When does surplus-eating turn to fat?

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My doc has advised me to gain some weight, mainly because my period has been missing for 21 months, and that I actually ended up getting a little underweight after my weightloss.

I've been eating at a large surplus for the past 1½ weeks, and I deffinitely feel really fat now, even though I know I'm not, but it feels like I'm already so much more blubbery. And I can deffinitely tell my boobs are a lot bigger, because I was spilling out of my bra. Do you think it's likely that I already converted it to fat storage, or am I just feeling flabby and have swollen breasts because the surplus-eating might have triggered my period to soon return?
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  • rbiss
    rbiss Posts: 422 Member
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    If you are eating more than you burn, you will store fat. If you lift or do some kind of body resistance training, you might use some of those extra calories to build muscle, but this is hard work.
  • amblight
    amblight Posts: 350 Member
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    rbiss wrote: »
    If you are eating more than you burn, you will store fat. If you lift or do some kind of body resistance training, you might use some of those extra calories to build muscle, but this is hard work.

    I'm not particulary interested in building muscle, I need to gain fat. My question was whether my feeling of 'flabbyness' and larger breasts could be attributed to having stored fat already or if I have to wait a little longer to see results, or, if it's because the surplus-eating has triggered my period to return, before I've even started storing fat.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
    edited June 2015
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    If you eat roughly 3,500 calorie above maintenance for a week, you will put on roughly 1 Lb of fat. Also, if it's only been a week, a lot of what you're probably feeling and seeing is water...just like when you lose weight and lose a lot of water at first, you gain a lot of water when you initially go into a surplus.
  • annette_15
    annette_15 Posts: 1,657 Member
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    You're probably just carrying a lot of extra water weight as I'm sure you have upped your carbs along with eating more calories. The bloat and swelling with go down, I doubt you've gained too much fat yet
  • amblight
    amblight Posts: 350 Member
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    Eating at a surplus will gain fat. No way around that. Like rbiss said, weight lifting can help build muscle, but at no point will you ever just gain muscle and zero fat while eating in a surplus. I'm certainly no expert, but I haven't read that there's an exact percentage of fat vs muscle gained while bulking. Someone who is smarter than me might want to chime in about that.

    Why does everyone think I want to gain muscle, lol, I have no interest in that. I just want to feel better and get my period back, and my doc thinks gaining fat and eating at a surplus might help that.
  • amblight
    amblight Posts: 350 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    If you eat roughly 3,500 calorie above maintenance for a week, you will put on roughly 1 Lb of fat. Also, if it's only been a week, a lot of what you're probably feeling and seeing is water...just like when you lose weight and lose a lot of water at first, you gain a lot of water when you initially go into a surplus.

    But do you know how fast? Like, I know that if I eat surplus 875 for 1 day, I'm not gonna have build a quarter lb fat on my boobs the next day.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
    edited June 2015
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    amblight wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    If you eat roughly 3,500 calorie above maintenance for a week, you will put on roughly 1 Lb of fat. Also, if it's only been a week, a lot of what you're probably feeling and seeing is water...just like when you lose weight and lose a lot of water at first, you gain a lot of water when you initially go into a surplus.

    But do you know how fast? Like, I know that if I eat surplus 875 for 1 day, I'm not gonna have build a quarter lb fat on my boobs the next day.

    you're seriously overthinking this...there is not really an answer to your question.
  • amblight
    amblight Posts: 350 Member
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    annette_15 wrote: »
    You're probably just carrying a lot of extra water weight as I'm sure you have upped your carbs along with eating more calories. The bloat and swelling with go down, I doubt you've gained too much fat yet

    Yes, deffinitely more carbs. And salt, I think - I usually kind of forget to add salt in my cooking, but I've been eating a lot of food cooked by others now.
  • amblight
    amblight Posts: 350 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    amblight wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    If you eat roughly 3,500 calorie above maintenance for a week, you will put on roughly 1 Lb of fat. Also, if it's only been a week, a lot of what you're probably feeling and seeing is water...just like when you lose weight and lose a lot of water at first, you gain a lot of water when you initially go into a surplus.

    But do you know how fast? Like, I know that if I eat surplus 875 for 1 day, I'm not gonna have build a quarter lb fat on my boobs the next day.

    you're seriously overthinking this...there is not really an answer to your question.

    I'm just hoping it's my period returning. 21 months is a long time, so everytime in over 1½ years I've felt a tummy ache, sensitive boobs, or irratable mood, I've begged for it to be my long missed period!
  • jmule24
    jmule24 Posts: 1,404 Member
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    I will just share with you my knowledge for nutrition but can't speak on your period :blush:

    If you've been in a surplus for only a week and a half there are a few things happening......

    1. Water retention
    2. Glycogen storage for your muscles (everyone has muscle :-) )
    3. Fat gain
    4. Muscle gain although very minimal with no resistance training

    Depending on the amount of the surplus and where you were at pre-surplus calorie wise; your hormones may be thrown out of whack which triggered your early period. Not only does the difference in calories matter, so does the amount of dietary fat you are consuming. Fat is good for you as it is what fuels our hormones amongst many other things.
    As a male, I notice when I'm restricting calories (cutting) or have a surplus of calories (bulking) my libido is affected. I also notice a change in my facial complexion as I have sensitive skin, when I increase my fat intake I break out a bit until my hormone levels taper off.

