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RESEARCHSARMSUGFREAKeudomestic
napsgeargenezapharmateuticals domestic-supplypuritysourcelabsRESEARCHSARMSUGFREAKeudomestic

Help! Im lean but Ive got a gut!!!!!!

woof

New member
Hi everyone,
I have been lurking on this site for a while, absorbing all the good info, and have decided to post this question which I haven't seemed to have read anything about.

Some background: I am a competitive bike racer who used to powerlift (not compete) and still fool around in the weight room. I am 5'10", 140lb, 13%BF (caliper). I would like to get down to 10-11%, but that is another story.

Anyway, my question: Although I am pretty lean, when I look into the mirror when standing sideways, it looks like I am 5 months pregnant (and I am definitely not!) unless I consciously suck my gut in. If I face the mirror (and suck it in) I look pretty good - you can kind of make out a 6-pack (well, at least a 4-pack) if you try real hard ;-). What is the story????? There is no way I would wear a bikini, cuz Ill look like a fat a$$, which is crazy cuz I am much leaner than the average chic out there that looks good in a bikini?

Anyone know what gives????

Thanks a lot and anxiously waiting any advice!
 
What kind of gut? If it goes away when you stand up straight and hold your stomach in, maybe it's just a postural habit, and you need to practice better posture and holding your stomach in - it becomes 2nd nature after awhile.

Or is it something else - Is it subcutaneous fat that you can pinch, or is it internal? If it's internal, it could either be visceral fat that surrounds organs, or possibly a female-related growth in the uterus, etc. (I know a woman whose dr found one the size of a grapefruit), or it could be something like constipation. A woman on another board had something similar, and it turns out she's had a wheat/gluten allergy that was causing bloat and constipation. Have you seen your doctor about it?
 
It is more the SHAPE than actual fat that I guess I am talking about. Instead of being flat, my lower abdomen seems to protrude (like a pregnant women's), although it is firm with just a bit of squeezable fat. Changing my posture does not seem to remedy it, though sucking it in does. I have not specifically discussed it w/ my doctor (all of you on this board must know the reaction you get from clueless drs when you mention subjects like not looking lean enough when your BF is <20%!) but I do get a yearly exam and haven't had any problems.

It seems like my stomach is only flat when I consciously think about it, which is only when Im looking in the mirror. I couldn't imagine being able to remember to suck in my gut all day long!
 
Sounds perfectly normal to me (for a female). Any food/fiber sitting in your large intestine can cause this, as well as bloating. men don't have this problem because they don't have all their reproductive organs sitting inside under their intestines. This is especially true for some women who's pelvis tilts backwards causing lordosis. We're all put together a little differently and you may just have to suck it in when you want to look flat. Try flattening you back (you know, so there would be no gap between you and a wall if you stood against it).
 
Actually, The Project has this problem. It runs in his family, both genders. He has a HUGE, WIDE ribcage. It's like it sticks out really far, and although the area feels solid to the touch, the shape of it really bothers him. From a physique standpoint, we've decided that the only way to ever counterbalance this is for him to get his chest to stick out further than his stromach. It's almost like his rib cage is angled back, so that it's further from his body at the bottom and closer at the top...he has a hell of a time building his chest.

He had posture issues too, but those have been corrected, and the fact remains.
 
This is from T-mag http://t-mag.com/html/25gof.html

Q: What it is, bros? How do I get my girlfriend to lose her gut? She
is pretty lean in the legs and arms, but is carrying around a little
pouch around the midsection. She runs three times a week for
about 40 minutes, works out with weights, and really eats pretty
well, yet doesn't lose anything around the lower abs. I don't get it.
I've had her on a thermo stack, which works pretty well for me, but
she gets nothing out of it. I really want her to have a flat stomach.
What can I do?

A: Much of what you're talking about and asking is stuff we get
asked here day in-day out. For starters, YOU can't get your
girlfriend to "lose her gut;" if she's going to lose weight/fat, it
should be because SHE wants to. You say your girlfriend is generally
lean but has a "little pouch" around the mid-section. This is a good
opportunity to discuss the role of genetics and how they really
come into play regarding what a woman looks like. We're not talking
about genetics related to muscle, fat, or innervation. We're talking
about genetics as it relates to skeletal anatomy. Get ready for
some deep stuff to follow.

Let's talk about the pelvis (as it relates to women). In general, the
pelvis consists of four bones (paired innominate bones, coccyx, and
the sacrum) held together by ligaments. The size and shape of
these bones have a tremendous impact on how a woman looks
physically. Medically speaking, pelvic shape is classified using
something called the "Caldwell-Moloy" system. There are four "pure"
pelvic shapes in this system—gynecoid, android, anthropoid, and
platypelloid.

