Hello forum. I've been a lurker for some time now but I have not joined until recently. I had a question about my current workouts. Bear with me I want to state a few stipulations before I ask my question.

RIght now I am eating on a fairly strict diet. Breakfast: 2 pieces of toast (wheat) and about 2 tbsp of reduced fat peanut butter. At work I will have 1 packet of plain oatmeal about 2 hours after the toast (roughly 9:30-10 am). At lunch I will eat 1 cup of brown rice and 12 oz of boneless skinless chicken breasts. Around 3 I will eat 1 can of tuna and at dinner time it will usually be the same as lunch.

I work out 5-6 days a week, days separated by body parts and 1-2 days of running. My goal is to bulk up. As stated above, I usually eat around 2500+ calories. I am around 6'0 and I weigh about 170. Last time I checked my body fat it was under 10%.

Now my question is: lately I've been noticing I have a large stomach. It's not fat or jelly like, but rather hard. But it kinda bulges out. I don't know why it's like that? It seems to do it whether I eat 1700 calories or 2500+ calories at this point. It isnt sore or tender. It's kinda annoying especialy at the end of the day because it feels like a I have a huge gut. Does anyone else experience this?

I tend to have the same problem.

6 pack if I flex, but after I eat if I just let it all go it looks like I have a bit of a gut...bodyfat too is around 10%.

I'm about 130 and 5'11.

I experience this. I'm 6' 3" 185. Not fat at all. Can someone explain this stomach thing.

Probably not what you guys want to hear but........ You have to learn to suck in your gut ALL THE TIME.

I'm not joking and if someone can prove me otherwise, I will happily acquiesce.

Probably not what you guys want to hear but........ You have to learn to suck in your gut ALL THE TIME.

I'm not joking and if someone can prove me otherwise, I will happily acquiesce.


Seriously? Is that what everyone does?
My stomach was always a mystery to me because it stuck out but it didnt feel like any fat was there.

So I can just build a six pack and it will be visible?

Seriously? Is that what everyone does?
My stomach was always a mystery to me because it stuck out but it didnt feel like any fat was there.

So I can just build a six pack and it will be visible?

Ever see those starving Ethiopoans with distended bellys?

I believe it to be true. Models, actors, etc. all do it. Watch shirtless dudes and bikini chicks and you can pretty much tell they are sucking in. I have been doing it for well over a decade and most people think I'm skinny. I'm serious here. It's really not a big deal after you have trained yourself to do it it becomes pretty natural.

I have never had a visible sixpack (other than when I open my fridge) so I can't comment on that but if you have low fat and abs., I would assume they would be visible.

If it's not genetic it could be:


Pregnancy, constipation, lactose intolerance, food allergies, food intolerances, hernia, irritable bowel syndrome, colonic bacterial fermentation, pancreatic disease, acute pancreatitis, appendicitis, gallbladder disease, peptic ulcer or colon cancer.

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But I'm just sayin': Suck it in.</SPAN>

I think most guys suck it in. Actually, a doctor told me it was bad to suck it in because it makes you breath by raising your chest instead of with your diaphram causing an increased build up of CO2 (or something to that effect) in your blood.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shallow_breathing

Well rather than 'sucking in' and impairing your breathing, stand up straight and use your natural girdle. You slightly contract your obliques, transversus and rectus abdominis at all times and you should still be able to breathe deeply and inflate your lower lungs. Yoga like!

My gut size definitely varies greatly. Mostly when I have lots of gax :x I think some form of lactose intolerance.

I mean I could always tell when a person was sucking in, but when you see a person with abs it just looks like they have a truly flat stomach and don't have to suck in at all.