Gained 10kg in 4 weeks - question about stomach fat

**hell_cat** · 01-17-2011, 12:01 AM

Hello everyone. So for the past month I've started a new eating and exercise program for weight gain/mass gain. I've put on 10kg in the past month (67kg to 77kg) with excellent gains in muscle mass and really good strength increase. As a whole the bulking is going well, but my stomach isn't looking so great. I don't want to start with cardio because I fear that may compromise the entire point of the routine/diet. Any advice in terms of continuing to make cool gains, but reducing the distended belly look? I don't do any specific core exercise, I'm sticking to the meat and potatoes: bench press, deads, barbell work etc.

A bit about diet

For the first 3 weeks I was eating 3000cal a day + 2-3L of milk a day. Now I've cut out milk (sick of it), and am substituting it with natural yoghurt and increased complex carbs like brown rice etc. I'm not keeping much of an eye on saturated fat, my aim is to bulk up, and I suppose the cutting can come later. I'm just after some tips to help reduce the distention in the stomach, if possible.

**Twist** · 01-17-2011, 01:12 AM

Ok you are just getting really fat. Stop this immediately. Post pics, and current diet/workout immediately. At most, on a heavy cycle (and I mean heavy), and you being a newb (with newb gains), You would put on 8 pounds. This is at most and in no way are you even close to that. So I am gonna say you are just getting really fat. 8lbs in one month would be amazing! 20lbs is just a lot of fat gain.

**hell_cat** · 01-17-2011, 02:06 AM

Thanks Twist. I will get round to posting pics. The thing is, it seems in line with overall bulk. It's just unusual for me to see myself like this. Admittedly 10kg is a large increase in weight for 1 month, but I have been lifting very heavy (relative to my level) and have been very consistent.

Diet:

Meal 1: 4 eggs + toast
Meal 2: chicken and rice
Meal 3: pasta
Meal 4: chicken and rice
Meal 5: pasta
Meal 6: lean meat
(yoghurt/dairy in between)

Average calories per meal: 500 cal, with ~ 17g of protein per meal

Lifting routine:

Day 1: 5*10 (10, 10, 8, 8, 6) flat bench, 5*10 (10, 10, 8, 8, 6) Incline Bench, 5*10 (10, 10, 8, 8, 6) shoulder press, 3*10 barbell row
Day 2: Break
Day 3: 5*8 CGBP, 4*7 skull crushers, 4*10 barbell bicep curls, 3*8 chinups
Day 4: Break
Day 5: 5*10 flat bench, 5*10 Incline Bench, 5*10 shoulder press, 3*10 barbell row
Weekend: Rest

each week since starting I've been able to add 5kg to nearly all exercises whilst maintaining same intensity and rep range. Bench has gone up 20+kg since mid december.

**aussiemass** · 01-17-2011, 04:34 AM

17g of protein per meal wtf dude you really need to bump that up to around 40g and get rid of the pasta and have some rice white or brown or potato/sweet potato

**hell_cat** · 01-17-2011, 06:05 AM

Thanks aussiemass. I'll start modifying my diet to better suit my aims.

**gbrice75** · 01-17-2011, 05:59 PM

How did you come up with 3000 + calories/day? What did you do to arrive at that number - just a wild guess? This could very well be your problem. You need to find your TDEE/maintenance calories, and then base your diet from there, regardless of cutting, bulking, etc.

**Damienm05** · 01-18-2011, 01:15 PM

Remove the yogurt snacks and pasta-only meals. Replace both with more lean meat and vegetables. The frequency at which you're eating and the quantity of food seem to be fine; it's simply all the saturated fat and carbs you're taking in. All meals should be like 40-60g complex carbs, 40-60g protein (not fatty varieties), and maybe ~75g fat distributed in meals throughout the day (some nuts, fish oil pills, a little oil). Also, green vegetables seem to be lacking. I just think you may be misguided in terms of what the body needs to grow (not get fat). Carbs/Fats are energy but as protein-based organisms, any gains we make are dependant on that macronutrient. Sure, we need energy sources to workout with appropriate intensity, transport essential nutrients to the muscles, maintain proper health as a whole BUT 17g of protein per meal with most of your calories coming from whole eggs, dairy, and pasta (that's surely in a high calorie sauce) you're bound to be getting soft.

Not to take anything away from Gbrice's comment of course, a greater underlying issue is calories in vs. out and you're also putting too many in regardless of food choices. A TDEE should be established with trial and error before we assume it blindly. It's always better to monitor how things are going from week to week and adjust the calories rather than look back a month later and say, "damn, I'm getting fat".

Were you cutting before this regiment of high cal bulking began? Of course, it doesn't explain the massive weight gain but if you do go from very clean low-cal eating right into a dirty bulking regiment, you're bound to hold water like a mufvcka.