Will you gain weight if?

FitnessFreak1821
FitnessFreak1821 Posts: 242 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm just curious if you eat 3000-3500 cals for two days each of those days. Will that make you gain a full pound? Or do you have to continously eat that over a week or so? I kind of went alittle over board because it is easter. I do that every now and then and didn't hinder my goals over the last 2 years. I'm about 2 pounds to my ultimate goal of 136 pounds, usually though I let myself go one day little crazy not two full days or i just go to maintenance. So im just curious will I gain abit now 🤔


If I do gain i know It isn't the end of the world. We all need to enjoy ourselves now and then and I am going to continue with my nutrition and excercise. I'll be back down again eventually.

Replies

  • onyxgirl17
    onyxgirl17 Posts: 1,722 Member
    If I ate that much I’d be very bloated and yes over 2 days would gain a pound due to my BMR and activity level. It’s different for everyone.
  • FitnessFreak1821
    FitnessFreak1821 Posts: 242 Member
    edited April 2023
    onyxgirl17 wrote: »
    If I ate that much I’d be very bloated and yes over 2 days would gain a pound due to my BMR and activity level. It’s different for everyone.

    Thanks yes that makes sense. I work out 4-6 days a week so hopefully won't do to much damage lol
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,198 Member
    Your weekly calories consistently determine fat loss or gain. If the other 5 days calories were low enough to not put you in a surplus then you will not gain. You average 7 days of calories and that is your daily amount.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,913 Member
    Gain a pound of weight or of fat? I'd think you'd gain more than a pound in weight because likely more sodium = water retention and likely more carbs = water retention. How much bodyfat you'd gain depends entirely on the days leading up to it and thereafter. It's an interesting question though how fast bodyfat is created and if there's a limit to how much is possible in a given period.
  • zebasschick
    zebasschick Posts: 1,067 Member
    it depends. if you eat 3500 calories two days in a row, that doesn't mean anything without knowing what your maintenance calories are, whether you're doing a lot of cardio, etc.

    my daily maintenance calories is 1500, so if i ate 7000 calories in 2 days, i'd be over by 4000 calories and might put on a pound if i wasn't working out - probably a pound of fat as you can't build a pound of muscle in a day.

    but if i was eating at a deficit for all the days around that, it would be impossible to know as eating extra food puts more bulk and water in your system till you excrete it, so i'd probably see more than a pound of weight gain that would partly be the bulk of the food, water from the food, and extra water retention from the extra sodium.

    if someone who eats 2500 calories per day ate 7000 calories per day, they'd only be 2000 calories over, and someone who does a lot of running might be able to eat 3500 calories per day without gaining anything. my friend michael does a lot of uphill running, and he eats about 3500 calories per day and is quite slender.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,202 Member
    I won't but you might. :D Cheers.
  • SuzanneC1l9zz
    SuzanneC1l9zz Posts: 456 Member
    A pound of fat gain requires 3,500 calories above your maintenance, not just 3,500 calories period.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,131 Member
    Also, there are some reasons that a rare and extremely high food intake may not lead to the complete estimated fat gain that the calorie total (amount over maintenance) would theoretically suggest. Bodies are dynamic systems, with a tendency toward homeostasis, and limitations on their capabilities.

    Simplistically, one example aspect is that some people will get a burst of energy in the day or two after the over-eating, and do more, burning more calories than usual in daily life (including subtle stuff like fidgeting) and in increased exercise intensity.

    This is not a reason to have a calorie blow-out day.

    The best plan, as others have said, is to assume that
    * your average calorie balance over a week or so is going to determine net fat loss,
    * the scale will jump multi-pounds after a significantly over-maintenance eating day,
    * most of those pounds will be water weight or food waste in transit, and
    * you'll see things net out on the scale over about a week or few.

    After that week or few settling of the books, there may be some fat gain, or not, depending on the average calorie balance. There may be less than the theoretically expected maximum fat gain . . . but don't count on it or try to game it. Don't catastrophize after the fact, either. Anxiety and guilt don't burn extra calories.
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,198 Member
    As an aside, yes those 2 days may mess with your weekly numbers for that particular week however in the long run of a few months of faithful dieting down, those 2 days aren’t even a blip on the radar. Just don’t make a habit of it.
  • FitnessFreak1821
    FitnessFreak1821 Posts: 242 Member
    tomcustombuilder wrote: »
    Your weekly calories consistently determine fat loss or gain. If the other 5 days calories were low enough to not put you in a surplus then you will not gain. You average 7 days of calories and that is your daily amount.

    Thank you, yes rest of my week ate 1600-2000. Burned 500-600 cals with exercise. Been doing this for last two years and slowly lost fat I wanted. I'm pretty much to my goal just want to lose 2-5 pounds max and then it will be maintenance.