    I hope this helps.....
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,535 Member
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    If you're NOT resistance training at all, and are in surplus, undoubtedly the majority of gain will be extra fat. Building muscle takes progressive overload resistance and you usually attain that lifting weights with high volume.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png
  • amblight
    amblight Posts: 350 Member
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    If you're NOT resistance training at all, and are in surplus, undoubtedly the majority of gain will be extra fat. Building muscle takes progressive overload resistance and you usually attain that lifting weights with high volume.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

    I never said I wanted to gain muscle. The 'options' I considered was if it was fat storage, or period-bloating. I would view both of those options as positive for my health.
  • besee_2000
    besee_2000 Posts: 365 Member
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    Your goal is to get your period maybe pregnant, right? First you have to ovulate. Assuming your hormones will work properly, it takes approximately 2 weeks after ovulation to get your period. Gaining weight in a 1 1/2 week to any degree may take some patience before this happens. You may have to work on this for a few months before any success. Get yourself in a safe body fat range steadily and to your doctor's recommendation. 5lb? 10lb? Maintain that for at least 4 weeks.

    Remember to eat healthy fats to replenish your body properly. A little olive oil on your salad or avocado are good choices. If you're super ambitious try grass-fed free-ranged fatty meats.

    On a personal note, I feel can flabby after only 2 days of eating. I can feel it in my arms which makes me think its more than just bloat. Its energy storage, it wouldn't just flush out of your system with your waste. I'd say you may have put on some fat. If you were eating in deficient you'll find fat storage to be a lot faster and quicker than before, too.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    amblight wrote: »
    Eating at a surplus will gain fat. No way around that. Like rbiss said, weight lifting can help build muscle, but at no point will you ever just gain muscle and zero fat while eating in a surplus. I'm certainly no expert, but I haven't read that there's an exact percentage of fat vs muscle gained while bulking. Someone who is smarter than me might want to chime in about that.

    Why does everyone think I want to gain muscle, lol, I have no interest in that. I just want to feel better and get my period back, and my doc thinks gaining fat and eating at a surplus might help that.

    because most people don't want to add 100% fat...

    but if that is your goal then keeping eating in a surplus with zero exercise and you should have no issues.
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    amblight wrote: »
    Eating at a surplus will gain fat. No way around that. Like rbiss said, weight lifting can help build muscle, but at no point will you ever just gain muscle and zero fat while eating in a surplus. I'm certainly no expert, but I haven't read that there's an exact percentage of fat vs muscle gained while bulking. Someone who is smarter than me might want to chime in about that.

    Why does everyone think I want to gain muscle, lol, I have no interest in that. I just want to feel better and get my period back, and my doc thinks gaining fat and eating at a surplus might help that.

    because most people don't want to add 100% fat...

    but if that is your goal then keeping eating in a surplus with zero exercise and you should have no issues.
    I do not get why OP would want this, but to each their own

    That being said, I legit gain 100% fat this weekend.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    amblight wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    If you eat roughly 3,500 calorie above maintenance for a week, you will put on roughly 1 Lb of fat. Also, if it's only been a week, a lot of what you're probably feeling and seeing is water...just like when you lose weight and lose a lot of water at first, you gain a lot of water when you initially go into a surplus.

    But do you know how fast? Like, I know that if I eat surplus 875 for 1 day, I'm not gonna have build a quarter lb fat on my boobs the next day.

    it can sometimes take two weeks for it to show on the scale...

    you will probably also gain about five pounds of water/glycogen weight which is not really fat ....
  • amblight
    amblight Posts: 350 Member
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    besee_2000 wrote: »
    Your goal is to get your period maybe pregnant, right? First you have to ovulate. Assuming your hormones will work properly, it takes approximately 2 weeks after ovulation to get your period. Gaining weight in a 1 1/2 week to any degree may take some patience before this happens. You may have to work on this for a few months before any success. Get yourself in a safe body fat range steadily and to your doctor's recommendation. 5lb? 10lb? Maintain that for at least 4 weeks.

    Remember to eat healthy fats to replenish your body properly. A little olive oil on your salad or avocado are good choices. If you're super ambitious try grass-fed free-ranged fatty meats.

    On a personal note, I feel can flabby after only 2 days of eating. I can feel it in my arms which makes me think its more than just bloat. Its energy storage, it wouldn't just flush out of your system with your waste. I'd say you may have put on some fat. If you were eating in deficient you'll find fat storage to be a lot faster and quicker than before, too.

    Yes, I'm not looking to get pregnant right now, but of course, if I never get my period, I'm infertile, which would make me very sad. So the sooner I get it back, the less of a concern that will be. And I also have other health problems that might be caused by too low fat% and consuming too little energy.

    My doc wanted me to gain 15lbs. I have been eating more fat too, but I actually think it's mostly carbs I've added, they don't fill me up as much, so I can eat more like that, they stimulate to my appetite :)

    I also feel it on my arms and thighs, which is what makes me feel like it's already turned to fat, not just a bloating stomach from eating more than I'm used to. But it just seems so fast that it would have distributed to my body - I was eating at a large deficit before these 1½ weeks, so the contrast to the huge amounts I feel like I eat now, I would expect to make my stomach feel hugely full.
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
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    amblight wrote: »
    My doc has advised me to gain some weight, mainly because my period has been missing for 21 months, and that I actually ended up getting a little underweight after my weightloss.

    I've been eating at a large surplus for the past 1½ weeks, and I deffinitely feel really fat now, even though I know I'm not, but it feels like I'm already so much more blubbery. And I can deffinitely tell my boobs are a lot bigger, because I was spilling out of my bra. Do you think it's likely that I already converted it to fat storage, or am I just feeling flabby and have swollen breasts because the surplus-eating might have triggered my period to soon return?
    Chances are the weight is just the fat you're looking to put on, and the feeling flabby is a matter of self-image.
    If you were bloated from your period returning, that would mean you'd gained even less fat than you thought, which would mean it would be even less likely to be enough to return your period.
    Your body is continuously storing and removing fat at the same time, so there's not exact answer one how quickly fat storage happens. If you're at a healthy weight and don't want to have to gain more to restore your period, why not try to maintain and see if it comes back?