How to Increase Subcutaneous Fat Naturally and Safely

January 8, 2026 •

4 min read

Subcutaneous fat, the pinchable layer of fat just beneath the skin, makes up about 90% of our body's total fat and plays an important role in energy storage and temperature regulation. Learning how to increase subcutaneous fat naturally requires a balanced, healthy approach that prioritizes nutrient-dense foods and resistance training to avoid accumulating less-healthy visceral fat.

Quick Summary

This guide provides practical strategies for increasing subcutaneous fat through a balanced diet, proper nutrient timing, and targeted exercise. Learn about the right foods and lifestyle habits to promote healthy weight gain without the risks associated with unhealthy visceral fat accumulation.

Key Points

Strategic Calorie Surplus: Consume 300-500 extra calories daily from nutrient-dense foods to ensure steady, healthy weight gain, not a rapid, unhealthy increase in visceral fat.
Prioritize Nutrient-Dense Foods: Focus on whole foods rich in healthy fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, such as nuts, avocados, eggs, lean meats, and whole grains.
Incorporate Resistance Training: Pair your calorie surplus with strength training to promote muscle hypertrophy, ensuring a higher proportion of lean mass gain and a healthier body composition.
Manage Meal Timing: Eat smaller, more frequent meals (5-6 daily) and use high-calorie smoothies or shakes to easily increase your caloric intake throughout the day.
Avoid Empty Calories: Steer clear of processed junk foods and sugary drinks, as these contribute to unhealthy weight gain and increase the risk of developing harmful visceral fat.
Monitor Progress and Stay Consistent: Remember that healthy weight gain is a gradual process. Consistent effort in diet and exercise is key to achieving your goals over the long term.

Understanding Healthy Weight Gain

Healthy weight gain, including an increase in subcutaneous fat, requires a careful and balanced approach. Simply consuming excess calories from junk food can lead to a dangerous buildup of visceral fat—the fat stored around your internal organs—which poses a higher risk for conditions like heart disease and diabetes. The goal is to create a moderate calorie surplus using nutrient-dense foods and pair this with resistance training to encourage a higher proportion of healthy, lean mass gain alongside the desired subcutaneous fat.

The Importance of a Calorie Surplus

To gain any type of body mass, including subcutaneous fat, you must consume more calories than your body burns. A sustainable approach involves adding an extra 300 to 500 calories per day to your typical intake, which can lead to a steady, manageable weight gain of about 0.5 to 1 pound per week. For those with a very fast metabolism, a surplus of 700 to 1,000 calories might be necessary. Online calculators can help estimate your daily calorie needs as a starting point.

Prioritizing Nutrient-Dense Foods

While you need a calorie surplus, the source of those calories is crucial. Nutrient-dense foods provide vitamins, minerals, and other vital compounds that support overall health during the weight gain process. Focusing on whole foods rather than processed junk ensures you gain weight in a healthy way.

Here are some nutrient-dense, calorie-rich options to add to your diet:

Healthy Fats: Avocados, nuts (almonds, walnuts), seeds (chia, flax, pumpkin), nut butters, and olive oil.
Carbohydrates: Whole grains like oats, quinoa, brown rice, and whole-wheat bread. Starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes and yams are also excellent choices.
Proteins: Lean meats (chicken, beef), eggs, fatty fish (salmon), full-fat dairy (Greek yogurt, cheese, whole milk), and legumes.
Snacks and Beverages: High-calorie, nutritious smoothies, trail mix, and dried fruits.

Combining Strength Training with Nutrition

Exercise might seem counterintuitive for weight gain, but strength or resistance training is essential for a healthy body composition. When you're in a calorie surplus, resistance training helps ensure a greater portion of the gained weight is muscle mass rather than just fat. This process is known as muscle hypertrophy.

Focus on Compound Movements: Exercises that target multiple major muscle groups, such as squats, deadlifts, and bench presses, are highly effective for building overall muscle mass.
Limit Excessive Cardio: While some cardiovascular exercise is vital for heart health, overdoing it can burn too many calories, making it harder to maintain the necessary calorie surplus for weight gain. A moderate amount, such as 20 minutes three times per week, is a good guideline.
Incorporate Recovery: Muscle growth happens during rest. Give your muscles time to recover by scheduling rest days or only training major muscle groups two to three times per week.

