How fast can you gain ACTUAL fat?

cncrafton

I've been thinking about this lately, especially coming off from a week at my parents' house where we ate at restaurants for most meals, there were Christmas treats galore that I shoved in my mouth every time I walked through the kitchen, and I lounged around all day, every day. I absolutely went over maintenance every single day.

I am up about seven pounds from the last time I weighed. Coincidentally, I was also up seven pounds after Thanksgiving, but there were other factors involved in that (drank little water, was about a week away from my period) and it was pretty much gone within the week, plus or minus half a pound.

I am scared at this is an actual fat gain instead of water, but I don't know if that's reasonable. Exactly how fast can you put on actual fat? I am not a scientific person, but I just can't imagine that the body immediately creates fat every single time you eat over maintenance. It takes time to lose it - surely it takes time to gain it?!

stines72

I am curious about this as well.

Lalouse

My understanding -- and people with more knowledge should correct me if I'm wrong -- is that every extra 1500-1700 calories will give you a pound of extra weight. So to gain weight, you had to eat your maintenance + 1500/1700. So let's say your maintenance is 2000 .. you had to have eaten nearly double what you normally or 3700 to gain a pound.

If you think you did this for several days, then it's possible that you gained a few pounds (that are probably mostly fat). Hopefully, you'll see a drop over the next few days as you regulate again, but whatever stays after that is the real weight that you gained.

BACONJOKESRSOFUNNY

24 minutes.

tross0924

My understanding -- and people with more knowledge should correct me if I'm wrong -- is that every extra 1500-1700 calories will give you a pound of extra weight. So to gain weight, you had to eat your maintenance + 1500/1700. So let's say your maintenance is 2000 .. you had to have eaten nearly double what you normally or 3700 to gain a pound.

If you think you did this for several days, then it's possible that you gained a few pounds (that are probably mostly fat). Hopefully, you'll see a drop over the next few days as you regulate again, but whatever stays after that is the real weight that you gained.

This, but it's 3500 calories per pound.

taso42

however quickly you can eat 3500 above your tdee is how quickly you would gain a pound.

so, if you gained 7 lbs of fat, you ate a *surplus* of 24,500 calories.

so, over the course of a week, that would be appx 261,100 calories total (assuming 2300 for your maintenance).

with all due respect, i don't think you're capable.

onyxgirl17

however quickly you can eat 3500 above your tdee is how quickly you would gain a pound.

so, if you gained 7 lbs of fat, you ate a *surplus* of 24,500 calories.

so, over the course of a week, that would be appx 261,100 calories total (assuming 2300 for your maintenance).

with all due respect, i don't think you're capable.

fuzzy math

Molly_Maguire

however quickly you can eat 3500 above your tdee is how quickly you would gain a pound.

so, if you gained 7 lbs of fat, you ate a *surplus* of 24,500 calories.

so, over the course of a week, that would be appx 261,100 calories total (assuming 2300 for your maintenance).

with all due respect, i don't think you're capable.

THIS. You don't have to be a nutritionist or "scientific", lol, it's just easy math. 3,500 cals/lb is always an estimation or course, but it's accurate enough.

You are just fine! Just drink water like a fish, and get moving, and you'll see that those 7 lbs were just fluff, not fat.

taso42

fuzzy math

i assure you, my fuzzy math and estimation skills are uncanny :bigsmile:

DopeItUp

I don't know, but I enjoy finding out.

onyxgirl17

however quickly you can eat 3500 above your tdee is how quickly you would gain a pound.

so, if you gained 7 lbs of fat, you ate a *surplus* of 24,500 calories.

so, over the course of a week, that would be appx 261,100 calories total (assuming 2300 for your maintenance).

with all due respect, i don't think you're capable.

2300 X 7 = 16,100 calories over the week

a surplus of 24,500 + 16,100 = 40,600 calories over the week or 5,800 per day.

I don't understand "261,100"

onyxgirl17

fuzzy math

i assure you, my fuzzy math and estimation skills are uncanny :bigsmile:

I get your point though. :flowerforyou:

onyxgirl17

lol I think the calculations you did were for 7 pounds gained a day instead of 1 pound gained a day for each of 7 days now that I look at it

taso42

however quickly you can eat 3500 above your tdee is how quickly you would gain a pound.

so, if you gained 7 lbs of fat, you ate a *surplus* of 24,500 calories.

so, over the course of a week, that would be appx 261,100 calories total (assuming 2300 for your maintenance).

with all due respect, i don't think you're capable.

