Hey there again,
don't worry - we all have been there ;)
I stick by the numbers that i gave you in your former post (http://muscularstrength.com/forums.php?pageAction=POSTS&subForumID=52&threadID=2664)
The lower abdominal fat is an issue on it's own. And it can stick around even if you get skinny like there is no tomorrow.
We all are genetically different in where we store the last reserves, but for most humans (me included) it is the lower abdominal area.
So sometimes not even restricting the calories helps, and you'll be something called skinny fat until all other reserves are used up and your body would be forced to take those.. not a healthy approach, and on the way you'd loose all those precious muscles too.
It comes down to trial and error and a lot patience.
Key elements are :
- cardio. You might need to up your cardio, so your body has an inscentive to burn fat. (especially HIIT cardio / high intensity intervall training)
- fasted cardio can be a total help in some cases too. Some react great to it. (like some cardio in the morning before you ate)
- shifting carbs and fats around in different pattern over the day can help too.
- last but not least (John will be a good help with that ) Intermitted Fasting (IF) can help a lot too. Where you basically still eat your regular amount of calories
but will eat this all within a 8 hour window, so basically the rest of the day the body is fasted, and has to utilize more of the stored reserves.
Here is a good article by curtis about that subject: http://muscularstrength.com/article/burn-your-stubborn-belly-fat-six-pack-in-six-weeks
On the other hand of course, if you want to build up and are in a massive surplus of 500 calories, you might for right now simply not care if there is a bit fat on the belly. And concentrate on building muscle and mass. And do a cutting phase at some point. Where you go all out on cardio, and restricting calories etc.
The bloated belly: i have that too, after eating i mostly look preggers ^.- But it comes down to "what" you eat and how big the portions are.
Broccoli: great belly bloater - but it's healthy, so not a way around. But maybe not every day :)
Bread: many people get bloated bellies from wheat products , especially highly processed stuff (i.e. your bagels)
Vary a bit in your foods, include paprika and other vegetables as a replacement for broccoli all day.
Leave the bagles away and just eat more rice or potatos instead.
And maybe even decide to eat 5 small meals instead of 3 big ones, if the bloated belly annoys you.
Digestive enzymes can also be of help.
A crazy bloated belly can also be a sign for digestive issues, and might wonna have it checked if the bloating is very extreme.
You did not write if you take any supplements. Those can be a cause as well. And you might want to replace them with different variations (whey protein versus pea protein powder etc)
Last but not least: that you kept loosing weight eventho raising the calories can have many reasons:
- body needs time to adapt. We need to eat about 10 days straight a higher / lower amount to reach a set point for a new weight. So if you gain one pound you will still have to eat 10 days more with that higher caloric intake, to actually 'store' this new point, otherwise your body will just return to it's old set point.
- Calories might still not be high enough because you maybe just do "too" much working out. In that case either reduce the overtraining, or adjust calories.
(according to my last calculation the 2500 on rest days might also be too low, as it's rather leaning towards 2600/2700) could be a reason that you still loose weight.
Unfortunately this all really costs consistancy, and trial+error testing, there are no real shortcuts - just some strategies to test (see the ones listed) :) But in the end you'll get to it, and find out which one works best for you.
