if one pound of fat is 3500 over expenditure...

If you have to eat 3500 cals over your expenditure to gain weight in
actual FAT, any addititional weight has to be water or muscle, right? 
So...why do people who are trying to maintain see SUCH a range of
different numbers?  For example, I gained around 5 pounds but am NOT eating anywhere NEAR 3500 over my expenditure BUT i started playing volleyball.  I assume this is muscle.  or water.  or both.  am i right?

That's how I learned it. Basically, weight gain, and weight loss doesn't happen over night. So usually increase in the scale is water weight, or due to over-eatting for a while, not just one day or two days. I mean if you were to eat 100 calories over what your body burned a day, it would take like a month to gain a pound, 200- half of a month, 500- a week, to gain just one pound. Buut the same goes with loosing.

So yes, I can pretty much guarente those 5 pounds are muscle and water. :)

take care

Thanks!  Thats what i though too.  I think i got confused because most people are trying to lose weight while i'm maintaining.  it messes with my already frazzled brain.  :) 

take care

Yeah...could also be that you're only 15 and you're maturing and growing.  Fact of life...your body is changing :)

yeah, understandable :)... finewine also makes a good point

take care

it must be hard for you guys to watch your weight when you're still growing.  It's like, did you gain fat, or are you just growing and maturing?  I never watched my weight in high school, not that I was ever fat, but when I figured out I weight 20 more pounds as a senior than when I was a sophmore I freaked....then I said, oh yea, its called puberty haha

...evidently he likes witty comment too

Who doesn't Laurdie?  Witty comments make the world go 'round :)

lol.  great points, all of you.  thing is...i haven't grown since 7th grade (sophmore in highschool now).  I'm 5'2 which is actually the height of the average asian woman.  *sucks because all the guys tower over me*  I guess i didn't know you could gain muscle that quickly!  lol.

thanks again!

Well shigures, you've been having volleyball practice for quite a while now haven't you? I mean I can't say all 5 pounds are muscle, but I can pretty much guarentee you've put on some muscle with all of the playing you've been doing 'cuz it's been a couple of weeks hasn't it? :)

take care

yeah, it's been 4-5 weeks of straight practice (minus weekends, but i'm still pretty active).  logically, i kow it can't be fat because i'm not comsuming enough for it to be (though my metabolism is completely weireded out so i dunno).  I guess i just need reassurance.

thanks guys

well lets say everyday you consume 100 over your expenditure, in one year you will gain 10 pounds.

I know it's hard to accept, but your weight is going to flucuate and there is no point in trying to figure out why - it's a waste of energy.  Instead, log your weights on a regular basis and watch the green trend line.  That will tell you if you're making progress.  We all need to stop being so obsessed with what the evil, possesed, lying scale says.

I could never eat 3500 calories over expenditure!

Hiya, bebe.

Back in my McDee's eating days, I'd have a lunch consisting of Q-pounder w/cheese, lg fries, two apple pies, and a chocolate shake, for a total of ~1960 cals. Now, I live on 1800 a day.

Then there were times when I worked night shift that I would bring 12 hard shell tacos from Taco Bell with me. 220 x 12 = 2640. I probably ate 3500 cals over during the work week. Those cals sure can add up quick!!

>>>>well lets say everyday you consume 100 over your expenditure, in one year you will gain 10 pounds. <<<<

Or you can say that if you consume 100 calories over your expenditure, you are gaining 0.028 lbs

The thing is that during the day, your body is always making decisions of whether it should store water, use stored water, used stored fat, burn muscle,...  It doesn't look at what happens at the end of the day like we do.

Which is why balancing your calorie intake throughout the day, drinking your required water during the whole day, is better overall for your body.