Body Image
For me, the opposite is more to my liking! :-)
However, I am quite physically active!
It's the third most important element! Perhaps the most important of the three!
I burn a ton of carbs everyday and the protein fuels my muscle mass! (mass is relative) :-)
Most of the bodies I have seen have a gut. Some people are skinny and have a set of abbs, I think the best thing to remember if u lose weight and u still have a gut . It's just your middle shape. So look at what is good and make that better! It how people do It . I can't change feet of hands knees or head . Tummy is in the similar spec.
I think the biggest part of your statement is that "you" are unhappy with your gut. No one else cares. Many men obsess about a small penis, or hair on their back, but really no one else cares. Go to nudist events. Be happy naked. And if you want to do something about your gut so you feel better, do it. But don't feel bad because you have it now.
Being nude around others is liberating! All of the things we try to coverup with clothing and accessories are out in the open. A person with a body that we would love to have would tell you that they dont like something about their body. For the most part, Nudist are more interested in what you have to say rather than how your body looks.
When I was a boy scout we had an adult leader who always wore long-sleeved collared shirts, even on hot summer camp outs. Turns out he was ashamed of a lot of tattoos from the days of his reckless youth. This was before tatts were common, but I gained more respect for him knowing there were good stories behind that buttoned-up image he carried.
Showing your gut is a way of saying that you are a man and you are proud. As far as size, remember it's actually smaller without clothes than with them. If you are serious about slimming, do it slowly, a pound or two a week. Make peace with your fat now so you'll clearly see progress, pound by pound. Good luck!
How do I get over body image issues? Sounds trivially simple, but just go naked! As long as you are hiding your body, you don't shed the sense that you have something to hide. Push past that, into what-you-see-is-what-you-get territory.
Naked people stand and move differently from clothed people (really) because we re-develop a social persona based on presenting the body whole. Stand tall, look people in the eye. Take your mind off your gut, and it won't be important to others, either.