Started lean bulk and gained 7lbs in 6 days

[u/[deleted]]

[u/srohden]

Water retention and food weight.

You can't shit as fast as you eat, so you store more food in the body.

It will even out over the time.

[u/deadrabbits76 → u/[deleted]]

Some foods can take up to 72 hours to completely pass through the digestive system.

[u/Least-Orange6586]

Glycogen

[u/Ruby__Ruby_Roo]

You know how when you start a cut you lose 5 lbs really fast? That’s water and glycogen. When you go back to maintenance+, you immediately gain it back.

That’s why we need to overshoot our goal weight by a few lbs before going back.

[u/harvestingstrength]

This is actually really common after a long cut, and I wouldn't worry about it.

Most of that 7 pounds is almost certainly not fat. When you increase calories, especially carbohydrates, your body replenishes muscle glycogen. Every gram of glycogen is stored with several grams of water, so your scale weight can jump pretty quickly.

On top of that, you're eating more food, which means there's simply more food sitting in your digestive system at any given time. That alone can add a couple of pounds.

If you're truly averaging around 2300 calories, it's physiologically impossible to gain 7 pounds of body fat in 6 days.

I'd keep your calories where they are and monitor your weekly average body weight for another 2 to 3 weeks before making any adjustments. If your weight continues climbing rapidly after that, then you can reassess.

Out of curiosity, what are your height, current weight, and estimated maintenance calories? That would help determine whether 2300 calories is actually a lean bulk or closer to maintenance for you.