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Calories to Gain a Pound Calculator

Enter the pounds to gain and your daily calorie surplus to get the total surplus and days needed.

Result

10,500 kcal
26.25

How it is calculated

Two steps, both fixed by the rule of thumb of 3,500 kilocalories per pound of body weight. First total surplus (kcal) = pounds to gain × 3500. Then days = total surplus / daily surplus, where daily surplus is the number of kcal you eat above your maintenance level each day. The total is rounded to a whole number, the days to two decimals, and the days are not rounded up to a full day. Both numbers must be greater than zero. The target is entered in pounds (not kilograms) and the daily surplus in kcal. The tool assumes a constant surplus and a constant maintenance level, so it gives a planning figure, not a prediction: real weight change depends on your own metabolism, which also shifts as you gain.

Worked example

The goal is to gain 3 pounds, eating 400 kcal a day above maintenance. Total surplus: 3 × 3500 = 10,500 kcal. Days: 10,500 / 400 = 26.25. So the plan takes about 26 days, or a little under four weeks. With a 200 kcal surplus the same goal would take 52.5 days, because halving the daily surplus doubles the time.

Try this example →

Common mistakes

  • Typing the goal in kilograms: 2 kg is about 4.4 lb, and entering 2 gives less than half the real surplus.
  • Entering your total daily intake (such as 2,800) as the surplus; the field wants only the amount above maintenance, for example 400.
  • Treating the result as exact: the 3,500 kcal per pound figure is a rule of thumb, and real gain varies from person to person.
  • Not updating the maintenance level as weight changes; the same eating plan produces a smaller surplus after you have gained.
  • Trying a negative number to plan weight loss; the tool needs a surplus above zero and shows nothing for a deficit.

Sources

About this calculator

This calculator is built on the long-standing rule of thumb that one pound of body weight is roughly equal to a 3,500-calorie surplus, since a pound of stored fat contains about that much energy. Enter how many pounds you want to gain and it multiplies that by 3,500 to get your total calorie target, then divides it by your planned daily surplus to estimate how many days it will take.

Dietitians and fitness trainers use this figure — alongside a person's maintenance calories from a TDEE calculation — to build gradual, sustainable bulking or weight-gain plans, typically targeting a 250–500 calorie daily surplus for slow, mostly-lean gains rather than a large surplus that adds excess fat. Hall et al. (Lancet, 2011) showed that this static rule overstates long-run change, because energy expenditure adapts as weight changes, so over months real change is slower than this projection.

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Comments (1)

  • Editorial team

    The 3,500 kcal per pound rule is a rough average, and your maintenance needs rise as you gain, so a fixed daily surplus tends to slow down over the weeks. Treat the days figure as a first estimate and check it against the scale every couple of weeks. Not all gain will be muscle either. What surplus have you been working with?

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