What does it actually take to gain 1 pound of fat?

julievillarreal3
julievillarreal3 Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I’ve been on google for quite some time trying to figure this out and so far I’ve seen three different perspectives on this particular topic: 1.) eating anything above your TDEE 2.) Eating 3500 calories and 3.) Eating 3500 calories on top of your BMR / TDEE.

Would anyone be willing to confirm or deny either of these?

Replies

  • julievillarreal3
    julievillarreal3 Posts: 4 Member
    Perhaps this was a rhetorical question lol. Though to answer your question, I’m genuinely curious as to what it takes to gain weight (intentional or not).

    Incidentally, I haven’t been as strict with my diet (calorie deficit) and have fallen off the wagon quite are few times within this past week or so. While I understand overeating is indefinitely going to cause weight gain, I’m merely trying to get an estimate as to how much damage I may or may not have done.
  • StevefromMichigan
    StevefromMichigan Posts: 462 Member
    edited September 2020
    To gain a pound (fat or muscle) you would have to eat 3,500 calories above your maintenance level of calories, i.e. the level of calories at which you neither gain nor lose weight.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,238 Member
    Ah! So the answer is that you look at your weight trend over a period of time because your scale weight reflects a lot of things in addition to pure fat gain. However your overall weight level change over longer periods of time is probably more reflective of your overall caloric balance and whether you're gaining fat or losing fat. I also note that your weight change always involves both lean and fat mass and that ratio changes based on available fat to be lost and type and amount of exercise.

    All that said... approximately 3500 Calories over ACTUAL TDEE or below ACTUAL TDEE represents, generally speaking, a lb of weight change.

    Actual is important as TDEE is not constant or always equal to our ESTIMATE of TDEE which is what is used for goal setting on MFP and other apps.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    julievillarreal3 wrote: »
    Perhaps this was a rhetorical question lol. Though to answer your question, I’m genuinely curious as to what it takes to gain weight (intentional or not).

    Incidentally, I haven’t been as strict with my diet (calorie deficit) and have fallen off the wagon quite are few times within this past week or so. While I understand overeating is indefinitely going to cause weight gain, I’m merely trying to get an estimate as to how much damage I may or may not have done.

    I've gained weight intentionally several times (well 3x actually, not including pregnancy). My intention was to gain muscle but of course fat comes along for the ride.

    The first time I tracked my intake. 3500 cals over maintenance is about equal to 1lb gain (fat/muscle if one is lifting). And while that might be approximately true, in reality the maintenance part is a shifting entity. As you are gaining it is moving. Moving a heavier object, maintenance gets higher. Also for me, the more calories I add, the more I move (usually unintentionally) and the higher my maintenance is. So in reality it becomes a bit more complex because of the TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) part.
    But at the end of the day, I tracked my weight and looked for trends and aimed for 0.25-0.75lb per week window of gain over time. It takes time though. Not just one meal or day. Fat gain doesn't just happen overnight, it takes consistency.
  • charmmeth
    charmmeth Posts: 936 Member
    Milk chocolate will add those pounds fast: Easter eggs were my downfall this year. I weighed 81kg on Easter Sunday (top of normal bmi for me) and over 88kg a month later. I was not logging so can't tell you how many calories that was but 4-5 Easter eggs and some other chocolate in a few weeks. It has taken me four months to get it off again. 879.6 kg this morning - hurrah!)
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    julievillarreal3 wrote: »
    Perhaps this was a rhetorical question lol. Though to answer your question, I’m genuinely curious as to what it takes to gain weight (intentional or not).

    Incidentally, I haven’t been as strict with my diet (calorie deficit) and have fallen off the wagon quite are few times within this past week or so. While I understand overeating is indefinitely going to cause weight gain, I’m merely trying to get an estimate as to how much damage I may or may not have done.

    Stepping in the scales next week will tell you how much “damage” you’ve done. I didn’t see your stats, so if your deficit is set to 500 per day for 1 lb week loss, if you eat an extra 500 every day, you’ll be maintaining. If you eat an extra 1000 calories Every day for a week, you’ll gain about 1 lbs of fat & muscle.
  • charmmeth
    charmmeth Posts: 936 Member

    That was 79.6 kg this morning btw: typo!

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