Lose my belly and gain weight? - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Jim Kata · 08-11-2003, 09:33 AM

Ok, so I've been reading everything in this forum and its seems like a lot of you guys know what you are talking about. So here is my thing. This may be long so stop now unless you wanna get bored.
I'm a short man (about 5 foot 6) and probably weigh about 135lbs. Im pretty skinny and weak, but boy do I have a belly! It looks like I'm an expecting mother. So I want to lose this gut of mine first and then pack on some pounds to get to a normal weight and hopefully gain some strength and definition in the process.
I just started (like this weekend) riding my bike again. About 4 miles on saturday and sunday, each. I plan on increasing my distance by a little bit more each week until I get to the local blockbuster. And on the weekdays, I plan on getting on the treadmill for about 30 minutes a day.
I have also started doing push ups and sit ups throughout the day. Not many but I'm doing as much as I can and hopefully will be able to notice an increase in how much I can do every week.
My problem is, I eat a lot of international food (pakistani, palestinian, italian, chinese, meditteranean) and I can't tell how many calories I'm actually taking in since I don't even know exactly everything that is in the meal (Lots of chicken, and lamb and rice). I'm hoping if I just don't eat as much and split my meals into smaller meals throughout the day (as I read somewhere in this forum), that it will help. I also don't know what all this carb and protein intake and what not is. Is there a site that can break that all down to a newb?
After the belly is back to how it was about 4 years ago (if it ever gets there), I plan on following the advice that was given somewhere in this forum about gaining and lifting and so forth.
After that long schpeel, can someone tell me if I'm on the right track, or am I just dreaming?

^dude · 08-11-2003, 12:20 PM

Do cardio like jogging, bikes, rowing etc. But at the same time do free weights and machines, and get loads of protein and carbs, then you should build musscle while burning off the fat on your belly. Also do crushes and ab exercises to work your ab muscles.

Bobaphat · 08-11-2003, 03:50 PM

it definately sounds like you would benefit from crunches (as opposed to sit-ups which are harder to do and work your hip flexers more than your abs). Also, you probably tend to eat American sized portions which are generally much larger than one actually needs to fill up, which is one reason why we as a people are so overweight. It also sounds like you eat alot of carbs, try to balance that by eating more meat and less grain-based foods

Adog · 08-13-2003, 02:44 PM

I am built pretty much the same way, Im 6'2" tall and right now I weigh around 160 lbs. I want to gain about 20 lbs but I am also training for a marathon and Im running about 35-40 miles a week. instead of gaining weight, I am loosing more because I think I am burning more callories than I can replace. But my big belly doesnt seem to go away no matter how far I run.....

rainheart · 08-13-2003, 05:35 PM

I suggest reading these three articles for a little insight into gaining lean weight.

http://www.nutribomb.com/tom_venuto/...lean_body.html
http://www.nutribomb.com/tom_venuto/...an_body_2.html
http://www.nutribomb.com/tom_venuto/...an_body_3.html

Edit:
Btw since you say you have quite a bit of a belly going on there Jim I don't think you should look into gaining weight before you lose it first.

mbolding · 08-15-2003, 05:33 AM

or have surgery. you seem to be describing symptoms of the 30 somethings. it may be that no matter how much you work out and diet you will not be able to do what you want. exersize is still good for you though.

Plan9Senior · 08-15-2003, 10:09 AM

The only way to get rid of that belly is to lower your BF%. Strength training your stomach at this point might even make it seem biggger as you gain weight under your flab.

When working out, you are either as they say "cutting" or "bulking". You can either focus on weight loss and losing BF, or packing on muscle. Unfortunately you cannot achieve both at the same time (unless you want to use steroids, ugh). It sounds like in your case you need to lower your BF, which means figuring out your daily calorie needs and reducing that amount 500-700 calories per day. You mentioned that you eat a lot of rice. Avoid rice, unless its brown rice. Stay away from those heavy starch foods for now. And if you are shedding BF, keep all your carbs that you eat to the morning and afternoon. Remember, reduce calories as well as your carbs. Drink tons of water, and take some protein supplement to retain the muscle that you currently have. You should basically be a protein/vegetable eating machine for now.

Once you get your belly to where you want it (and it wont take as long as you think with a proper diet/exercise routine), then you can start eating a little more calories per day then you need COMBINED with your new exercise plan which will start having you gain weight in the right places. Hope that helps a little, and good luck to you! Make sure to tell us of your progress.