2300 X 7 = 16,100 calories over the week

a surplus of 24,500 + 16,100 = 40,600 calories over the week or 5,800 per day.

I don't understand "261,100"

er, i don't know where 261,00 came from either. :embarassed:

i think i punched the numbers in wrong. you're right, 40,600 is absolutely what it comes out to.

like i said, my fuzzy math and estimation skills are uncanny. ACTUAL math, not so much! :blushing:

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

however quickly you can eat 3500 above your tdee is how quickly you would gain a pound.

so, if you gained 7 lbs of fat, you ate a *surplus* of 24,500 calories.

so, over the course of a week, that would be appx 261,100 calories total (assuming 2300 for your maintenance).

with all due respect, i don't think you're capable.

2300 X 7 = 16,100 calories over the week

a surplus of 24,500 + 16,100 = 40,600 calories over the week or 5,800 per day.

I don't understand "261,100"

3500 x 7 = 24,500 extra calories in a week's time.

3500 (surplus per day) + 2000 (maintenance per day) = 5500 calories per day. Definitely possible.

briannadunn

Its water weight from salts. You will lose it again. There is so much sodium in resturant food.

onyxgirl17

however quickly you can eat 3500 above your tdee is how quickly you would gain a pound.

so, if you gained 7 lbs of fat, you ate a *surplus* of 24,500 calories.

so, over the course of a week, that would be appx 261,100 calories total (assuming 2300 for your maintenance).

with all due respect, i don't think you're capable.

2300 X 7 = 16,100 calories over the week

a surplus of 24,500 + 16,100 = 40,600 calories over the week or 5,800 per day.

I don't understand "261,100"

3500 x 7 = 24,500 extra calories in a week's time.

3500 (surplus per day) + 2000 (maintenance per day) = 5500 calories per day. Definitely possible.

I definitely agree that it's possible especially if drinking calories + high calorie dishes and desserts. If I ate that much a day personally I'd be so full I'd feel like throwing up, certainly couldn't do it 7 days in a row. But some people I'm sure can.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

however quickly you can eat 3500 above your tdee is how quickly you would gain a pound.

so, if you gained 7 lbs of fat, you ate a *surplus* of 24,500 calories.

so, over the course of a week, that would be appx 261,100 calories total (assuming 2300 for your maintenance).

with all due respect, i don't think you're capable.

2300 X 7 = 16,100 calories over the week

a surplus of 24,500 + 16,100 = 40,600 calories over the week or 5,800 per day.

I don't understand "261,100"

3500 x 7 = 24,500 extra calories in a week's time.

3500 (surplus per day) + 2000 (maintenance per day) = 5500 calories per day. Definitely possible.

she said she lounged around most of the day--that's why I used 2000 calories for maintenance. So, yeah...I TOTALLY think that someone could do that. However, I don't believe that simply calories in/calories out necessarily applies to periodic overfeeding and/or underfeeding. The body isn't a calculator and caloric surpluses are rather difficult to determine. I've read a few studies that show a disproportionate fat gain (often less than predicted) when someone is placed on a hypercaloric diet. The body attempts to maintain homeostasis by upregulating caloric expenditure.

Bronx_Montgomery

It was only a week. Enjoy the time spent with family and the food that was devoured. I am sure that you will kick it back into high gear within the new year and this over eating moment would be a thing of the past.

Now enjoy your New Years and no threads about how many glasses of wine made you gain a pound. Enjoy!

DebbieLyn63

however quickly you can eat 3500 above your tdee is how quickly you would gain a pound.

so, if you gained 7 lbs of fat, you ate a *surplus* of 24,500 calories.

so, over the course of a week, that would be appx 261,100 calories total (assuming 2300 for your maintenance).

with all due respect, i don't think you're capable.

2300 X 7 = 16,100 calories over the week

a surplus of 24,500 + 16,100 = 40,600 calories over the week or 5,800 per day.

