Hey everyone, i've been reading around the boards lately and thought I may as well join up and see if there's anything I can contribute...and see if anyone has any insight on my strange eating habits, and a few other things.

Well, to begin with:

-16 years of age.
-117 pounds.
-5'10" and 1/2
-25 inch waist, mybodycomp.com seemed a little strange in defining my body fat...I tried putting in a larger waist just to see what happens, and my BF % went down? It said I have 11% according to that site with my real 25 inch waist, however tests in the past estiamte me at 6 - 8%.

I have completely flat 6/7 (lower abs starting to define) abs, however they only show when I flex my abdominal mucles. Is this normal, or do I in fact have too much fat covering them, or do I simply need to try different excercises to help define them more? If possible, i'd like them to show without even having to flex.

In addition, I think I have very strange eating habits, and it really bothers me. I'll start off by saying, I very much so enjoy food, however I drink no soda and enxt to no sweets. My appetite seems very small, and because of that I am constantly overeating. For example, on Friday;

Breakfast at 7 a.m:

--1 small bowl of Rice Chex Cereal with a small banana sliced on to it.

-This completely stuffed me, and I was very hugnry prior to eating.

Lunch at 12:20:

--1 small bowl of green salad with a fair amount of ranch dressing, and about 1 - 2 table spoons each of; ham, sliced eggs, cheese, and peanuts. I was not hugnry for it all by any means. I also had 4 or 5 "tator tots" dashed in ketchup, and 1 quart(I think it was a quart? Small carton of milk) chocolate milk.

-Around 11 o'clock I felt very hungry, but by the time lunch began it had subsided really, and I only ate because I was afraid I would get hungry agian before the day is over and not be able to eat for hours, being that I would be in class.

Dinner at 8 p.m:

1/2 a small hamburger in a bun with mayonaise on one side and ketchup on the other, with about 2 spoonfulls of creamed corn, and 2 spoonfulls of small chopped fruits, and one glass of pineapple juice. (Normally drink milk and rarey drink juice, though)

-This, as well, completely stuffed me. What boggles me is that I went 8 hours without eating anything...the strange thing is, randomly during the day, usually when i'm sitting down, I'll feel hungry, but if I stand up I feel full...I know it's healthier to eat 4 - 6 times a day in small portions, but I feel if I simply ate (hypothetically) half a banana for breakfast, a glass of milk for lunch, and 1/4 of a sandwhich for dinner i'd be stuffed all day...

This is pretty much how it is every day. Is there perhaps something wrong with my appetite? Do I care too much about eating? Or maybe it's something psychological...after I eat, my stomach usually sticks out unless I flex, which really bothers me...and I obsess constantly about it. I only feel happy with my stomach area if I feel starving because it is flat and i don't have to suck in my stomach/flex my abs to make it look completely flat, yet I love to eat.

Oh, I do work out my abdominal muscles and arms in particular every night for about 40 minutes...I can go in to detail what exactly i do, if need be.

Thanks for reading this, i'd appreciate any insight anyone may have.

I'm afraid I don't know what the actual question is.

:confused:

~SC~

Well, i'm mainly just wondering if anyone knows if my eating habits are normal, or if there is anything in particular someone thinks I should try, as well as if there's a particular way in which I should work on tightening my abs. As I mentioned, my abs only show when flexed, and i'm not sure if that's normal or I simply havn't defined them enough. I've been working out every night for three years, yet they still only show when flexed.

if you are looking to lose bodyfat, you should probly eat every 2-3hours, with a lean source of protein with every meal (dairy, eggs, meat)

your diet may be "normal" compared to a normal joe, but if we are comparing it to us fitness freaks, its weird!

try to spread your meals out over the day, and not have 3 big meals!
also a few of your food choices could use improving
for example "rice chex" arent exactly the ideal breakfast food, they are very processed and have little nutrients, go with oats, if rice chex fill you up, oats will make your stomach explode :p

No joke on the oats making your stomach explode hehe.... it has taken me months to get use to eatting large breakfasts. Now even my 600-700 calorie breakfasts leave me hungry when I use to barely stomach 200.

I'll try eating something like oats for breakfast soon.

It's just that the thing is I already only eat small portions of food, however i'm usually only hungry three times a day. I'm not sure what to do about that. Should I eat anyway, or is that detrimental?

