One day fast = ridiculous weight drop

Jthanmyfitnesspal

I won't call this a "weight loss," because it probably isn't, but fasting for one day caused a 24h weight change of -4.4lbs. Holy cow!

Last week I was on vacation and ate and drank plenty, gaining about 1lb from the day I left. Not bad for so much good living! Coming back, I decided to fast for a day (still drinking about 500kcals of juice and tea). I decided to do this on my first day back to work. Not sure if that was a good idea!

Anyone else experienced such a large weight drop from fasting?

ChihuahuaMeme

Fasting is good for you once in a while. It gives your system a rest and cleans things out especially if you are using good juices, by that I mean fresh squeezed no sugary store bought junk. What kind of juice did you do? I have done fast in the past and yesterday I made a spinach, kale, celery, carrot juice. Strong to drink but healthy for my system. I had a 1/2 cup and didn't want to do more because sometimes it can really flush you out. Will do more today but wish I could do a full days fast. If I try to eat too little I end up cheating at night. No sense in that. Good work even if it is retained water that made you lighter you enriched your body with the cleanse. You did good on your vacation better than most. Keep up the good work.

amandaelizabeth81

I did something similar a few weeks ago and "lost" 3lbs... only to "find it" 2 days later when regular meals came back into my life! Lol

singingflutelady

ChihuahuaMeme wrote: »

Fasting is good for you once in a while. It gives your system a rest and cleans things out especially if you are using good juices, by that I mean fresh squeezed no sugary store bought junk. What kind of juice did you do? I have done fast in the past and yesterday I made a spinach, kale, celery, carrot juice. Strong to drink but healthy for my system. I had a 1/2 cup and didn't want to do more because sometimes it can really flush you out. Will do more today but wish I could do a full days fast. If I try to eat too little I end up cheating at night. No sense in that. Good work even if it is retained water that made you lighter you enriched your body with the cleanse. You did good on your vacation better than most. Keep up the good work.

What are you cleansing from your body?

emdeesea

Yeah it's water weight. You didn't lose any fat.

Scamd83

I have done this before where I ate very little and lost a few pounds in a day. But it is not necessary and it should not be a long term plan.

ChihuahuaMeme

Anything that accumulates from improper eating. I know the body does a good job doing this but we can help sweep it out with a cleanse.

chandanista

I do a fast for religious reasons on occasion. Haven't lost more than 2 pounds and it doesn't stay off.

stevencloser

ChihuahuaMeme wrote: »

Anything that accumulates from improper eating. I know the body does a good job doing this but we can help sweep it out with a cleanse.

Like what? And how would one day of not eating cleanse out? Do you think you accumulate more of whatever it is in a day than your body can remove?

WholeFoods4Lyfe

As long as you have a normal functioning liver and kidneys, you don't need to "clean" anything out, the body does it naturally.

What you've done is lost water weight, and simply not replaced what you defecated with more food to be digested. I'm sure that once you start eating and drinking normally again you'll probably find some if not all of that weight. In order to lose that much fat, you'd have had to have burned in excess of 14,000, I'm going to go ahead and guess that that isn't the case.

rainbowbow

yes, it's water weight.

it's also experienced when people first go low carb.

Who cares about the number on the scale? You want to lose FAT, don't you?

rileysowner

emdeesea wrote: »

Yeah it's water weight. You didn't lose any fat.

Not quite true. You will lose fat during a fast (assuming it is a real fast with no calories coming in), but not 4 pounds or more. Probably closer to .75 pound, the rest being water and the food that would normally be working its way through your system.

evileen99

ChihuahuaMeme wrote: »

Fasting is good for you once in a while. It gives your system a rest and cleans things out especially if you are using good juices,

Why do think your digestive system needs a "rest"? Do your heart and lungs need rest, too? They also have to work 24 hours a day.

Shrinking_Erin

I did a 7 day juice fast a few years back. I lost like 14 pounds that week. I gained 16 back in like 3 hours of eating again.

lemurcat12

Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »

I won't call this a "weight loss," because it probably isn't, but fasting for one day caused a 24h weight change of -4.4lbs. Holy cow!

Last week I was on vacation and ate and drank plenty, gaining about 1lb from the day I left. Not bad for so much good living! Coming back, I decided to fast for a day (still drinking about 500kcals of juice and tea). I decided to do this on my first day back to work. Not sure if that was a good idea!

Anyone else experienced such a large weight drop from fasting?

Yes (as I do some religious fasts), it's meaningless, although it can be psychologically fun if stalled on the scale.

Cindy01Louisiana

eringurl33 wrote: »

I did a 7 day juice fast a few years back. I lost like 14 pounds that week. I gained 16 back in like 3 hours of eating again.

LOL! This made me laugh. "....in like 3 hours...." -- Sounds about right! It's so not fair.

Jruzer

Your digestive system needs a rest the same way your cardiovascular system needs a rest.

To the OP: Yes, I see this commonly with religious fasts. My weight dropped 6 lbs following Ash Wednesday. I'm looking to see a nice drop on the scale this Saturday morning before I eat all the things and drink all the beers on Sunday.

Hornsby

Hell, I drop like 6lbs overnight nearly every day without fasting...

rnelson88

I can see if you ate without restrictions for a week, that after fasting for 24 hours you could lose up to 10lbs depending on you body mass. I fasted after a 2 week vacation around the holidays(where I ate and drank anything and everything I wanted without exercising) and lost 8lbs in 24 hours. So yes, losing 4.4lbs is definitely possible. But, I wouldn't recommend doing this more than a couple times a month. Also, don't expect to see these results everytime. I fast for 24 hours once per month and lose between 1-3lbs each time(I typically maintain my body weight between 235-250lbs). I don't do it specifically for the weight loss. I do it because it has great benefits including increased longevity, neuroprotection, increased insulin sensitivity, stronger resistance to stress, etc.. It's kind of like a system reset for my body. Even fasting for as little as 16 hours has its benefits. However, fasting for anything beyond 24 hours is bad for your body and will put you into starvation mode. While in starvation mode, your body burns muscle for energy and stores fat.

MommyL2015

Hornsby wrote: »

Hell, I drop like 6lbs overnight nearly every day without fasting...

Eww. lol

minniemoo1972

rnelson88 wrote: »

However, fasting for anything beyond 24 hours is bad for your body and will put you into starvation mode. While in starvation mode, your body burns muscle for energy and stores fat.

Nope.....starvation mode is woo....same as cleansing .....ever see a fat famine victim?

Jthanmyfitnesspal

Many interesting posts. As I said, I expected I would regain some of the change the next day, which I did. I went back up 2 pounds, for a delta of -2.4 pounds since before the fast. My post fast day featured cardio and eating within proper limits, going heavy on protein.

I may fast again sometime. Problem being that I was a bit tired and jumpy at work.

TR0berts

A: Water weight was lost.
B: You didn't eat, so you didn't have as much (any?) food still in your system.