Need help

[ENZO]

The past year i embarked on a mission to enter fitness modelling / body building. I started out at 6 feet and weighed about 138 pounds. In less than a year with a great personal trainer I put on 30 pounds of muscle. The training was intense and because Im an ectomorph he took all cardio away. The only negative thing im feeling is that I feel thicker around my waist and went from a 28 to a 30. Is there any way to cut that abdominal fat without losing any of the muscle |I gained. I know if i go keto I will shred it off but I will also lose mass. Any suggestions?

Thanks

[Thorgrim]

What is your diet like right now? You might be able to take the fat off without drastic measures like keto. I am also an ectomorph and can get to single digit bodyfat pretty easily.

The other thing to consider is that some of the waist increase is muscle you were pretty skinny before and some muscle gain in the midsection is normal. Do you still have good abs?

[Felinecougar]

No matter if I compete at 109 or 119 my waist will NOT go below 26 inches. I'm 5ft 5, 54 yrs old and have had three babies. IMO internal bones and ligature can only adjust so much. Don't go after a number...go after how you look. Maybe your waist will only change by a 1/2 an inch at this weight...It's an over all package, not the size of ONE particular part.

[ENZO]

diet is very clean.... eggs . ezikiel bread, oatmeal. lots of chicken, fish and vegetables. and fruit... dont drink alcohol. i think because of the increase in carbs like potatoes and pasta and other starches that i feel more full. Abs are still very visible. Perhaps because of the huge anabolic growth, it is ineviatble to put weight on.

[ENZO]

I believe my body fat is still single digits

[Thorgrim]

Unless you have a photo shoot or contest to diet for I wouldn't worry about it too much if you still have abs. Trying to stay too lean will hurt your muscle gains. If you are feeling bloated, and holding water from the carbs you might be able to cut back on them a bit. I find that even when bulking I do well on 200-250g a day carbs and make up the difference in calories in healthy fats.

Remember though you need to eat enough to grow and that means you will have a full stomach most of the time. Considering that you were underweight to begin with and are 6 foot tall a 30 inch waist is still pretty decent.