Weight gains after 16 hour fast?

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DupreeTheTRex
DupreeTheTRex Posts: 105 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
For starters, I’m asking the question out of curiosity I’m not upset that I gained a small amount of weight.

So I fast on Sundays for 16 hours, and today was also an “official” weigh in day for me. I happened to check my weight prior to the fast and I just finished checking it now.

How do you gain .5 lbs in 16 hours when you don’t eat/drink anything? Doesn’t that defy logic? Anyone have a scientific response I’m genuinely curious.
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Replies

  • DupreeTheTRex
    DupreeTheTRex Posts: 105 Member
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    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    Need new batteries in your scales? Moved your scales? Used different scales? Your scales just really aren't that accurate? Wore different clothing?

    Ultimately, I would be more concerned about the fact that you didn't drink anything for 16 hours. That's not good for your body, especially your kidneys. Do you rest for your entire fast?
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    Need new batteries in your scales? Moved your scales? Used different scales? Your scales just really aren't that accurate? Wore different clothing?

    Ultimately, I would be more concerned about the fact that you didn't drink anything for 16 hours. That's not good for your body, especially your kidneys. Do you rest for your entire fast?

    I weigh in the nude, use the same scale. Could be batteries?

    I rest the entire fast, I do very light activities and mostly just catch up on sleep from the week.
  • DupreeTheTRex
    DupreeTheTRex Posts: 105 Member
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    sijomial wrote: »
    Do you really not drink anything for 16hrs? Not even water?
    Why??

    As for the weight.....
    My guess is that your scales aren't 100% accurate or consistent, uneven floor, standing on a different part of the platform or just that they are domestic and not scientific quality measuring devices.
    sijomial wrote: »
    Do you really not drink anything for 16hrs? Not even water?
    Why??

    As for the weight.....
    My guess is that your scales aren't 100% accurate or consistent, uneven floor, standing on a different part of the platform or just that they are domestic and not scientific quality measuring devices.

    I’m not sure why, I’m just not feeling up to it. In contrast I basically drink throughout the entire day every other day of the week and even after the fasting. I always have 2 cups of water on me anywhere I go.
  • NerdyScienceGrl
    NerdyScienceGrl Posts: 669 Member
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    Do you end you 16-hrs with a weigh-in? Eat/drink after the 16-hrs and then weigh?
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    DupreeTheTRex wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    Do you really not drink anything for 16hrs? Not even water?
    Why??

    As for the weight.....
    My guess is that your scales aren't 100% accurate or consistent, uneven floor, standing on a different part of the platform or just that they are domestic and not scientific quality measuring devices.
    sijomial wrote: »
    Do you really not drink anything for 16hrs? Not even water?
    Why??

    As for the weight.....
    My guess is that your scales aren't 100% accurate or consistent, uneven floor, standing on a different part of the platform or just that they are domestic and not scientific quality measuring devices.

    I’m not sure why, I’m just not feeling up to it. In contrast I basically drink throughout the entire day every other day of the week and even after the fasting. I always have 2 cups of water on me anywhere I go.

    im really not sure how healthy that is. you may want to consult your Doctor about doing that.
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
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    DupreeTheTRex wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    Do you really not drink anything for 16hrs? Not even water?
    Why??

    As for the weight.....
    My guess is that your scales aren't 100% accurate or consistent, uneven floor, standing on a different part of the platform or just that they are domestic and not scientific quality measuring devices.
    sijomial wrote: »
    Do you really not drink anything for 16hrs? Not even water?
    Why??

    As for the weight.....
    My guess is that your scales aren't 100% accurate or consistent, uneven floor, standing on a different part of the platform or just that they are domestic and not scientific quality measuring devices.

    I’m not sure why, I’m just not feeling up to it. In contrast I basically drink throughout the entire day every other day of the week and even after the fasting. I always have 2 cups of water on me anywhere I go.

    Do you think the water you drink is weightless?
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,964 Member
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    L1zardQueen wrote: »
    DupreeTheTRex wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    Do you really not drink anything for 16hrs? Not even water?
    Why??

    As for the weight.....
    My guess is that your scales aren't 100% accurate or consistent, uneven floor, standing on a different part of the platform or just that they are domestic and not scientific quality measuring devices.
    sijomial wrote: »
    Do you really not drink anything for 16hrs? Not even water?
    Why??

