Gain weight on Calorie Deficit?

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mateo57505
mateo57505 Posts: 83 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, so I'm sure this has been posted before but I cant find it, but I wanted to know if it is possible to gain weight while on a calorie deficit. I know you can platau and there are alot of threads about that but I just wanted to know if its possible to gain weight.

I am currently eating about 1200-1500 calories a day, I am burning between 500-700 each day (working out 5 times a week) and I have been losing weight consistantly. I eat pretty healthy, no fast foods, alot of fruits and vegtables but I am just concerned about gaining weight or if it is possible to gain while on a deficit.

Any information will be greatly appreciated.

Replies

  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
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    not sure why you are asking this since you have been consistently losing weight, but over the long term, you can gain muscle while on a calorie deficit if you eat plenty of protein and lift heavy, but you will always lose fat. So, technically, I guess its possible, but pretty unlikely since you can burn fat faster than you can build muscle.

    Over the long term.

    Day to day, yes, you can gain weight because of other things.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
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    I agree. It's not possible to literally gain body mass on a long term caloric deficit but our measurement tools are very imperfect. We don't know just what you burn or take in exactly, and the scale doesn't measure body mass exactly. It's highly affected by water. And it takes a while to show the true effect. You can't eat a 1750 calorie deficit and expect to see a .5 lb loss the next day, for example.
  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
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    You can gain weight with fluid retention while on a calorie deficit.

    or with a tumor.

    But with stored fat tissue... nah.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    I'm going to rephrase my answer so it's more accurate to what you want to know... You cannot gain MASS on a calorie deficit
  • auroranflash
    auroranflash Posts: 3,569 Member
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    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-energy-balance-equation.html

    This seems like a good place for this! So.... I'll just ... leave this here.
  • PercivalHackworth
    PercivalHackworth Posts: 1,437 Member
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    I often see that question. By definition, a deficit is.... a deficit. Where the energy comes from in such state ?
    The answer is.... are you on deficit when you gain weight ? (water retention and fluid-movements left-aside)
  • NannersBalletLegs
    NannersBalletLegs Posts: 207 Member
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    auroranflash, the article you linked here was very helpful. Thank you for that. Now I know not to expect some kind of linear weight-loss progression, but rather, a fluctuating one that gradually trends downward over a longer period of time. :)
  • mdbs2004
    mdbs2004 Posts: 220
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    ive gained 7 pounds since I started insanity. Weight gain can come from extra workouts and water weight. It can also come from to much sodium. You can also go into starvation mode and gain some. Ive done em all!!!
  • auroranflash
    auroranflash Posts: 3,569 Member
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    auroranflash, the article you linked here was very helpful. Thank you for that. Now I know not to expect some kind of linear weight-loss progression, but rather, a fluctuating one that gradually trends downward over a longer period of time. :)

    Glad it helped. The reason people hate the scale so much is because they get too emotional over the ups and downs, but it's just one way to measure your progress... so if you don't take it personally, it can be a great tool. When it says something absurd, like on Monday that I was up 8lbs from the weekend, the scale and I had a good laugh together. Come Wednesday, it was all off again. Gotta just ride the waves sometime.

    Take it easy.
  • Glucocorticoid
    Glucocorticoid Posts: 867 Member
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    not sure why you are asking this since you have been consistently losing weight, but over the long term, you can gain muscle while on a calorie deficit if you eat plenty of protein and lift heavy, but you will always lose fat. So, technically, I guess its possible, but pretty unlikely since you can burn fat faster than you can build muscle.

    Over the long term.

    Day to day, yes, you can gain weight because of other things.
    No you can't. If anything, it's the opposite. You will gain a bit of muscle over the short term in a deficit, due to the newbie effect. Staying in a deficit over the long term will not yield muscle gains.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    Glad it helped. The reason people hate the scale so much is because they get too emotional over the ups and downs, but it's just one way to measure your progress... so if you don't take it personally, it can be a great tool. When it says something absurd, like on Monday that I was up 8lbs from the weekend, the scale and I had a good laugh together. Come Wednesday, it was all off again. Gotta just ride the waves sometime.

    Take it easy.

    Haha, for real... One of the best suggestions I've seen on these boards is to understand weight loss as an AVERAGE rather than a specific number. Over time, you want to see a downward trend in the average, but day to day fluctuations will happen no matter how well you eat, no matter how much you exercise.
  • saltskinmermaid
    saltskinmermaid Posts: 10
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    I have not been checked for any medical conditions (thyroid etc.) but I have gained weight while on a calorie deficit. From October to January I was eating 900-1200 calories a day and I gained weight. Everyone told me my body must be holding on to everything I eat, so I am eating more now (1300-1500 while working out) but I have not lost the weight..or any weight for that matter. Do not base any nutritional choices on my experience though. My body is just freaky and my personal trainer called me "an anomaly" so you probably won't have the same experience as I have!

    (I'm a student with no health insurance or else I'd go to a doctor to be checked for medical conditions that would cause this)
  • tobnrn
    tobnrn Posts: 477 Member
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    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-energy-balance-equation.html

    This seems like a good place for this! So.... I'll just ... leave this here.

    Loved the article. Thx for posting.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
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    I have not been checked for any medical conditions (thyroid etc.) but I have gained weight while on a calorie deficit. From October to January I was eating 900-1200 calories a day and I gained weight. Everyone told me my body must be holding on to everything I eat, so I am eating more now (1300-1500 while working out) but I have not lost the weight..or any weight for that matter. Do not base any nutritional choices on my experience though. My body is just freaky and my personal trainer called me "an anomaly" so you probably won't have the same experience as I have!

    (I'm a student with no health insurance or else I'd go to a doctor to be checked for medical conditions that would cause this)

    Every component in the calorie deficit equation is an estimate. Even if you weigh each strawberry to the gram, you're basing the calorie count on the energy in the average strawberry, according to some lab. Similarly, all our BMR, etc. estimates are just estimates, too. You could be unlike the 'average' person.

    Most of us stink at logging our food and/or estimating our daily activity levels and that's where we can appear to not lose at a long-term deficit. But if you are just far from averages, I suppose the formulas could be totally wrong for you. Fortunately if you know you maintain at X calories, you know just how much less you have to eat to lose. Or more, depending on which plan of attack you choose.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
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    not sure why you are asking this since you have been consistently losing weight, but over the long term, you can gain muscle while on a calorie deficit if you eat plenty of protein and lift heavy, but you will always lose fat. So, technically, I guess its possible, but pretty unlikely since you can burn fat faster than you can build muscle.

    Over the long term.

    Day to day, yes, you can gain weight because of other things.
    No you can't. If anything, it's the opposite. You will gain a bit of muscle over the short term in a deficit, due to the newbie effect. Staying in a deficit over the long term will not yield muscle gains.

    My assumption was that you have plenty of fat reserves to burn while you are on a deficit. In this case, you most certainly can gain muscle mass while on a deficit with exercise and proper nutrition. However, the muscle mass you gain will most likely be less than the fat mass that you burn, so it is unlikely that you could "gain weight" over the long term.
  • ColleenRoss50
    ColleenRoss50 Posts: 199 Member
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    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-energy-balance-equation.html

    This seems like a good place for this! So.... I'll just ... leave this here.

    Very comprehensive article. Thanks for sharing.

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