The gynecoid pelvis (sometimes called a "true female pelvis") is
found in about 50% of the women in America. It is the "classic" form
that we associate with women and has an anteroposterior diameter
just slightly less than the transverse diameter. Lucy Lawless of
Xena, Warrior Princess fame has a classic gynecoid pelvis. Women
like this tend to look…like women. They are shapely and curvy.
They tend to hold fat around the thighs more so than the mid-riff.
They can have a flat stomach without really dropping body fat
levels low enough to cause some "female problems."

The android pelvis (sometimes called a "true make pelvis") is found
in about 20% of American women. Women who happen to have
such a pelvis tend to have "flat rear ends." Many of the truly
"waifish women" we see so prominently in modeling today have this
type of pelvis. It's not necessarily a good thing for a woman to
have such a pelvic shape, as most of these women will end up
having a Cesarean Section if they want to have children. Women
with this shape of pelvis have virtually no real difficulty in achieving
a flat stomach—no more than the "average male"—because their
pelvises are shaped like an average male.

The anthropoid pelvis is very long and almost "ovoid" in shape. It is
more common in non-white females (it makes up about 25% of
pelvic type in white women and close to 50% in non-white women).
Women who have such a pelvis shape tend to have "larger rear
ends" and may carry a lot of adipose tissue/weight in the buttocks
as well as in the abdomen. These women can have a flat stomach
with some real effort (they may have to drop body fat levels down
a bit lower than women with the other two aforementioned pelvis
types, but it's "doable").

The platypelloid pelvis is very short (almost like a "flattened
gynecoid shape"). Only about 3% of women have a true and pure
pelvis of this type. Women having a platypelloid pelvis tend to carry
a lot of weight in the lower abdomen. It's very difficult for these
women to have really flat abdomens without getting body fat levels
down into the single digits.

So what does all this have to do with having a gut? Plenty!!! Most
women are a mixture of pelvic types. Classifying types requires
some tricky measurements that we don't need to get into here. But
some women have a platypelloid pelvis type (or the lesser evil, an
anthropoid pelvis type) so no matter what they do short of really
getting lean (like 8-9% BF), they're still going to end up with a little
bulge, or "pouch," in the abdomen. Read that sentence again.
We've all seen plenty of women like this at the gym: the woman
with the narrow shoulders and wide hips who has skinny legs and
arms; heck, you can see her ribs, but she has that little bulge in
the gut that never goes away. Not much can be done about this
(it's a bone structure thing, guys). This is not an excuse for some
women to be fat, however (you said your lady friend ate well and
got plenty of exercise). If you're girlfriend/wife is below 12-13% BF
and still has a "pouch," then suffice it to say she is always going to
have a "pouch." Deal with it. Not every woman can look like Kate
Moss.

A lot of men place an undo amount of pressure on women to be
concentration-camp thin, which is not a good thing physically or
psychologically. It's not healthy when women dip too low in
BF—they end up losing bone mass as well as skipping periods (that's
enough to make most men very nervous). And besides, it's doubtful
that most women can safely keep such low body fat levels year
round. Look, we don't dig fat chicks or "fatness" in general, but it's
time to look at bone structure and genetics to determine just how
"flat" that stomach of your woman can really be. If any women
have any comments, we're all ears. Sorry if this is not the exact
answer you were looking for.
 
awesome post candi!!!

the pouch thing is not a problem of mine, but my BF thinks all females should have narrow hips and a small butt. Even though i tell him 95% (or at leat a very high percentage) of women genetically cannot have that.

I think he really just needs a swift kick to the head.
 
thanks everyone

I do believe that MS abd spatts might just be on to something. I had never heard of lordosis but, after doing some searching, have found that the pictures shown are exactly what I notice on myself. If anyone else is interested, the following site has some exercises/stretches that might help (bottom of page):

http://www.planetkc.com/exrx/WeightTraining/Deficiencies.html#anchor30863

As a cyclist, 2 problems listed definitely pertain to me: tight (maybe short?) hip flexors and weak hamstrings (compared to overly strong quads).

As far as my pelvis type, I am having trouble figuring that one out. I think that I am prob a mix cuz I seem to put on fat both on my abdomen and on my hips and thighs fairly uniformly.

Thanks a lot to all who responded.
 
This is something that has been bothering me constantly - I have this slight gut and I can't seem to get pass it - plus the fact that I am going through early menapause and take estrogen doesn't help at all. I can't cut out any more carbs and I eat very clean so its not my diet - I am really annoyed at the whole thing and I don't really know what to do about it if anything.:(
 
I have to say, this is number one on my list of least favorite personal body flaws. It's something that has come on with the years. If a girl has weak abs I think strengthing them helps a little, but beyond a certain point large quantities of hanging leg raises won't do it (although there are other benefits). I have found that some foods/beverages cause bloating, and avoiding those helps. The biggest thing for me is good posture. I have been working on hip flexor stretching and I think that helps a little too.

Witkowsd - you've probably heard that lots of women are re-thinking HRT to get through menopause. Is your doc pushing the estrogen, or is it hot flashes?
 
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