Ok, let me summarize what I think you've said. You are a tall, thin dude who only gets hungry three times a day. It takes very little food to fill you up, but because you are a tall, thin dude, that little bit of food causes your belly to pooch out - which bothers you. Primarily, your goal is to have rock hard abs that are always visible, but right now they are only visible when you flex them. You also want to know if your diet is weird.
I think the reason you haven't gotten the advice you want is because this is the weight loss forum and you seem to not really have any weight to lose. You probably want to bulk (gain muscle) but that will be hard for you since you are an ectomorph (a naturally skinny dude). Your ab muscles are probably like the rest of you, thin. So any fat at all covers them up. Do not lose more fat though. You are thin enough. I think if you can give your body more good raw materials, and a decent well researched workout plan, you can improve the way you would like to. But I wouldn't make drastic changes to your eating habits. Sounds like your body knows how much food it needs. Messing with that too much will alter the fine balance your body naturally has. I say make better choices in your diet. For one thing, you have very little protein in your diet. It's basically the fixings on your salad (ham, cheese, eggs, and peanuts) and hamburger for dinner. Those are all total about half fat. You need to add some lean protein. Muscle is made of protein, so you need to give it some quality protein for it to grow. Add some density to your abs, and they will look great. Add a few egg whites to your breakfast, add some turkey to lunch, have some chicken (no skin) or lean steak with dinner. Throw in lots of veggies (salad is just water, really. People think there is fiber in it, but there is not). Read up on this forum about weight training. Don't forget cardio for overall cardiovascular fitness. How's that?

Excellent, I apologize if i was unclear or posted this in the wrong forum. :)

I have been, and intent to keep reading around the forums despite the fact that I probably won't have much to say...but in any case, you summed it up. It's just that many peers my age seem to put down much more food than I, even those of similar stature, and it makes me wonder if perhaps there's something wrong with my appetite - which, you're probably right - isn't, and I should just trust it.

Thanks for the input, everyone. I do try to eat a fair amount of protein - hence the heavy toppings in my salad, and the fact that I almsot always have milk with my meals...etc. However, you're right in that I could utilize protein intake in a much better way - I.E. chicken and other lean meats which i'll try to do. Thanks again.

I'll try eating something like oats for breakfast soon.

It's just that the thing is I already only eat small portions of food, however i'm usually only hungry three times a day. I'm not sure what to do about that. Should I eat anyway, or is that detrimental?
Throw in an 8oz protein shake between each meal. That'll add 200-300 calories of nearly 100% protein.

As far as the abs, I may be mistaken, but I don't think you can see solid definition on any muscle group unless it is being flexed to a certain degree. Just work on your tone (sounds like you do) and practice keeping your abs tensed (lightly flexed) at all times. When I got out of high school I was 6'3", 135 pounds, and still had a pot belly, because I was totally lacking in tone and control. I knew how to "suck it in", but had no idea how to simply tense my abs to keep my organs from pushing the skin out.

Throw in an 8oz protein shake between each meal. That'll add 200-300 calories of nearly 100% protein.

Hmmmmm, an 8 ounce shake can have 5 grams of protein, or 50.......

The water is not what matters, it's the protein amount. :cool:

~SC~

Am I the only person who read the part about this kid being 16. I surely appreciate a good start in life to nutrition, but the last few paragraphs scare me. This kid is obsessed with his abs and only his abs. My question is what does he really look like, how thin are his legs and how small is his upper body as well. I think it is a good thing to be a little worried but in his post he just sounds obsessed with his abs. Also some of these posts, come on he is 16, the question is can he afford the protein powders. I certainly don't know very many 16 year old boys who cook for themselves either. I am not trying to be negative, I am just saying, look at some of the other things being said by him. He self admittedly obsesses about his midsection at 16. As far as his diet goes, it could definitely use some cleaning up. Mayo, burgers, chex, but I wonder if he really has time to dedicate to his eating habits at 16 and maybe just maybe he should be hanging out with the guys and not obsessing over his abs.

You're definately "under-weight" here. Bulking may be your answer. I know if I were 117, I'd be trying to bulk like crazy. You need more meat with that skin and bone :)

If you're looking for bodybuilder definition as you see on shows and in magazine shoots, you're just going to disappoint yourself (unless you seriously took up bodybuilding). Many of those physiques arn't maintainable 100% of the time. John's a good example of what kind of results someone could maintain all the time. It's something a lot of us are shooting for.

