Rapid Weight Gain

[mickc1965]

Back Story - Going back a few years (2011) I was approx 220lbs but with a high body fat % and was not training so fast forward to today I tend to stay leanish (10-15% and currently weigh 170 and maintain at ~2600 kcals) but during festive periods / holidays I pretty much eat what I feel like but I tend to put on a lot more weight than the additional caloric intake, for instance

Xmas 2016 - 19lbs increase in 7 days (from 25/12 to 01/01) with caloric intake on 3 days in excess of 6k with remainder at 2-3k per day

10-13 March (Weekend away) - 12lbs increase with average caloric intake ~6k per day

Easter 2017 - again 12lbs from the Saturday morning to Tuesday morning with caloric intake on average over 3 days ~6k kcals

I know some of this would be due to water retention from increase in carbs and some moderate alcohol consumption but 3lbs+ per day!!

Are these large increases due to additional fat cells gained in my former fatty days that are now able to retain the additional calories consumed in binge periods and therefore I am destined for the remainder of my days to be at risk of an easy return to being fat?

 

[ThepoManta]

I don't know the exact science behind it, but what I do know is that (white) fat cells do not get broken down and disappear. When you lose fat, they "empty" themselves and they stay deflated. Up until the moment that you eat a lot of sugar again for example.

Then they "suck up" the fat again and so your fat mass increases again. Basically, you have to keep an eye on your diet

 

[olderbro]

How long does it take you to lose the weight you put on? Generally fast weight gains can be lost quickly.

Also bear in mind that you may have consumed more calories than you realise.

 

[mickc1965]

I don't know the exact science behind it, but what I do know is that (white) fat cells do not get broken down and disappear. When you lose fat, they "empty" themselves and they stay deflated. Up until the moment that you eat a lot of sugar again for example.

Then they "suck up" the fat again and so your fat mass increases again. Basically, you have to keep an eye on your diet

I had come to the same conclusion regarding the fat cells being able to multiply when getting fat and not disappearing when you get lean

 

[mickc1965]

How long does it take you to lose the weight you put on? Generally fast weight gains can be lost quickly.

Also bear in mind that you may have consumed more calories than you realise.

It takes 3x longer to lose the weight

Food is weighed and logged so fairly confident on caloric intake however there are occasions when I have to eyeball and log etc

 

[RickRock]

And this is why I don't recommend going on these binges. Your body will rebound like a mother fucker. I'm all for enjoying yourself and letting loose a little at certain times, holidays, social function, etc but you have to have some damn self control. When you do this for multiple days in a row, what do you think will happen? You can literally ruin a weeks progress in a day of cheating on your diet, so what do you think several days will do? It will erase several weeks.

You can absolutely gain tons of weigh in a short time. It's nothing for me to gain 5 or 6 lbs in one day just from one holiday meal. It's mostly water and glycogen, but there is some damage in there as well that I have to work off.

Hell, in 2013 after my contest I went out and binged and gained 17 lbs in one day.