I have an interesting question to ask, is there such thing as someone, or even a body type where all the fat we gain only builds up at the stomach area creating the famous "beer belly?" My father who is 55 years old has a pretty large stomach and no excess fat anywhere else on his body, in other words, if his stomach was flat, he would look like a healthy athletic guy! Well, maybe im exaggerating, he does have some fat under his chin, and what not.

Any ideas? I hope its not genetics! I dont want to face the same issue, how would I ever bulk without worrying about my stomach.

I'd say fat distribution (abdominal [apple] vs. thighs and butt [pear] vs. evenly/all over [watermelon :)]) is largely genetics. There are studies that say what we eat contributes to their eventual destinations in and on our bodies as fat.

Fat goes everywhere, it's just places like the butt, thighs, and belly where they are most undesired and visible.


...well I like a fat butt now and then, but that's a discussion for another time and place. ;)

I have totally been wondering this same thing for a long time. At work, my hubby constantly goes up and down steep flights of stairs in 107 degree heat for 12 hours a day, about 6 days a week, and when he's not doing that he's doing strenuous upper body movements on the machines there, and when he's home, he lifts weights. He's got fairly defined arms and upper chest, and awesome legs and tight butt- but he's got this big pot belly that he can't seem to shake, no matter what. You'd think that he'd lose all over, doing the work he does. It seems like he never gets bigger anywhere but his belly, right in front, not really even on the sides. Looking at his dad, I can kind of see a resemblance there.

I have an interesting question to ask, is there such thing as someone, or even a body type where all the fat we gain only builds up at the stomach area creating the famous "beer belly?"

It sure can. Your body stores fat where it wants to, and that is to some significant extent due to genetics. Most of what you can do to change what you have in the way of fat is the total level. You don't get much control over where it is.

According to Richard Simmons, french fries will go right to your thighs.

Genetics plays a large part. When I was 245lbs my body was the way you described. I looked pregnant and without the belly I would have at least looked relatively healthy.

On top of genetics I think my eating played a large part in the fat make-up of my body. I would eat 2 meals a day. One for lunch and one for dinner. Problem was that these two meals would exceed my maintenance calorie threshold. I believe this increased the amount of visceral fat that my stomach carried.

No matter what shape people have (minus a medical condition) it can all be corrected with nutrition and fitness.

Genetics plays a large part. When I was 245lbs my body was the way you described. I looked pregnant and without the belly I would have at least looked relatively healthy.

On top of genetics I think my eating played a large part in the fat make-up of my body. I would eat 2 meals a day. One for lunch and one for dinner. Problem was that these two meals would exceed my maintenance calorie threshold. I believe this increased the amount of visceral fat that my stomach carried.

No matter what shape people have (minus a medical condition) it can all be corrected with nutrition and fitness.

Yeah...same here -- all of my fat gets deposited in my gut region. When I get fat, I have very lean arms, lean legs, lean chest/shoulders, and a big fat gut. It mainly has to do with genetics .... you'll notice that many endomorphs tend to have their fat distributed a bit more evenly.