Why Am I Gaining Weight in My Stomach?

All weight gain and weight loss is the result of growth or reduction in your body's mass of fat, muscle and/or water. When your calorie consumption exceeds your body's energy needs, the surplus is converted into (and stored as) fat.

Misconceptions

• If you're gaining fat weight, you're not just gaining it around your stomach. You're adding fat all over your body but in different amounts, depending on your gender and personal physique. The proportions in which you add excess fat to the various areas of your body is what's known as your body-fat distribution ratio.

Possible Causes

• Weight gain due to an increase in body fat could be the result of a poor diet that floods your system with more calories than it needs. Or it could be due to your not getting enough physical activity, which lowers your calorie threshold, making it easier for you to exceed your calorie needs. Finally, it could be due to a loss of muscle mass, which also effectively lowers your calorie threshold, since muscle consumes a lot of energy.

Solution

• You cannot spot-reduce body fat. To reduce the body fat building up around your stomach and every other area of your body, you simply have to burn more calories than you consume through diet and exercise.

Time Frame

• It's generally recommended that weight loss proceed at a pace of 1 to 2 pounds per week.

Other Considerations

• An increasing waistline may also be the result of bloating, which is usually temporary, or it can be due to abdominal-muscle development, which occurs when you strength-train your core muscles.