have a huge belly what am i doing wrong?

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babystepsforward
babystepsforward Posts: 52 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
i try and eat healthily, ive been cutting down on carbs loads but recently started having a piece of brown toast with my eggs in the morning and sometimes rice or cous cous at tea time to see if maybe it was because i wasn't having a blanced diet. i'm rcovering from an ED and basicly my stomach sticks out massivley, the rest of me isn't too big . when i bend over though it doesn't ripple, i don;t understand why my stomach sticks out so much? i do lots of ab work with my other things, some cardio and some strength training. I'm 5 foot 4 and now weigh about 119lbs so i'm not huge but i look it. my diary is open. any help would be so appreciated!

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  • Alassonde
    Alassonde Posts: 228 Member
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    I have the same problem, I'm the same height and even when I was 114 pounds my stomach still stuck out. In my case, a lot of it is bloating, because I'll have days where my stomach is almost flat and other days when I look pregnant. Does your stomach always stick out, or does it sometimes seem flatter? If if gets bigger/smaller it may be bloating more than actual fat. If that is the case, then looking at what you eat around the time the bloating starts can be a good start.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    If you are recovering from an ED, you need to get off of this site.

    I'm sure your therapist would not approve of you being on a calorie counting website; as it is not part of treatment and can actually trigger unhealthy thoughts/behaviors.

    You are at a perfectly healthy weight. You think you look huge and your 'belly sticks out' because of your ED. This is your ED talking.

  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
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    Stomach distention is a physical side affect of the ED even when getting into recovery.. not sure what ED you had but only a doctor can work through physical and emotional issues you have with the ED and its effects as you walk the recovery line..
  • crispaholicshaz
    crispaholicshaz Posts: 79 Member
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    babystepsforward wrote: »
    i try and eat healthily, ive been cutting down on carbs loads but recently started having a piece of brown toast with my eggs in the morning and sometimes rice or cous cous at tea time to see if maybe it was because i wasn't having a blanced diet. i'm rcovering from an ED and basicly my stomach sticks out massivley, the rest of me isn't too big . when i bend over though it doesn't ripple, i don;t understand why my stomach sticks out so much? i do lots of ab work with my other things, some cardio and some strength training. I'm 5 foot 4 and now weigh about 119lbs so i'm not huge but i look it. my diary is open. any help would be so appreciated!
    Could it be that u have I.B.S? I get bloated when i have brown bread, or anything else that's a trigger for my I.B.S.. Well done in the battle with ED, It cant be easy. But plenty on her to offer support, never been an issue i have experienced, but here if u ever need a chat.. :wink: .
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    When recovering from an ED it's normal to have your stomach bloat. Your body is re-learning how to digest foods and handle the gas that is released during digestion. Our intestines produce three cubic feet of gas per day and your body is not used to it.
  • killerqueen21
    killerqueen21 Posts: 157 Member
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    FatFreeFrolicking wrote: »

    You are at a perfectly healthy weight.
    This. And probably the rest of what was said too, i just don't know enough about eating disorders to confirm. From your OP you sound like you're still struggling quite a bit. Step away from the physical a bit and continue working on the mental.

  • Moparmaidenbc
    Moparmaidenbc Posts: 1 Member
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    I have a celiac and microscopic colitis both conditions cause extreme bloating in the stomach or distention as the doctor calls it. I would ask your doctor to give the blood test of celiac and if it is negative insist on a colonoscopy to rule out Crohn's and Colitis. Also if you go for a colonoscopy make sure they get a biopsy even if everything looks normal, because microscopic colitis only shows up under a microscope and bowel and intestine will look normal. Then if for any reason both turn out negative I would attempt going gluten free to see if that makes a difference because many many people who don't have celiac have a mild to severe gluten intolerance that has only been acknowledged by the medical profession recently. And of course make sure your doctor is in the loop at all times.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    Moparmaidenbc wrote: »
    I have a celiac and microscopic colitis both conditions cause extreme bloating in the stomach or distention as the doctor calls it. I would ask your doctor to give the blood test of celiac and if it is negative insist on a colonoscopy to rule out Crohn's and Colitis. Also if you go for a colonoscopy make sure they get a biopsy even if everything looks normal, because microscopic colitis only shows up under a microscope and bowel and intestine will look normal. Then if for any reason both turn out negative I would attempt going gluten free to see if that makes a difference because many many people who don't have celiac have a mild to severe gluten intolerance that has only been acknowledged by the medical profession recently. And of course make sure your doctor is in the loop at all times.

    This is a lot of unnecessary tests for something that normally happens in eating disorder recovery. She would only need any of these if it continued for several months.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    usmcmp wrote: »
    Moparmaidenbc wrote: »
    I have a celiac and microscopic colitis both conditions cause extreme bloating in the stomach or distention as the doctor calls it. I would ask your doctor to give the blood test of celiac and if it is negative insist on a colonoscopy to rule out Crohn's and Colitis. Also if you go for a colonoscopy make sure they get a biopsy even if everything looks normal, because microscopic colitis only shows up under a microscope and bowel and intestine will look normal. Then if for any reason both turn out negative I would attempt going gluten free to see if that makes a difference because many many people who don't have celiac have a mild to severe gluten intolerance that has only been acknowledged by the medical profession recently. And of course make sure your doctor is in the loop at all times.

    This is a lot of unnecessary tests for something that normally happens in eating disorder recovery. She would only need any of these if it continued for several months.

    Agreed. I have Crohn's disease and can assure you that simply having a 'stomach that sticks out' is not nearly enough reason to perform a colonoscopy, let alone a biopsy. It isn't needed and would be a waste of money and medical supplies.

  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    edited June 2015
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    There also could be a good bit of distorted body image going on as well. Your stomach probably isn't "huge" and it probably doesn't "stick out massively." Yes, bloating is absolutely normal during ED recovery and you probably are experiencing it, but I really doubt it's as bad as you are interpreting it to be.
  • babystepsforward
    babystepsforward Posts: 52 Member
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    thanks guys i swear i'm not attention seeking i'm just worried and confused. it's so hard to continue upping intake and cutting cardio etc when my stomach is jsut getting bigger, i dont know if it will distribute or if its because im allergic. some days its flat and other days it jsut seems to have swollen up. very confusing and frustrating haha
  • Kestrelwings
    Kestrelwings Posts: 238 Member
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    It is normal, and very common in ED recovery. It takes a very long time for (a) the gut to fully recover from disordered eating (b) your brain to recover from the distorted body image and (c) the shape of your limbs to go from 'skinny but no muscle' to 'healthy size with enough muscle' in order to balance out the tummy. Swollen belly is very very common in semi-starvation modes, and does not go away overnight.
  • wrealmusic
    wrealmusic Posts: 16 Member
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    I was learning about the various body types, and yours sound like the "Liver" body type. Large belly, check out this youtube video. It may give you some info. https://youtu.be/fAeGSdTaqZk
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
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    wrealmusic wrote: »
    I was learning about the various body types, and yours sound like the "Liver" body type. Large belly, check out this youtube video. It may give you some info. https://youtu.be/fAeGSdTaqZk

    Oh goody, blood type diets now come in organs. Maybe I'm a pancreas type, every time someone's sweet to me, I find it shocking.

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