How long does it take for water weightloss to become fat loss?

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shadows2424
shadows2424 Posts: 179 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I hear when you first start working out the weight you lose is most likely water weight. How many weeks does it take for you to start losing actual fat?

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  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    If you are in a deficit, it will be fat. Just keep going.
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
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    To clarify...

    Generally speaking you lose fat immediately when you eat at a calorie deficit

    I don't think it's typical to LOSE water weight, when starting a new exercise/workout; rather you often GAIN water weight as the body retains more water to assist in recovery.

  • ryry_
    ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
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    If you are in a calorie deficit you will being losing fat also at the start. Your total weight loss is typically exaggerated in the beginning due to losing excess water weight in addition to fat.

    For example, lets say you were eating at a 500 calorie deficit with a goal of 1 lb of weekly weight loss but you end up losing 4 lbs that first week. Most likely around a pound of that loss is fat and the rest is water loss
  • Nuke_64
    Nuke_64 Posts: 406 Member
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    If you are in calorie deficit, you start losing fat right away. The issue with water weight is that you are losing more water than fat. After a few weeks, I would guess 1-3 but that depends on what you are doing, the weight loss will be more fat and lean body tissue. Unfortunately, to lose fat, you also have to lose some lean tissue as well.
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
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    And to further clarify my first response - yes there are some things that can cause an immediate water weight loss (for example, substantially lowering your carb intake); however, starting a new exercise/work out regimen typically has the opposite effect.
  • TracyTesch83
    TracyTesch83 Posts: 17 Member
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    good question, never thought of it, but have liked the answers given.
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
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    To directly answer the question in the title, water weight loss has no bearing on fat weight loss.

    If you switch from a high sodium diet eating at maintenance to a low sodium diet eating at maintenance you will lose water weight but no fat. You can continue that low sodium diet forever and never lose fat (definition of eating at maintenance).

    But as others said, if you eat at a deficit you'll lose fat right away.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    All weight loss is a mix of fat, water and LBM (lean body mass eg muscle)

    At the start of calorie restriction you will typically lose scale weight due to 1) less digestive matter in transit 2) reduced sodium resulting in less water 3) reduced carbs resulting in loss of glycogen and bonded water plus a little fat and a little muscle

    It generally takes a couple of weeks for the water loss to even out until it's a slower pace...for most, but not all

    When you start a new workout routine you will generally see water retention for muscle repair which might reduce scale weight loss...every time you change it up same thing

    If you're due on, or ovulating you can also experience water retention

    Consider your weight as a weight range of about 5lbs variance ...and look at overall trends
  • robingmurphy
    robingmurphy Posts: 349 Member
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    Hmmm, I just recently read this article, which claims that you DO NOT start burning body fat until you've burned through the glycogen in your muscles. That means it take 1000-2000 calories in deficit before you'd start hitting the body fat.

    http://justinowings.com/understanding-bodyweight-and-glycogen-de/
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
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    robingmurphy wrote: »
    Hmmm, I just recently read this article, which claims that you DO NOT start burning body fat until you've burned through the glycogen in your muscles. That means it take 1000-2000 calories in deficit before you'd start hitting the body fat.

    http://justinowings.com/understanding-bodyweight-and-glycogen-de/

    Blogs of guys who "write about life, philosophy, acquired knowledge, reviews (Plus books I read) and other flights of fancy" are not a good primary source for health and nutrition information.
  • shadows2424
    shadows2424 Posts: 179 Member
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    robingmurphy wrote: »
    Hmmm, I just recently read this article, which claims that you DO NOT start burning body fat until you've burned through the glycogen in your muscles. That means it take 1000-2000 calories in deficit before you'd start hitting the body fat.

    http://justinowings.com/understanding-bodyweight-and-glycogen-de/
    Well that sounds like it might be right. It took me two weeks to lose an inch off my waist and that was about a 2000 calorie deficit.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    shadows2424 wrote: »
    robingmurphy wrote: »
    Hmmm, I just recently read this article, which claims that you DO NOT start burning body fat until you've burned through the glycogen in your muscles. That means it take 1000-2000 calories in deficit before you'd start hitting the body fat.

    http://justinowings.com/understanding-bodyweight-and-glycogen-de/
    Well that sounds like it might be right. It took me two weeks to lose an inch off my waist and that was about a 2000 calorie deficit.

    Inches off your waist don't correlate to pounds lost or size of deficit. Fat loss doesn't occur in just one spot on your body and you don't necessarily lose fat from the waistline first.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Wow at this thread

  • ultrahoon
    ultrahoon Posts: 467 Member
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    robingmurphy wrote: »
    Hmmm, I just recently read this article, which claims that you DO NOT start burning body fat until you've burned through the glycogen in your muscles. That means it take 1000-2000 calories in deficit before you'd start hitting the body fat.

    http://justinowings.com/understanding-bodyweight-and-glycogen-de/

    An opinion piece from a blog that doesn't cite a single verifiable source for the claim it is making is not a good source of information.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    robingmurphy wrote: »
    Hmmm, I just recently read this article, which claims that you DO NOT start burning body fat until you've burned through the glycogen in your muscles. That means it take 1000-2000 calories in deficit before you'd start hitting the body fat.

    http://justinowings.com/understanding-bodyweight-and-glycogen-de/

    Man.. that would suck if it were true :cold_sweat:
  • shadows2424
    shadows2424 Posts: 179 Member
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Wow at this thread

    I Don't know why your saying that. If it'd because you thought it was a stupid question it isnt my fault ive been fed incorrect information. How else i supposed to know if i don't ask.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Don't get me wrong I think you absolutely should ask

    In fact up thread I gave a complete, and I hope educational answer to the initial question

    Does it continue to surprise me the amount of misinformation out in the world and specifically on the net in blog form ...yup ..enough to go wow

    But absolutely keep asking
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
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    robingmurphy wrote: »
    Hmmm, I just recently read this article, which claims that you DO NOT start burning body fat until you've burned through the glycogen in your muscles. That means it take 1000-2000 calories in deficit before you'd start hitting the body fat.

    http://justinowings.com/understanding-bodyweight-and-glycogen-de/

    Well, there's a grain of truth in it, but the conclusion is totally wrong.

    Your body will tend to get more energy from glycogen than fat while glycogen is available. However, this doesn't mean that you lose fat slower because glycogen was used instead, because what it doesn't account for is that the glycogen gets replenished, and that process takes calories that would otherwise have gone to fat.

    Everyone's body burns some existing fat each day, and everyone's body makes some new fat each day too. When you deplete some of your glycogen, some glucose that otherwise would be stored as new fat is stored as new glycogen instead. Over time your fat loss is just the same whether you burn mainly glycogen or mainly fat to fuel the exercise.

    Actually depleting glycogen entirely is a horrible feeling - it's what runners call hitting the wall. People can and do burn fat without ever experiencing that phenomenon.

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