should I eat more?

myofibril

but if someone was gaining, say 5-10 pounds, their clothes weren't fitting as well as they did and this was consistant, it would not be possible to be eating at a deficit without a health problem, or can you have consistant water retention of up to 5-10 pounds for 2-4 weeks?

anyone?

Again this depends on context but yes, it is entirely possible for a loss of fat to be masked by water retention of 5 - 10 pounds (but this will depend on the leaness of the individual - obese people retain massive amounts of water. in comparison )

This is why dieting can be such a frustrating process or why a person may plateau hard and then see a "whoosh" of many pounds. We know that 3,500 calories (or 3,600 calories to be more exact) equates to a 1 lb of fat not weight. So while the scale may not be going down you may well be losing fat as you are in deficit but not seeing it. Your measurements could be going up temporarily as well. This is because water is literally everywhere in our bodies - especially around many people's abdomens and under their skin (subcutaneous water). Many people say a loss of water isn't a victory but a disagree. A permanent loss of unnecessary water will make you look better and lighter.

People need to look at many factors before deciding whether their programme is working or not. Clearly if someone is consistently gaining their first port of call must be too ask "am I actually in deficit" and check their methods - are they logging food intake consistently and accurately, are they under reporting their intake or over estimating their calorie burn? If they are confident that they are in deficit then sometime they have to grit their teeth and just trust in the process. Sucks but patience really can move mountains.

Short answer: if upping your calories gets you results after being applied consistently then keep it. If not try something else...

JessHealthKick

double post, sorry