    As for the weight.....
    My guess is that your scales aren't 100% accurate or consistent, uneven floor, standing on a different part of the platform or just that they are domestic and not scientific quality measuring devices.

    I’m not sure why, I’m just not feeling up to it. In contrast I basically drink throughout the entire day every other day of the week and even after the fasting. I always have 2 cups of water on me anywhere I go.

    Do you think the water you drink is weightless?

    OP said they don't drink during the fast.
  • 39flavours
    39flavours Posts: 1,494 Member
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    What kind of increments does your scale work in? Mine goes up in 0.2 lbs, so if I'm on the cusp of the next increment it's common for the display to switch between 2 readings with the slightest change in how I'm standing on the scale, looking like I've gained/ lost 0.2lbs in seconds.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,992 Member
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    I think it is just natural body fluctuations and much ado about nothing
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,114 Member
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    If you didn't drink even a drop of water and weighed if in the same clothes, you should weigh less, not more. My money is on scale weirdness/error.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,523 Member
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    If it's a digital scale, then it's going to vary in weight by up to .6lbs depending on how you step on it. Lol, sometimes I weigh 3 times and take the average.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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  • russellholtslander1
    russellholtslander1 Posts: 285 Member
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    It could be as simple as you are building muscle. If you did a workout the night before, and have adequate protein, gaining .5 a lb., could be for many simple reasons. Even time of day matters, since we can fluctuate 5-6 lbs. a day.

    You are looking at 16 hours, and think that by the end, you should be burning everything off, and losing.. and yo may be, but maybe you gained 3-4 lbs. in the first 6 hours of the fast, based on what you did pre-fast.

    Most people I know who do IF, don't do it for only weight loss.. they think it has health benefits, and any weight loss is simply a bonus.. but they judge weight loss over a week, not over 16 hours.

    The 16 hour fast, is only a part of what is affecting your bodyweight fluctuations. Things you do today, may effect you a day or 2 in the future.. we don't just flip to fasting, and everything you did the previous 12 hours, BEFORE the fast, stop affecting you. So what you did before the fast, can affect what happens during the fast. maybe a 1/2 lb. gain at the end, is a lot better than what you might have seen at 8 hours.. maybe a 3 lb. gain, and you DID lose water weight, and burn off food.

    Just remember that there is some delay in body functions, and weight loss, so if you do this often, and are hoping for weight loss.. look for it over time.. pick one morning, then check it every week, and see how you trend.

    Any positive benefits of a fast, would also be delayed, and maybe the next morning, you would have seen a weight loss?? What you do after the fast matters too. If you Google health benefits of IF, most of them, tend to be longer term benefits, meaning they will happen over months, if not years. Weight loss is the one you should see results in fastest, but as with any way of eating, it isn't linear, and the important thing is to eat less than you need. Have a deficit, and weight loss will happen, and fasting is a way to make the deficit happen, but only if you follow the plan the rest of the time as well. You could eat too much in the other 8 hours, and gain.

    Hope you get good results over time.
  • DupreeTheTRex
    DupreeTheTRex Posts: 105 Member
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    cmriverside wrote: »
    So I have to ask The Elephant In The Room question...

    Are you doing this 16 hour fast with no water just to manipulate your weigh in? Because that won't really be helpful in the long run. I weigh in every day regardless. Some days I just have to go, "WTF?" because it really doesn't make a lot of sense when I am lower or when I am higher.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10683010/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-fluctuations/p1

    No it’s mostly because I am too tired to get out of bed come Sunday most days. Basically just spend the day relaxing and catching up on sleep. Sometimes I do find the energy to get up (usually when I need to get stuff done) in which case I have my two bottles of water on me all day refilling constantly. It just so happens that the particular day in question was a very lazy day for me.

    Trust me when I say this I think I drink more than the average person in terms of how much. I’m constantly refilling and drinking and I’ve always been this way.
  • DupreeTheTRex
    DupreeTheTRex Posts: 105 Member
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    I think the simplest answer is scale fluctuation. It’s weird I’ve been doing this for over a year and haven’t noticed. I usually don’t weigh myself more than every 2 weeks but I was just curious since my diets been crazy the last month or so.

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