Husband wants to gain weight but it's only going to his belly!!

Lauramumto4 · May 2017

So my husband is 6foot and weighs now 74kg. He's never been more than this. When I first met him in his early 20's he was very slim. Complete flat stomach. Now he's mid 30's he's getting paranoid about his stomach! It seems to be the only area to gain weight! To me he looks completely normal and fine and I don't know why he's worrying about it! But he keeps going on about it so I thought I'd ask here (my forum is the weight loss side haha!).
What should he do to gain weight and distribute the gain to his whole body? I tried reading one of the top posts on here but its so confusing!
Can someone tell me basics of what he should do, how many calories perhaps? What kind of foods? How regular to eat? Exercise?
Thank you for reading.

Oh and just to be clear, I just want to be able to guide him for himself. I'm not fussed how he looks! He's perfect in my eyes! He worries he'll get diabetes if his tummy gets any bigger!!!!! His waist is a 34. It was a 28 when I first met him! 10+ years ago.

DanSanthomes · May 2017

Hi,

As he's a 'over 30' he should probably incorporate strength/resistance training into his lifestyle. Get into the habit of working his muscles and he'll set himself up for long term health benefits - too many to list here. Ask Aunty Google.

Added bonus for him is it should burn some of his belly fat and build up his muscular 'frame'. *As a 47 year old man I can tell him that the belly will only get bigger! :-)

3 x weights and 1 or 2 x cardio sessions per week will make him feel strong, look good and help his body weather the storm that 'the 40s' brings :-) Oh and get him to join MFP so he can track his progress.

Good luck

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld · May 2017

If he is gaining body fat then he is eating at a surplus.
Does he know how many calories he is over eating by?
What exercise does he do?
Sounds like it's time for a cut until he reduces body fat%

psuLemon · May 2017

Lauramumto4 wrote: »

So my husband is 6foot and weighs now 74kg. He's never been more than this. When I first met him in his early 20's he was very slim. Complete flat stomach. Now he's mid 30's he's getting paranoid about his stomach! It seems to be the only area to gain weight! To me he looks completely normal and fine and I don't know why he's worrying about it! But he keeps going on about it so I thought I'd ask here (my forum is the weight loss side haha!).
What should he do to gain weight and distribute the gain to his whole body? I tried reading one of the top posts on here but its so confusing!
Can someone tell me basics of what he should do, how many calories perhaps? What kind of foods? How regular to eat? Exercise?
Thank you for reading.

Oh and just to be clear, I just want to be able to guide him for himself. I'm not fussed how he looks! He's perfect in my eyes! He worries he'll get diabetes if his tummy gets any bigger!!!!! His waist is a 34. It was a 28 when I first met him! 10+ years ago.

He can gain muscle throughout his body with a solid progressive overload lifting program: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

He can minimize fat gains with a small surplus. But there is NOTHING he can do to prevent where he gains fat. And at best, if all things are right, he would gain about 50/50 muscle/fat.

He would have to track calories and adjust. At best you can use a TDEE calculator, track for 4 weeks and make a modification from there. No specific foods; protein should be around .8g per lb. No specific eating pattern.. He can do 6 meals or 2 and anywhere in between.

chrispd87 · May 2017

Use a website like IIFYM.com to calculate required calories/macros and tweak as described above. For me, meal tracking has helped me the most as it really highlights how much or how little you're eating. I've only started noticing real 'gains' since I've been tracking and I would say this is much more important than what you do in the gym.

In the gym, I would recommend a program which focuses on compound lifts (squats, deadlifts, bench press, shoulder press). High intensity interval training (sprints on treadmill, bike etc) is great for fat burning and minimising catabolism (muscle breakdown) and also doesn't take up too much time.

comptonelizabeth · May 2017

The same has happened to me since I started gaining weight, even though I've been doing a progressive weight lifting programme. I'm a lot older than your husband!
I was very thin to start with and I think belly fat can seen more obvious if you're thin everywhere else. But I believe it's largely down to genetics. You can't control where the weight goes on. As I've become heavier,my belly seems less obvious but I'm still aware of it. I'm not sure what the answer is - hopefully someone more knowledgeable can advise- as I know that if I lose weight,I'll probably lose it from everywhere except my stomach !

Muscle_for_Fitness · May 2017

Unfortunately genetics plays a big part in where fat is stored and the older a male gets the more likely fat will be stored in the stomach area. The best bet is to focus on a progressive lifting program to develop his muscles as he gains weight. He may have to diet down to get rid of the extra fat he gained in the stomach area though once he has put on weight where he wants it. Main thing is stay with a progressive lifting program the entire time.

Rusty740 · May 2017

Men gain fat around their stomachs. This is a fact. To make this not happen, we need to reduce our body fat. This reduces the fat around and between our muscles. Muscles give us the nice shape, fat pads it.

If your husband wants to gain weight, he should start weightlifting. A simple, full-body workout like Strong Lifts 5 x 5 is a good place to start. It's not complicated and it's a free app.

I wouldn't suggest to him to eat any more, it seems he's gaining weight as he ages like the rest of us just fine. Lifting weights on a progressive overload program (this is important) is the single best way to gain weight at the same time as reduce waist size. He can start cardio, but then he'll lose weight and nobody likes cardio

Husband wants to gain weight but it's only going to his belly!!

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