08-11-2003, 09:33 AM	#1 (permalink)
Jim Kata Swollen Member Location: Northern VA	Lose my belly and gain weight? Ok, so I've been reading everything in this forum and its seems like a lot of you guys know what you are talking about. So here is my thing. This may be long so stop now unless you wanna get bored. I'm a short man (about 5 foot 6) and probably weigh about 135lbs. Im pretty skinny and weak, but boy do I have a belly! It looks like I'm an expecting mother. So I want to lose this gut of mine first and then pack on some pounds to get to a normal weight and hopefully gain some strength and definition in the process. I just started (like this weekend) riding my bike again. About 4 miles on saturday and sunday, each. I plan on increasing my distance by a little bit more each week until I get to the local blockbuster. And on the weekdays, I plan on getting on the treadmill for about 30 minutes a day. I have also started doing push ups and sit ups throughout the day. Not many but I'm doing as much as I can and hopefully will be able to notice an increase in how much I can do every week. My problem is, I eat a lot of international food (pakistani, palestinian, italian, chinese, meditteranean) and I can't tell how many calories I'm actually taking in since I don't even know exactly everything that is in the meal (Lots of chicken, and lamb and rice). I'm hoping if I just don't eat as much and split my meals into smaller meals throughout the day (as I read somewhere in this forum), that it will help. I also don't know what all this carb and protein intake and what not is. Is there a site that can break that all down to a newb? After the belly is back to how it was about 4 years ago (if it ever gets there), I plan on following the advice that was given somewhere in this forum about gaining and lifting and so forth. After that long schpeel, can someone tell me if I'm on the right track, or am I just dreaming?

08-11-2003, 03:50 PM	#3 (permalink)
Bobaphat whoopity doo Location: Seattle	it definately sounds like you would benefit from crunches (as opposed to sit-ups which are harder to do and work your hip flexers more than your abs). Also, you probably tend to eat American sized portions which are generally much larger than one actually needs to fill up, which is one reason why we as a people are so overweight. It also sounds like you eat alot of carbs, try to balance that by eating more meat and less grain-based foods __________________ --size matters not-- yoda

08-13-2003, 05:35 PM	#5 (permalink)
rainheart Psycho	I suggest reading these three articles for a little insight into gaining lean weight. http://www.nutribomb.com/tom_venuto/...lean_body.html http://www.nutribomb.com/tom_venuto/...an_body_2.html http://www.nutribomb.com/tom_venuto/...an_body_3.html Edit: Btw since you say you have quite a bit of a belly going on there Jim I don't think you should look into gaining weight before you lose it first. Last edited by rainheart; 08-13-2003 at 05:38 PM..

08-15-2003, 05:33 AM	#6 (permalink)
mbolding Upright	try getting younger or have surgery. you seem to be describing symptoms of the 30 somethings. it may be that no matter how much you work out and diet you will not be able to do what you want. exersize is still good for you though.

08-11-2003, 12:20 PM	#2 (permalink)
^dude Insane	Do cardio like jogging, bikes, rowing etc. But at the same time do free weights and machines, and get loads of protein and carbs, then you should build musscle while burning off the fat on your belly. Also do crushes and ab exercises to work your ab muscles.

08-13-2003, 02:44 PM	#4 (permalink)
Adog Tilted	I am built pretty much the same way, Im 6'2" tall and right now I weigh around 160 lbs. I want to gain about 20 lbs but I am also training for a marathon and Im running about 35-40 miles a week. instead of gaining weight, I am loosing more because I think I am burning more callories than I can replace. But my big belly doesnt seem to go away no matter how far I run.....

08-15-2003, 10:09 AM	#7 (permalink)
Plan9Senior Banned Location: Orange County, California	The only way to get rid of that belly is to lower your BF%. Strength training your stomach at this point might even make it seem biggger as you gain weight under your flab. When working out, you are either as they say "cutting" or "bulking". You can either focus on weight loss and losing BF, or packing on muscle. Unfortunately you cannot achieve both at the same time (unless you want to use steroids, ugh). It sounds like in your case you need to lower your BF, which means figuring out your daily calorie needs and reducing that amount 500-700 calories per day. You mentioned that you eat a lot of rice. Avoid rice, unless its brown rice. Stay away from those heavy starch foods for now. And if you are shedding BF, keep all your carbs that you eat to the morning and afternoon. Remember, reduce calories as well as your carbs. Drink tons of water, and take some protein supplement to retain the muscle that you currently have. You should basically be a protein/vegetable eating machine for now. Once you get your belly to where you want it (and it wont take as long as you think with a proper diet/exercise routine), then you can start eating a little more calories per day then you need COMBINED with your new exercise plan which will start having you gain weight in the right places. Hope that helps a little, and good luck to you! Make sure to tell us of your progress.