I can’t believe I’m going to post this photo.

This is a side view of my belly. No, I’m not pregnant.  It just looks like I’m 9 months pregnant. Most of this doesn’t feel like fat. If I tighten my abdominal muscles, there is very little squishy fat on top of them. I look like I’m ballooned up all the time. I’m worried that I’m going to look like this forever, even when I’m skinny! What I feel like does not match up with what I see in the mirror. When I get up in the morning the top of my belly isn’t as big, but as soon as I eat something, anything, it puffs up and stays that way the remainder of the day.  I do not feel gassy or uncomfortable, I just look like the Goodyear Blimp.  Not only did I post the pic here, but I posted it at the THM Facebook group.  I got a lot of suggestions about what could be going on from fibroids to leaky gut to visceral fat vs. subcutaneous fat.  I do have chronic constipation (a little TMI, I know, but this blog is about honesty not being PC).  I have struggled with slow bowels all my life and I do wonder how much they contribute to my belly weight.  With THM I am eating more veggies than I ever have and still no change.  I have added a probiotic, flaxseed oil capsule, and a magnesium supplement in hopes of helping things to move along better and maybe it will help the “baby belly” too.  If it remains distended until my annual physical appointment in October, I’ll have my doctor look into it.

Update: My Big Belly (three years, a bunch of tests, and a few answers later)