Gaining muscle involves increasing your caloric intake. Without careful planning, an increased-calorie diet can pile weight on in places that you do not intend. If you are prone to gaining weight in your midsection, you might be concerned that an inadvertent side effect of your muscle building plan will be a large gut. You can minimize the chance of this occurring by carefully planing your meals and participating in regular strength and cardiovascular training.
Step 1
Determine how many calories you should consume in a day based on your size, age, gender and activity level. Be sure to include your exercise in this calculation. Eat about 500 calories a day more than you burn in order to support muscle growth.
Step 2
Eat your calories in the form of multiple mini-meals throughout the day. Divide your total caloric needs by how many meals you plan to eat (go for at least five). Strive to fuel your body with a meal every two to three hours to keep blood sugar levels stable, maximize metabolism and to allow the body to absorb nutrients---especially protein---most effectively.
Step 3
Abandon junk and processed foods and focus on whole grains, lean protein and monounsaturated fat. Swap refined grains for whole grains to reduce belly fat, as shown by a Pennsylvania State University Study involving 50 participants published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" in 2008. Eat monounsaturated fats to discourage fat accumulation in the stomach as per lead author J.A. Paniagua, M.D., Ph.D. in a study published in a 2007 edition of "Diabetes Care." Increase your protein intake to about 30 percent of daily calories---or 1 gram per pound of body weight---to help support the growth of muscle. Eat your protein in 15- to 30-g servings in each of your meals to allow your body to best utilize it and not store extra as fat.
Step 4
Avoid trans fat, saturated fat and alcohol. Man-made trans fat is found in many processed goods, snacks and fried foods. Trans fat was shown by lead author Kylie Kavanagh in a 2007 issue of "Obesity" to contribute to belly fat gain in monkeys, even when they followed a controlled-calorie diet. Eat minimal saturated fat by choosing lean sources of protein like egg whites, whey and soy powders, skinless poultry and buffalo.
Step 5
Commit to strength training. Build muscle by regularly training your muscles with resistance exercises using free weights and machines a minimum of twice per week. Rest 48 to 72 hours between training the same muscle groups to encourage growth, writes fitness expert Anthony Ellis, of "Iron Magazine." If you are unsure of how to structure a training regimen, consult a trainer at your health club.
Step 6
Perform cardiovascular exercise. Increase your fat-burning capabilities by raising your heart rate for at least 20 minutes, three times per week---the minimum recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). The Journal of Applied Physiology in 2005 showed moderate exercise, the equivalent of 11 miles of jogging per week, prevented accumulation of fat at the belly.
Tips and Warnings
- Building muscle takes time,so if you try to increase your caloric intake over the recommended 500 calories per day in an effort to hasten your growth, you will likely put on fat. Shun alcohol because it discourages the body from burning fat, which could lead to accumulation of fat at the belly.
- Be wary of supplements promising to build muscle without any effort on your part. These supplements are usually not proven to be effective and can have unintended side effects.
References
- Diabetes Care: Monounsaturated Fat--Rich Diet Prevents Central Body Fat Distribution and Decreases Postprandial Adiponectin Expression Induced by a Carbohydrate-Rich Diet in Insulin-Resistant Subjects
- Obesity: Trans Fat Diet Induces Abdominal Obesity and Changes in Insulin Sensitivity in Monkeys
- NCBI: Substitution of Saturated With Monounsaturated Fat in a 4-week Diet Affects Body Weight and Composition of Overweight and Obese Men
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