose a pot Belly is more to do with diet than exercise ??????

Yes pretty much, you can do all the exercise you want but unless your diet is up to scratch you wont get in good shape

Jimoslimos

baddebt wrote: »

the consensus seems to be , to lose a pot Belly is more to do with diet than exercise ??????

Yeah, a very simplistic way of looking at it would be;

Want to lose weight: Eat less
Want to eat more: Do more exercise (cardio)

EdenHazard

gentics also, i know a lad whose shredded to bits and his diet is woeful, drinks constantly, and still so lean, you mate obviously aren't lucky so you gotta do more with your diet. for some people your diet would be more than good enough

bah1011

As you have been given alot of advice so far...here is what i eat for dinner if its late.

cut a chicken breast into cubes and fry in some olive oil...then when the chicken is almost fully cooked add in some sugar snap peas and spring onions... let that cook for a minute then add in 2 tablespoons of water, 1 table spoon of soy sauce, a red chilli and 2 crushed cloves of garlic... let all that simmer.. then add a handfull of baby spinach..and let it cook for a minute more and serve..

It saves you from eating pasta and has alot of protein and tastes lovely.
If im after training I might add half a potato or small spoon of brown rice.

JoeA3

bah1011 wrote: »

As you have been given alot of advice so far...here is what i eat for dinner if its late.

cut a chicken breast into cubes and fry in some olive oil...then when the chicken is almost fully cooked add in some sugar snap peas and spring onions... let that cook for a minute then add in 2 tablespoons of water, 1 table spoon of soy sauce, a red chilli and 2 crushed cloves of garlic... let all that simmer.. then add a handfull of baby spinach..and let it cook for a minute more and serve..

It saves you from eating pasta and has alot of protein and tastes lovely.
If im after training I might add half a potato or small spoon of brown rice.

sounds delicious, I will try that!

I did a circuits class lastnight in the gym. Oh My God... very very tough! I *thought* I was fit, but this was another level entirely. Still, it was quite satisfying to do it.

JoeA3

EdenHazard wrote: »

gentics also, i know a lad whose shredded to bits and his diet is woeful, drinks constantly, and still so lean, you mate obviously aren't lucky so you gotta do more with your diet. for some people your diet would be more than good enough

That's just it. Very annoying. I see mates of mine who seem to have horrendous diets and one in particular who smokes and probably drinks more than me... and there isn't a pick on him, lol.

RobAMerc

Joe, A beer or pot belly can be a sign of sugar intolerance. i.e. the sugar in beer causes a pot belly. The bad news is your body converts a lot of stuff to sugar. Simple carbs are turned exactly into that. As other posters have said cut the carbs - there is a lot of stuff on the web about it so it's simple to find out whats good carbs and whats not ( simple ). Also look up the Paleo diet and lifestyle ( you'll never feel better ) ( MarksDailyApple.com )

With regard to your routine in the gym. Doing a bit here and there is useless, look into getting a full body routine, spend some time on youtube etc researching it and then stick to it.

There are actually a few mentioned here regularly. 5 * 5 stronglifts and Built like a bad ass ( silly name but effective ) - you'll find loads of info on these for free all over the web.

Lastly - buy a proper car ;-)

EdenHazard

JoeA3 wrote: »

That's just it. Very annoying. I see mates of mine who seem to have horrendous diets and one in particular who smokes and probably drinks more than me... and there isn't a pick on him, lol.

Yeah altho they are the lucky ones so don't be demotivated, most aren't like that.

JoeA3

RobAMerc wrote: »

Joe, A beer or pot belly can be a sign of sugar intolerance. i.e. the sugar in beer causes a pot belly. The bad news is your body converts a lot of stuff to sugar. Simple carbs are turned exactly into that. As other posters have said cut the carbs - there is a lot of stuff on the web about it so it's simple to find out whats good carbs and whats not ( simple ). Also look up the Paleo diet and lifestyle ( you'll never feel better ) ( MarksDailyApple.com )

With regard to your routine in the gym. Doing a bit here and there is useless, look into getting a full body routine, spend some time on youtube etc researching it and then stick to it.

There are actually a few mentioned here regularly. 5 * 5 stronglifts and Built like a bad ass ( silly name but effective ) - you'll find loads of info on these for free all over the web.

Lastly - buy a proper car ;-)

LOL What soft-top are you swanning around in these days?!

I think I do have a routine of sorts in the gym. I do the 40-45 mins cardio on each visit, and the weights as I mentioned. Although my approach to the weights is a bit unfocused alright.

Then on the last 2 weeks, I've done a circuits class (45 mins of high intensity stuff!) and also another night there's a "body pump".... again, pretty tough going.

Gloveworm

It does seem like your diet is sabotaging your progress, as everyone has mentioned, just eat clean, lots of veg, protein and good fats, cut out the processed food.

You don't mention any lower body or compound exercises in your weight training routine, you basically seem to be doing some sort of bodybuilding upper body routine? Your leg and glute muscles are some of the most powerful in your body. Get some squats, deadlifts, lunges, glute bridges, kettlebell swings in there to build them up, they'll have a knock-on effect on your fat-burning ability.

JoeA3

Gloveworm wrote: »

It does seem like your diet is sabotaging your progress, as everyone has mentioned, just eat clean, lots of veg, protein and good fats, cut out the processed food.

You don't mention any lower body or compound exercises in your weight training routine, you basically seem to be doing some sort of bodybuilding upper body routine? Your leg and glute muscles are some of the most powerful in your body. Get some squats, deadlifts, lunges, glute bridges, kettlebell swings in there to build them up, they'll have a knock-on effect on your fat-burning ability.

Yeah, you're right... I tend to focus more on the upper body, maybe because my legs would be tired after the cardio session. However, in the circuits and body pump class I attended, there was plenty of squats/lunges, and I found them tough going!

Devia

Cut down on the drink. A man can quite easily consume 1200+ calories of booze on a night out. I don't know about you but in terms of calorie burning that equates to 2-3 gym sessions for me so I'd guess that a lot of the fat burning work you're doing in the gym is going towards maintaining your boozing at the weekend. Actually surprised more people haven't mentioned that so far in this thread. I mean there's loads of good advice here for you to follow but in my opinion boozing is the spanner in the works. Take a break from the beer for a few weeks and see the results for yourself.

ntlbell

If you drink 1 night a week and are going to continue to do this for your life then advising you to cut it out to see the results isn't really going to help.

If it's part if your life then you need to work out what you have to do to facilitate the extra 1200 cals intake a week. not cut it out then go back drinking.

the change you make needs to be one you can maintain.

Padlock69

JoeA3 wrote: »

- Chest fly weight (3-4 reps)
- Lat pull down (3-4 reps)
- shoulder press (3-4 reps)
- biceps curl (3-4 reps)
.

Do you mean 3-4 sets? 3-4 reps will do very little i'd have thought.

JoeA3

Padlock69 wrote: »

Do you mean 3-4 sets? 3-4 reps will do very little i'd have thought.

Yeah sorry, 3 sets of say 10-12 reps in each.