Big Belly, Small Arms/legs. Need Advice And Help On How To Get Into Shape!

[timeforchange]

Hey everyone, hope you're all well.


I'm 24, 5'9 and weigh 123kg
I have a huuge belly (i wear xl/xxl tshirts) and have broad shoulders BUT i have really really skinny arms and legs.
I've always had a big belly and small arms/legs my whole life.

I hate looking and feeling the way i do. im like a potato with sticks arms/legs.. so i want to work on my body to change how i look.
I dont want to be skinny , 'bear' or rugby style big.
i want to have a flat stomach, broad shoulders but big arms and legs.

But i'm not sure the best way to go about it?

do i lose weight first? then bulk
do i bulk first? but would my belly go away. i dont want to be like the rubgy player shape.
what am i supposed to do first?
do i focus on cardio to rid of my belly, or do weights to build muscle.

does it matter which diet i use to lose weight?
i've just started slimming world - i know, not exactly a typical cool bodybuilder diet, but idk how else to lose the fat

p.s. ive tried eating chicken and broccoli every day. i fall off after 2 weeks. i need something i can stick to.

would be great if someone's been in my situation before and can advise me on what to do

is there a training plan for someone of my current body shape?

could really do with some help and advice please

 

[Simon90]

Hey everyone, hope you're all well.


I'm 24, 5'9 and weigh 123kg
I have a huuge belly (i wear xl/xxl tshirts) and have broad shoulders BUT i have really really skinny arms and legs.
I've always had a big belly and small arms/legs my whole life.

I hate looking and feeling the way i do. im like a potato with sticks arms/legs.. so i want to work on my body to change how i look.
I dont want to be skinny , 'bear' or rugby style big.
i want to have a flat stomach, broad shoulders but big arms and legs.

But i'm not sure the best way to go about it?

do i lose weight first? then bulk
do i bulk first? but would my belly go away. i dont want to be like the rubgy player shape.
what am i supposed to do first?
do i focus on cardio to rid of my belly, or do weights to build muscle.

does it matter which diet i use to lose weight?
i've just started slimming world - i know, not exactly a typical cool bodybuilder diet, but idk how else to lose the fat

p.s. ive tried eating chicken and broccoli every day. i fall off after 2 weeks. i need something i can stick to.

would be great if someone's been in my situation before and can advise me on what to do

is there a training plan for someone of my current body shape?

could really do with some help and advice please

You need to put some pics up of how you look mate for proper advice.

But from what you've said, follow a decent program, eat in a slight defecit, be consistent and be patient lose the fat and then look at gaining more size

 

[Greedy Ben]

Diet, consistency and hard work.
There is nothing else.


You need to eat for the body you want to have. Every day.
You need to exercise, it needs to be a priority. Resistance training will be more beneficial for strength and fat loss.
Brisk walking will help burn more calories without eating into your recovery from training.

 

[timeforchange]

Diet, consistency and hard work.
There is nothing else.


You need to eat for the body you want to have. Every day.
You need to exercise, it needs to be a priority. Resistance training will be more beneficial for strength and fat loss.
Brisk walking will help burn more calories without eating into your recovery from training.

Thanks for this Ben!
I've started on the walking, but i'll start adding in resistance training too

although when you say eat for the body you have. what would that mean for me?

 

[timeforchange]

You need to put some pics up of how you look mate for proper advice.

But from what you've said, follow a decent program, eat in a slight defecit, be consistent and be patient lose the fat and then look at gaining more size

There you go
As you can see my body isn’t in proportion. All my fat builds up on my stomach rather than evenly across my legs and arms.

So I should lose the weight first. Go skinny. And then bulk and do weights?

 

[Jamesalan]

Yes I would def focus on weight first, now you should still lift while doing that as more muscle will help you lose fat faster especially if you are eating high protein to help spare the muscle.

You really don't appear to of lifted much in your life so even in deficit your muscles are going to want to grow.

You need to target ALL areas for muscle gain as well remember the more muscle you have the more butter you will burn.

Bulking would not even be part of my vocabulary right now if I were you. This could be a 1-2 year process if done right. Remember the slower you lose the weight the less loose hangy skin you will have at the end and the more muscle you will retain (and like I said possibly even gain).

Good luck

 

[Greedy Ben]

Thanks for this Ben!
I've started on the walking, but i'll start adding in resistance training too

although when you say eat for the body you have. what would that mean for me?

This might be too big/too small for your 'ideal' body etc but what type of diet do you think this guy eats?

I'm sure he has eaten a fucktonne of chicken/fish/lean meat, rice and veg.
There isn't a secret diet, just food items chosen for their specific macronutrient profile. Eg chicken breast - low fat, high protein, rice - low fat, high carbohydrates etc.

You do need to eat a proportionate amount of protein - 1.5x bodyweight in grams minimum up to 3x and over in some cases.
Fats just under 1 x bw
The rest can be from carbohydrates roughly speaking.