    I don't typically go to 3000 cals ever. I was so bloated the last two days😆. I usually just go over maintenance abit when im deciding to indulge but this weekend I did go over alot. I couldn't believe it when i logged everything in but I am trying not to beat up myself over it. Back to my usual meals and exercise today 💪
  • FitnessFreak1821
    FitnessFreak1821 Posts: 242 Member
    zebasschick wrote: »
    it depends. if you eat 3500 calories two days in a row, that doesn't mean anything without knowing what your maintenance calories are, whether you're doing a lot of cardio, etc.

    my daily maintenance calories is 1500, so if i ate 7000 calories in 2 days, i'd be over by 4000 calories and might put on a pound if i wasn't working out - probably a pound of fat as you can't build a pound of muscle in a day.

    but if i was eating at a deficit for all the days around that, it would be impossible to know as eating extra food puts more bulk and water in your system till you excrete it, so i'd probably see more than a pound of weight gain that would partly be the bulk of the food, water from the food, and extra water retention from the extra sodium.

    if someone who eats 2500 calories per day ate 7000 calories per day, they'd only be 2000 calories over, and someone who does a lot of running might be able to eat 3500 calories per day without gaining anything. my friend michael does a lot of uphill running, and he eats about 3500 calories per day and is quite slender.

    Thanks for your insight. Makes sense
  • FitnessFreak1821
    FitnessFreak1821 Posts: 242 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Also, there are some reasons that a rare and extremely high food intake may not lead to the complete estimated fat gain that the calorie total (amount over maintenance) would theoretically suggest. Bodies are dynamic systems, with a tendency toward homeostasis, and limitations on their capabilities.

    Simplistically, one example aspect is that some people will get a burst of energy in the day or two after the over-eating, and do more, burning more calories than usual in daily life (including subtle stuff like fidgeting) and in increased exercise intensity.

    This is not a reason to have a calorie blow-out day.

    The best plan, as others have said, is to assume that
    * your average calorie balance over a week or so is going to determine net fat loss,
    * the scale will jump multi-pounds after a significantly over-maintenance eating day,
    * most of those pounds will be water weight or food waste in transit, and
    * you'll see things net out on the scale over about a week or few.

    After that week or few settling of the books, there may be some fat gain, or not, depending on the average calorie balance. There may be less than the theoretically expected maximum fat gain . . . but don't count on it or try to game it. Don't catastrophize after the fact, either. Anxiety and guilt don't burn extra calories.

    Yes definitely, I was just curious how much it would take to gain fat back
  • FitnessFreak1821
    FitnessFreak1821 Posts: 242 Member
    SuzanneC1l9zz wrote: »
    A pound of fat gain requires 3,500 calories above your maintenance, not just 3,500 calories period.

    Oh ok..interesting I did not know that. I thought it had to be 3000 period. Not like over your maintenance. I'm back on track today 💪

    Thanks
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,131 Member
    edited April 2023
    FitnessFreak1821 wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Also, there are some reasons that a rare and extremely high food intake may not lead to the complete estimated fat gain that the calorie total (amount over maintenance) would theoretically suggest. Bodies are dynamic systems, with a tendency toward homeostasis, and limitations on their capabilities.

    Simplistically, one example aspect is that some people will get a burst of energy in the day or two after the over-eating, and do more, burning more calories than usual in daily life (including subtle stuff like fidgeting) and in increased exercise intensity.

    This is not a reason to have a calorie blow-out day.

    The best plan, as others have said, is to assume that
    * your average calorie balance over a week or so is going to determine net fat loss,
    * the scale will jump multi-pounds after a significantly over-maintenance eating day,
    * most of those pounds will be water weight or food waste in transit, and
    * you'll see things net out on the scale over about a week or few.

    After that week or few settling of the books, there may be some fat gain, or not, depending on the average calorie balance. There may be less than the theoretically expected maximum fat gain . . . but don't count on it or try to game it. Don't catastrophize after the fact, either. Anxiety and guilt don't burn extra calories.

    Yes definitely, I was just curious how much it would take to gain fat back

    You might get some insights from the videos below. Yes, she's an attractive woman in a bikini, and these look like clickbait, but she's also a scientist and the content is very science-based. (I have zero affiliation with her; I just found these videos informative.)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6cIbIvEGJM

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeDvYExqhOI

    ETA: I've been in maintenance, 7+ years now at a healthy weight, after losing from class 1 obese back in 2015-16. It's rare, but over that timespan there have been multiple cases of me eating up to 2 to 3 times my maintenance calories for a day or even a long weekend. It was a drop in the ocean, NBD. There's one detailed report here, and IIRC it links to someone else's thread with a similar story:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10603949/big-overfeed-ruins-everything-nope#latest
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,827 Member
    edited April 2023
    OP worded it wrong, but the gist of it seems to be, if I eat 3500 over maintenance one day, would I gain a pound of fat?

    Not in my experience. Nor that of the videos Ann posted above. To me, it does not appear to be about an average of weekly calories, rather it's an average of most days that are your normal range, and the outliers that are far above or below your usual calories of course have an effect, but not as big an impact as you'd expect. If you eat a lot more, you need to burn some calories just to process all that extra food. Your body temp may go up. Your NEAT may go up, fidgeting etc. You may be more active than normal. The body tries to restore balance. The end result is the outlier day doesn't have a linear relationship of calorie surplus to fat gain.

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