Ask Mary

You might be able to gain 1 to 2.75 pounds per week depending on your actual calorie intake.  That estimate comes from a classic study done 45 years ago with prisoners who volunteered to gain weight.  By eating 40% – 60% more calories (3000 – 3500 a day for you), the prisoners were able to increase their weight by 20% - 25% in 4 to 6 months.  But once the men gained weight, their metabolisms increased by 50 percent, and when they returned to normal eating, they lost the excess weight without effort.  The bottom line is “Set Point Theory” works both directions: thin people have a hard time staying fat when they force themselves to gain weight and fat people have a hard time staying thin when they force themselves to lose.