Comparing Healthy vs. Unhealthy Weight Gain Strategies


Feature	Healthy Weight Gain	Unhealthy Weight Gain
Calorie Source	Primarily from nutrient-dense whole foods (e.g., avocados, nuts, lean proteins, whole grains).	Excessively from processed foods, high-sugar snacks, and trans fats (e.g., chips, cookies, soda).
Exercise Role	Resistance training and moderate cardio to build muscle and support healthy fat gain.	Sedentary lifestyle or excessive, unbalanced exercise.
Fat Type Gained	Balanced increase in both subcutaneous fat and muscle mass.	Disproportionate increase in harmful visceral fat.
Health Impact	Improves strength, energy, and overall health outcomes.	Increases risks of metabolic syndrome, heart disease, and diabetes.
Pace of Gain	Gradual and consistent (approx. 0.5-1 lb/week).	Rapid and often inconsistent, leading to adverse health effects.

Practical Steps to Increase Your Calorie Intake

To make healthy weight gain easier, implement these daily habits:

Eat More Frequently: Instead of just three large meals, consume five to six smaller, nutrient-rich meals or snacks throughout the day. This can help increase your total caloric intake without feeling overly full at once.
Add Calorie-Rich Toppings: Boost the calories in your meals with simple additions. Add cheese to casseroles, nut butter to toast, or dried fruit and nuts to oatmeal and yogurt.
Drink Your Calories: Smoothies and shakes made with ingredients like whole milk, nut butter, and Greek yogurt are easy ways to consume extra calories and nutrients. Avoid sugary drinks that offer empty calories.
Time Your Meals and Snacks: Eat a protein- and carb-rich snack before and after your resistance training workouts to fuel your body and aid muscle growth.
Be Consistent: Gaining weight healthily is a long-term process. Consistency in your diet and exercise is more important than quick, drastic changes.

Conclusion: A Holistic Approach to Healthy Gain

Increasing subcutaneous fat naturally involves a disciplined, holistic approach that combines a strategic calorie surplus from nutrient-dense foods with a consistent strength training regimen. By focusing on whole, healthy foods and using exercise to build muscle mass, you can achieve your weight gain goals in a way that benefits your overall health, rather than jeopardizing it with excess visceral fat. Consulting with a healthcare professional or a registered dietitian is always recommended to ensure your plan is tailored to your specific health needs. For further reading on healthy weight management, a great resource is the Better Health Channel.

Frequently Asked Questions

Subcutaneous fat is the layer of fat located just beneath the skin, while visceral fat is stored deeper inside the abdomen, surrounding internal organs. Visceral fat is more metabolically active and associated with higher health risks, whereas subcutaneous fat is generally less harmful.

To achieve a healthy weight gain of about 0.5 to 1 pound per week, most people should aim for a calorie surplus of 300 to 500 extra calories per day. Those with a higher metabolism might need closer to 700 to 1,000 extra calories.

When combined with a calorie surplus, resistance training helps build muscle mass, not just fat. This leads to a healthier body composition where a higher proportion of the weight gained is muscle rather than fat.

Excellent choices include avocados, nuts and nut butters, whole milk, Greek yogurt, fatty fish like salmon, lean meats, whole grains (oats, rice), and starchy vegetables (sweet potatoes).

Consuming excessive junk food, while high in calories, provides little nutritional value and can lead to a dangerous buildup of visceral fat, increasing the risk of chronic health conditions like heart disease and diabetes.

It is not possible to gain weight without gaining some amount of both fat types. However, by focusing on a healthy diet and incorporating strength training, you can encourage a healthier distribution and minimize the accumulation of harmful visceral fat.

Healthy and convenient snacks include trail mix with nuts and dried fruit, whole-grain toast with nut butter, Greek yogurt with honey and nuts, and fruit smoothies blended with whole milk and nut butter.