Calorie Surplus - Muscle vs. Fat gains

NRBreit
NRBreit Posts: 319 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hypothetical scenario: A person wants to gain weight and muscle mass and chooses to eat a 500 calorie surplus each day. Which scenario below will yield the best and worst results and why?

1) Scenario 1: Person eats 'maintenance' calories with perfect macros and plenty of protein. All micro-nutrient needs are met with maintenance intake. The 500 cal surplus is met by eating more of the same high nutrient value foods.
2) Scenario 2: Same as Scenario 1 (perfect maintenance cals) except the person eats nothing but ice cream, chocolate, candy, etc. to fill the 500 cal surplus.
3) Scenario 3: Same as Scenario 2 except the 500 cal surplus is met by drinking alcohol.

Again, in all scenarios the maintainance level calories are achieved by eating the same foods and all critical macros/micros are met. The workouts and training intensity are also constant across scenarios.

Replies

  • ddzubow
    ddzubow Posts: 65 Member
    Bump. Very curious about this. Great question!
  • nyc1man
    nyc1man Posts: 6
    Ok first I am no expert and been trying to loose 20 lbs for about 5+ years before finding this App. I will vote for Scenario 1 because ice cream, chocolate, candy is in most cases high is sugar or High-Fructose corn Syrup bad for the body. Also anything that you are drinking liquids or alcohol to gain Calories is not very smart. You need to eat solid food. Just saying!!
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Assuming everything else is equal... and speaking purely from a weight gain standpoint, 1 & 2 would yield basically the same results. I tend the think #3 would be the same as well, but the effects of alcohol on the body's ability to metabolize food is somewhat debated (at least from my readings).

    .
  • TonyStark30
    TonyStark30 Posts: 497 Member
    Anyone who eats their suplus as Brown rice doesn't deserve tastebuds.
  • Rocky_ZG
    Rocky_ZG Posts: 70 Member
    I am guessing that with some exercise included you will probably gain some muscles with Scenario 1, but 2 and 3 will just bring more fat.
    And without exercise results would probably be similar in the short run, before nutrient imbalance brings some problems and becomes visible in a blood test.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Assuming everything else is equal... and speaking purely from a weight gain standpoint, 1 & 2 would yield basically the same results. I tend the think #3 would be the same as well, but the effects of alcohol on the body's ability to metabolize food is somewhat debated (at least from my readings).

    .
    This. Training has more of an impact on body composition than diet. If all your nutritional needs are met, the surplus is pretty much irrelevant, as it's purely needed for energy purposes. To paraphrase Eric Helms, you don't get extra credit for eating healthy foods beyond your actual needs.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Assuming everything else is equal... and speaking purely from a weight gain standpoint, 1 & 2 would yield basically the same results. I tend the think #3 would be the same as well, but the effects of alcohol on the body's ability to metabolize food is somewhat debated (at least from my readings).

    .

    i would go with this as well...

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