Track your input.
If it goes in your mouth write it down or input it into your app (myfitnesspal is easy to use).

Be consistent
If you eat differently each day how the fuck will you know what and how much is doing what.

Prepare and cook all your own food - so you know exactly what you are eating.

Cut out alcohol as much as possible.

You need to diet off that fat around your midsection first, it will be surrounding your vital organs inside too.

You can start a log on here, I'm sure people will help if you are open to critique/advice.

Start with strength based training.
Stronglifts 5x5 is simple and will help build a base of strength.

Train smart, this is not a sprint, more a very long term endeavour - you didn't get like you are overnight and it won't come off as fast.

 

[Big Balls]

serious question... are you a big beer drinker or pop and soda? Looks like a Beer belly ., TBH. I remember a guy i worked with was huge because not only did he eat crap but it was more the amount of Cola he drunk all day ..every day.
Can drink your calories very easily !
when the guy stopped the Cola he lost weight fast.

 

[GhostOf2Can]

Weights 4-5 days a week for hypertrophy and a shit ton of cardio

Your very fat tbh mate (no offence) and the priority should be to get that off even though it’s gonna leave you looking tiny as you have no muscle

Then you can adjust things to start building muscle as the priority. But the excess fat needs to come off sharpish

 

[timeforchange]

serious question... are you a big beer drinker or pop and soda? Looks like a Beer belly ., TBH. I remember a guy i worked with was huge because not only did he eat crap but it was more the amount of Cola he drunk all day ..every day.
Can drink your calories very easily !
when the guy stopped the Cola he lost weight fast.

so I dont drink beer/alcohol, so that's not it.
But i did grow up drinking a lot of pop/soda, maybe that's the reason i have a big belly but not big arms/legs?

I've cut out sugar now, so hopefully the fat with melt away like butter.
using sugar free drinks like pepsi max or sugar free vimto as alternatives.

 

[timeforchange]

Weights 4-5 days a week for hypertrophy and a shit ton of cardio

Your very fat tbh mate (no offence) and the priority should be to get that off even though it’s gonna leave you looking tiny as you have no muscle

Then you can adjust things to start building muscle as the priority. But the excess fat needs to come off sharpish

lol no offence taken at this point.

thanks for the advice, will focus on losing the belly first, and I guess i'll be tiny before adding muscle.

 

[timeforchange]

View attachment 72321This might be too big/too small for your 'ideal' body etc but what type of diet do you think this guy eats?

I'm sure he has eaten a fucktonne of chicken/fish/lean meat, rice and veg.
There isn't a secret diet, just food items chosen for their specific macronutrient profile. Eg chicken breast - low fat, high protein, rice - low fat, high carbohydrates etc.

You do need to eat a proportionate amount of protein - 1.5x bodyweight in grams minimum up to 3x and over in some cases.
Fats just under 1 x bw
The rest can be from carbohydrates roughly speaking.

Track your input.
If it goes in your mouth write it down or input it into your app (myfitnesspal is easy to use).

Be consistent
If you eat differently each day how the fuck will you know what and how much is doing what.

Prepare and cook all your own food - so you know exactly what you are eating.

Cut out alcohol as much as possible.

You need to diet off that fat around your midsection first, it will be surrounding your vital organs inside too.

You can start a log on here, I'm sure people will help if you are open to critique/advice.

Start with strength based training.
Stronglifts 5x5 is simple and will help build a base of strength.

Train smart, this is not a sprint, more a very long term endeavour - you didn't get like you are overnight and it won't come off as fast.

too small? nooo, those shoulders are huge.

but you make a really good point about being consistent with the food you eat. i had a bad habit of snacking and just shrugging it off as 'meh its only a small amount , it won't hurt.'

yes, i'm here for the long term! not a sprint as you say.

thanks for the advice.
much appreciated

although i'm not sure what you mean by
"1.5x bodyweight in grams minimum up to 3x and over in some cases."
that seems like a lot of food to eat?

 

[Rob]

It's all about calories for you, you gotta sort out diet first pal, get that right and introduce moderate training to start with - you can probably do some light but long reps/sets weight and body weight exercises along with CV 3+ times a week to cut back your gut. Basically stop eating crap, stick to lean foods you don't need carbs right now Don't expect change over night, it's all about consistency as Ben said, but if you stick to a plan and look at yourself in 3 months you will see positive change. Good luck.

 

[Greedy Ben]

too small? nooo, those shoulders are huge.

but you make a really good point about being consistent with the food you eat. i had a bad habit of snacking and just shrugging it off as 'meh its only a small amount , it won't hurt.'

yes, i'm here for the long term! not a sprint as you say.

thanks for the advice.
much appreciated

although i'm not sure what you mean by
"1.5x bodyweight in grams minimum up to 3x and over in some cases."
that seems like a lot of food to eat?

It may seem like a lot of food when its all 'clean' good whole food sources, thats the point though so you don't get hungry and stuff a load of shite down!