Gaining belly fat fast means doing the opposite of the strategies that help you to burn belly fat and stay lean. Keep in mind that carrying extra fat around the abdomen may promote the development of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Moreover, fat cells produce extra estrogen, which can be detrimental to a man's fitness and overall health. For women, it could cause hormonal imbalance. Both men and women may have more difficulty losing the weight later. Follow a few guidelines to promote fast belly fat gains.
Step 1
Limit all physical activity. Engaging in cardiovascular activity, recreational sports or resistance training promotes the healthy use of extra calories for energy. However, for gaining belly fat, you want to give your body every opportunity to store these calories rather than burn them.
Step 2
Increase your total caloric intake above your maintenance calorie level. Consult with a personal trainer or use one of the available calorie calculators online. The maintenance level of calories refers to how many you must take in to stay exactly the same. Because you want to gain weight, you must take in more calories than your maintenance.
Step 3
Decrease your daily protein intake. Proteins have a thermic effect and act to stabilize blood sugar at meals, according to "Combat the Fat" by Jeff Anderson. This means you are less likely to store body fat from a meal with a high-quality lean source of protein. Over-eating proteins high in saturated fat, however, may help you to gain excess weight around the abdomen.
Step 4
Increase your daily intake of carbohydrates. You may be able to easily gain the weight you want by doubling your serving of carbs at each of your meals. High-glycemic carbohydrates, in particular, spike insulin levels to promote body fat storage. These carbs include dextrose, maltodextrin, refined starches such as white rice, white bread and white pasta, and sucrose, or table sugar. High-fructose corn syrup is another good sugar for gaining belly fat, according to "The Carbo Rater" by Jordana Brown.
Step 5
Eating infrequent large meals helps to promote fat storage. "The Fat Burning Bible" by Mackie Shilstone recommends that you do the opposite to stay lean, by taking in five to six smaller meals. Having large meals four or more hours apart guarantees that you will create a large spike in the hormone insulin, which triggers fat storage.
Step 6
Take in more carbohydrates at night. Many of the carbs you eat during the day may be burned by your body for energy. However, in the evening, your body is more likely to store carbohydrates as fat due to inactivity. Late night snacking on sugary foods or refined carbohydrates before bed forces the body to store the excess nutrition as fat.
Tips and Warnings
- Consult with your doctor before beginning a diet to gain weight. Increase your daily total caloric intake by 500 to 1,000 calories to successfully gain 1 to 2 pounds per week.
- A qualified health care professional should monitor your body weight, blood lipids and cholesterol during an extreme weight-gain diet to prevent illness and other adverse health effects.
References
- "Muscle and Fitness"; "The Ultimate Supplement Handbook: Your 10 lb. Diet Plan--Gaining Ground"; Joe Wuebben and Jim Stoppani; January 2010
- "Muscle and Fitness"; "The Ultimate Supplement Handbook: The Carbo Rater"; Jordana Brown; January 2010
- "The Fat Burning Bible"; Mackie Shilstone; 2006
- "Combat the Fat"; Jeff Anderson; 2008
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