Am I the only person who read the part about this kid being 16. I surely appreciate a good start in life to nutrition, but the last few paragraphs scare me. This kid is obsessed with his abs and only his abs. My question is what does he really look like, how thin are his legs and how small is his upper body as well. I think it is a good thing to be a little worried but in his post he just sounds obsessed with his abs. Also some of these posts, come on he is 16, the question is can he afford the protein powders. I certainly don't know very many 16 year old boys who cook for themselves either. I am not trying to be negative, I am just saying, look at some of the other things being said by him. He self admittedly obsesses about his midsection at 16. As far as his diet goes, it could definitely use some cleaning up. Mayo, burgers, chex, but I wonder if he really has time to dedicate to his eating habits at 16 and maybe just maybe he should be hanging out with the guys and not obsessing over his abs.

Age 16
Sex M
Height: 70.00 in (1.78 m)
Weight: 117 lbs (53.20 kg)
Neck: 14.02 in (35.60 cm)
Shoulder: 40.98 in (104.10 cm)
Chest: 34.02 in (86.40 cm)
Waist: 25.5 in (cm)
Abdomen: 27.99 in (71.10 cm)
Hips: 30.00 in (76.20 cm)
Thigh: 17.01 in (43.20 cm)
Knee: 12.99 in (33.00 cm)
Calf: 10.98 in (27.90 cm)
Ankle: 7.99 in (20.30 cm)
Arm: 9.02 in (22.90 cm)
Forearm: 9.02 in (22.90 cm)
Wrist: 7.01 in (17.80 cm)
Activity Level Very Active

Also, my mother recently acquired about 40 packs of protein powder (for free) to make shakes out of, and would fully support me in dietary issues like this. In fact, it was she who brought up the idea to try shakes since she knows I work out every night.

In addition, under a "normal" standpoint I eat fairly well...no chips, no soda, no snacking unless it's "healthy" such as carrots, fruits, so forth. last time I had a dessert was at Fresh Choice a week ago, and a slice of pie about 3 weeks prior to that.

Can see my upper body composition here:

http://www.picturevillage.com/photo/data/1f5f5b265100daad35b3a491e1c55351/7618_p221060.jpg

And abs(when flexed) here:

http://www.picturevillage.com/photo/data/1f5f5b265100daad35b3a491e1c55351/7618_p236779.jpg

I appreciate all the information so far...I also apologize for posting this in the fat loss section, as it seems apparent I don't need to lose fat, hehe.

Am I the only person who read the part about this kid being 16. I surely appreciate a good start in life to nutrition, but the last few paragraphs scare me. This kid is obsessed with his abs and only his abs. My question is what does he really look like, how thin are his legs and how small is his upper body as well. I think it is a good thing to be a little worried but in his post he just sounds obsessed with his abs. Also some of these posts, come on he is 16, the question is can he afford the protein powders. I certainly don't know very many 16 year old boys who cook for themselves either. I am not trying to be negative, I am just saying, look at some of the other things being said by him. He self admittedly obsesses about his midsection at 16. As far as his diet goes, it could definitely use some cleaning up. Mayo, burgers, chex, but I wonder if he really has time to dedicate to his eating habits at 16 and maybe just maybe he should be hanging out with the guys and not obsessing over his abs.

I'm pretty sure that everyone noticed he is 16.

He sounds like a normal 16 year old to me. If it wasn't his abs, he'd be worried about his ears, or his hair, or his left pinky toe. No big deal. He's gonna be ok.

Well, i'm mainly just wondering if anyone knows if my eating habits are normal...

It doesn't matter if your eating habits are "normal". You could say you open three cans of tuna, throw them in the blender with some fat free cottage cheese, oats, a big spoon of peanut butter and some strawberry flavored protein powder and take three sips of this concoction every 20 minutes throughout the day. Is it normal? No, but if it works for you, and you like it, then more power to you.

You need to figure out what your goals are, and then optimise your workout and eating plans to suit them. I wouldn't advise you to eat like I do, because you likely have different goals than I do, and different quirks. If you're worried about your stomach puffing out after you eat, you should be sure to eat very calorie dense foods with very little water or air in them, and maybe consider eating more often so that you can eat smaller meals that won't fill up your stomach too much. It sounds like it wouldn't hurt to add some extra calories to build some muscle, so I'd recommend in your case adding nuts, dried fruits, and beef jerky to your diet.

If you are working the same muscle every night, then that is not optimal for muscle growth. You should be on a partial body split if you're planning to work out every night.

just looking at those pics, i'd say you should bulkbulkbulk
stack up on the food!!! lots of vegies, rice, oats, grainy bread, fruit, its all good! EAT BIG and LIFT BIG! ! :D