An underweight trainee increases calories by 700 kcal/day and initiates a resistance program. After 8 weeks, they gain 2.0 kg of body mass, measured as +1.2 kg lean mass and +0.8 kg fat. Analyze whether this outcome aligns with realistic expectations and explain why.

• A. The result indicates overtraining because any increase in fat mass would mean the program failed; only fat should increase initially when calories are raised.
• B. This outcome is impossible because resistance training always results in only lean mass gains and no fat accumulation when combined with any caloric surplus.
• C. This outcome is realistic: a substantial daily surplus plus resistance training commonly produces both muscle and fat gains, with a higher proportion of lean mass possible in early training for novice lifters, matching the observed 1.2 kg muscle increase.
• D. This scenario reflects measurement error because a 700 kcal/day surplus could not plausibly produce any weight gain in 8 weeks even without exercise.

Answer: (C)