Does it really take an extra 3500 calories?

SkinnyGirll5
SkinnyGirll5 Posts: 4
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Does it really take 3500 "extra" calories to gain a pound? I need 1500 calories normally. That's what my body burns off. But I just don't understand how it really takes 3500 calories to gain a pound. That would mean the most anyone could gain is like 2 pounds a week and even that would require eating 1,000 calories more than usual. So I just don't understand. You see all these people who are overweight and trying to lose weight but they obviously didn't get there by gaining only 2 pounds a week. I'm just talking about simply fat gain, not muscle.

I'm 5'3 and was 120 for the longest. I dropped 10 pounds in a month and since that was possible, my mom thinks I can easily gain 10 pounds in a month. But I just don't understand how. I eat 3 meals and a snack. But I consistently stay at 107.5/108. I'm glad though since several weeks ago I was at 102.5. However, that was after I got sick with a virus. Prior to that, I was at 107.5/108. So I feel like I've made no progress. And what reallt scares me is the possibility of getting sick again cause then I'll have to start all over again. Does it really take this long to gain weight?

I've been eating around 2,000 calories a day but I just feel like weight gain shouldn't take this long. At one point several years ago I was at 170 and went up quickly. 150, next thing I know 160. It wasn't a pound or 2 per week. I just don't understand what I'm doing wrong. How can I put this weight on quickly?!

I don't know if this is part of the problem but I don't eat anything until 1-2pm when I wake up. I sleep from 3am until 1-2pm in the afternoon. And the last time I eat at night is right before midnight. But I still eat 3 big meals and a snack, just at weird times.

My confidence is lowered cause my face is so sunk in and I have stick legs :(
Please help! Thank you!

Replies

  • happyfeetrebel1
    happyfeetrebel1 Posts: 1,005 Member
    Yes. 3500 calories generally makes a lb.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,992 Member
    Metabolism is different for people based on age, gender, activity, genetics and physical build. If you aren't gaining weight, it's because your body is utilizing all the calories you're consuming. So you need to increase your calories to be in surplus.

    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
  • onefortyone
    onefortyone Posts: 531 Member
    2lbs a week is a very fast gain, and quite difficult - over one year you would gain 104lbs eating an extra 1000 cals per day. 1000 calories is easy to eat in fast food - a small fries and chocolate shake - so it seems like it is 'easy' for people to gain weight.

    I am obese (so part of that epidemic, apparently) and it took me 2 years to gain 30lbs, and roughly 5-6 years to gain the total 60lbs that I have to lose. And a lot of people have similar stories. I have 'gained' quicker than that before, but usually from high sodium, high calorie food so a lot of it was retained water. So when I went back to eating more normally, 5-6lbs came off pretty quickly because it wasn't all fat. We don't gain weight overnight, I'm not sure why you think that.

    So yes, you do have to be patient. I would suggest upping your calories a couple more hundred. You may only have a 300 calorie surplus which would mean you will gain less than 1lb/week. I suggest protein shakes, or smoothies with fruit and full fat milk - they'll have plenty of nutrients for your body (to help you not get sick) and it's an easy way to get 400 calories in without cooking.
  • devrinator
    devrinator Posts: 79 Member
    I left the Navy after a miscarriage (not because of it, but just coincidence), and because of my change in location and activity levels and my weekly trips to fast food joints that I hadn't been to, I gained 50 lbs in five months, and that was considered really rapid weight gain. That's about 2 lbs a week. At each juncture, I was in denial. I didn't realize that I was in the process of continuing to gain, so I kept gaining for that whole five months.

    That said, the reason some people gain weight IS because it is a very slow weight gain. For many people, over eating slightly doesn't register a decrease in appetite or an increase in energy to burn off the extra calories. That means if you can't gain weight, you don't have those kinds of genes. It's a similar problem for people who are trying to gain weight as it is for people trying to lose weight: a battle against personal nature.

    I do think a calorie isn't always a calorie for a number of reasons. For some, perhaps you, a calorie may be a little less than a calorie. I mean, technically it's the same, but there are a number of biological factors that we can't always understand that may affect how those calories are used or stored in our bodies.
  • blackcoffeeandcherrypie
    blackcoffeeandcherrypie Posts: 486 Member
    You see all these people who are overweight and trying to lose weight but they obviously didn't get there by gaining only 2 pounds a week.

    Most overweight people have been overweight since childhood, or most of their life so obviously they put on the weight much more slowly. If they had gained 2 pounds a week every week they would have gained 104 pounds a year, so if they were 30 years old they would weigh 3120 pounds! No-one could survive at that weight. Most overweight people gain much more slowly.
    I eat 3 meals and a snack. But I consistently stay at 107.5/108. [...] I feel like I've made no progress. [...] I've been eating around 2,000 calories a day

    2000 calories a day is the recommended amount for most women to maintain their weight, which explains why you are not gaining weight. The answer is simple - eat more calories.
  • muggzie399
    muggzie399 Posts: 116 Member
    I had been gaining weight at an unmonitored rated. Guess that means I didn't focus on it. I reached a point where I would sit in front of my computer eating right from the carton, half of a half gallon. That was practically every night. I probably gained 15 pounds in two months. When I saw the weight where it stood, all the rest of my trips to the market foods are all low cal and healthy.

    Moral here, Ice cream works.
  • BenjaminMFP88
    BenjaminMFP88 Posts: 660 Member
    Any amount in excess over your metabolism will cause you to gain weight. Find healthy foods higher in calories and you'll find it's not that hard to get those extra calories. Foods high in fat like peanut butter etc tend to help with this :)
  • Docbanana2002
    Docbanana2002 Posts: 357 Member
    I once gained 80 unwanted pounds in a year....a pound or two at a time..it can be done, but may be harder for you than for me because we are different people with different things we struggle with. I struggled NOT to gain weight for most of my life because I am hungry a lot, not especially athletic or active, love to feel full, and love high calorie foods..... so eating a lot more calories than I burn was a breeze. Losing is hard! I've had to change all those habits that led to my weight gain and it is easy to change back it I'm not on guard.

    But I know people that naturally aren't very hungry and love staying active. They don't care about eating, so for them staying out of the underweight category is a struggle. They have to force themselves to eat even though they aren't hungry.

    Sounds like you need to 1) be patient. A pound per week, using healthy but high calorie foods like nuts, avocado, vegetable oils, rice, beans, etc is a reasonable goal. Changing your weight takes time and involves fighting your usual habits and tendencies. Thats why so many people struggle with weight.

    2) double check to make sure that 1500 calorie number you quoted is correct. Sounds too low for a young person unless you are extremely sedentary.
  • Njbunkie
    Njbunkie Posts: 1
    I'm not sure why no one here has told you to be sure to check with your doctor, and if the first one you see is no help, try to find an endocrinologist. If the first couple of doctors you see are jerks (it happens), keep asking around to find one you can work with.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    where did you get the idea that the most you can eat above your tdee is 1000cals?!
  • llUndecidedll
    llUndecidedll Posts: 724 Member
    I would sometimes eat about 2,000 calories per meal at least twice a day, most days out of the week. Trust me, you can gain more than 2 lbs a week.

    I think 1 lb of fat is around 3500 calories.
  • RHachicho
    RHachicho Posts: 1,115 Member
    where did you get the idea that the most you can eat above your tdee is 1000cals?!

    Well to be fair eating more than that above your TDEE is probably a really REALLY bad idea. Even if you do perfect resistance training the average joe will be lucky to put on half a lb to a lb of muscle in a week from what I understand. Could even be per month. Muscle building is not a rapid process. Getting fat however can be done relatively fast. Just eat all the food XD.

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