tummy fat

If your body adds fat to your stomach first, then while trying to gain, that's where it's going to go. Yelling at it and telling it to move doesn't do much good.

Sit-ups, crunches, and planks. And, of course, Google and Youtube.

I'm using hasfit.com there's a 30 day abs workout routine on there along with a bunch of other more advanced ab workouts that aren't in the 30 day program as well. I'm in the process of doing the 30 day ab workout routine now, and it's definitely working. Give it a shot! Good luck

I have been gaining for the last two years. I went from 153 lbs to 174 lbs now. Taking it slowly will reduce the amount of fat you gain, but I still have a bit of fat on my lower belly. I believe it's inevitable that you will gain some fat when you are bulking. Personally, my plan is to go beyond my goal weight by 5 lbs, then cut and lose the 5 lbs of fat at the end by eating in a deficit for a few months.

I don't like the gaining, cutting cycle, so I'll just gain for now and cut at the very end.

The way fat is deposited tends to depend on body type and diet. Some women tend to gain more in the stomach due to hormones etc. Obviously I don't know what your diet is, but being a person who tends to gain weight in my stomach, here are a few things I believe can make a difference....
1. Gluten and "gluten free" substitutes quickly convert to sugar which make them higher on the glycemic index. Try lower glycemic foods and avoiding gluten when possible.
2. Decrease stress
3. Caffeine (especially coffee) raises cortisol (stress hormone)levels in the body which contribute to belly fat.

Are you avoiding products with artificial sweeteners? Our parents never gained - they just had sugar, and most products they ate just did not have stealthily added sugar. Stop having diet drinks because they actually alter your perception of sweetness and also do something to make your midriff swell.

Drink coffee - what is wrong with it? Do not deny yourself this pleasure. Use raw cane sugar products. Do not be afraid to eat starches like rice and potatoes - no junk foods.

ahhh shall stop yelling then LOL. Not trying to gain muscle at this stage just fat but yeh would like it to spread around rather than just on my gut - boobs would be good LOL. Ok planking it is.... *sigh*

Haha trying to get my boobs back is my main motivation for starting to up my calories and do a mini bulk. I'm worried about my tum too as I still have some fat and a lot of extra skin there (thanks kids) but I'm hoping lifting will help pull it in a bit. I figure you have to focus on either a cut or a bulk otherwise you'll just be a yo yo dieter although I am going to adjust my cals so that I eat more on training days and more like maintenance on non training days, but I still have to keep upping the cals to work out what my maintenance is yet so it could take a while for me to get to the bulking stage

Body fat gets distributed according to genetics. Just as there is no way to spot reduce an area, there is nothing you can do about where fat gets stored. Ab exercises won't get rid of belly fat, it will only strengthen and build the ab muscles. If you are gaining too much fat back off on your surplus a little and try to add more muscle than fat. Fat gain is going to happen while gaining muscle, there's nothing you can do about it except try to keep it to a minimum.

Also the coffee thing causing fat to be stored in a certain area is interesting. I just read a research study the other day that said coffee before a workout can help reduce fat gain while building muscle. I don't remember where I read it now but my point is if you look hard enough you will be able to find a study that will tell you just about anything you "want" to hear. I do know that no food is more prone to get stored in one place as fat more than any other. There again genetics determine that, not the foods we eat.

Good Luck!