I don't understand "261,100"

yes, this, and it is possible for some people to eat 5800 calories per day. I. myself, would be in a sugar coma before I reached that level, but I could certainly eat 1000 over maintenance for a few days, which would equal a pound or two of actual fat gain. SO I am calling this week a wash, and am hoping to get back down to pre Christmas weight by New Years.

To the OP, probably half of the weight gain is simply water, but for the other half, you need to stick to your cal goal strictly and up the exercise this week, and you should be able to lose it within a week. Good luck!

Oishii

however quickly you can eat 3500 above your tdee is how quickly you would gain a pound.

so, if you gained 7 lbs of fat, you ate a *surplus* of 24,500 calories.

so, over the course of a week, that would be appx 261,100 calories total (assuming 2300 for your maintenance).

with all due respect, i don't think you're capable.

2300 X 7 = 16,100 calories over the week

a surplus of 24,500 + 16,100 = 40,600 calories over the week or 5,800 per day.

I don't understand "261,100"

3500 x 7 = 24,500 extra calories in a week's time.

3500 (surplus per day) + 2000 (maintenance per day) = 5500 calories per day. Definitely possible.

she said she lounged around most of the day--that's why I used 2000 calories for maintenance. So, yeah...I TOTALLY think that someone could do that. However, I don't believe that simply calories in/calories out necessarily applies to periodic overfeeding and/or underfeeding. The body isn't a calculator and caloric surpluses are rather difficult to determine. I've read a few studies that show a disproportionate fat gain (often less than predicted) when someone is placed on a hypercaloric diet. The body attempts to maintain homeostasis by upregulating caloric expenditure.

My body does this! I hot flush horribly if I over-eat in one sitting (say 1400kcal or so now, it was 1000kcal for a while, which made pizzas bad news) even though my normal TDEE is around 2500kcal.

Trueray

I gained 8lbs in two weeks. So I say you can gain fat pretty fast but I lost it all in 4 days with hard work and a clean diet

stines72

I gained 8lbs in two weeks. So I say you can gain fat pretty fast but I lost it all in 4 days with hard work and a clean diet

you lost 8 pounds in 4 days? christ.... was it your arm from the elbow down?

taziarj

From the Sunday before Christmas to the Thursday after (yesterday), the scale showed I had gained 8lbs. I have had similar things happen when I went on vacations for two weeks. One vacation a 14lb+ gain over two weeks and another 16lb+ gain over a two week period. Very little of that is actual fat or muscle gain. Mostly water that dropped off relatively quickly after getting back on the wagon.

Though as others pointed out, if you are eating 3500 calories more than your TDEE, you will gain approximately 1lb. Very little will be fat gain if you are weight training, most will be fat gain if you are not. It is all about the math. 35,000 extra calories over TDEE and you will gain approximately 10lbs. It would take a lot of consumption to get an extra 35,000 calories in over just a couple of days. It would be relatively easy to do it over a one month period.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I gained 8lbs in two weeks. So I say you can gain fat pretty fast but I lost it all in 4 days with hard work and a clean diet

Water weight. To lose 2 lbs per day you'd have to create a deficit of 7000 calories per day. Not possible.

kimosabe1

tell me about it..... on top of that i'm irregular and don't ever have my period at the same time each month so I usually go by how tight my clothes are.......

diodelcibo

It depends on ... Thyroid levels ( thereby estrogen levels , e.g if you're on the pill), glycogen levels, water-concentration,ACTH levels .

alzaman5925

I find that a lot of my extra poundage after heavy eating comes from food that's still sitting in my digestive tract and hasn't been broken down yet. Not necessarily from actual fat you think you've gained over that period of time. Perhaps give it a week of light eating with plenty of water and then see where you're at!

BrittanyMcDaniel88

Then it was just water weight. It's impossible to lose that much fat in 4 days.

LadyGisborne

Many years ago I put on 30kg (66lbs) in under three months when I fell into binge eating for the first time. I was eating over 10,000kcal/day, every day, and not leaving the house except to buy food.

tlicttbh

My friend (who is only 5' tall) went on several cruises and we noticed a pattern:
10 day cruise...gained 10 pounds.
8 day cruise...gained 8 pounds.
13 day cruise...gained 13 pounds.

I have no idea how much of that was fat. She really liked the food on the cruises and said there was always beautifully presented food available from when she got up to when she went to bed.