24hr water fast

I have done several of those. It wasn't about losing weight, but about being disciplined. I've struggled with bulimia for about 7 years (now bulimia-free for 5 years), yet I still have the tendency to overeat. Doing a 24 hour water fast brings things in perspective for me. Food does not control my life.

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I think there's two considerations here and I don't mean this post as judgmental so please take that into consideration since you might not like some of what I'm going to say.

1) Is it DANGEROUS? I would say absolutely not. Your body is far more resilient than you would think. Now, I certainly would be careful incorporating a water fast into an intense exercise schedule since you'd want to time that fast so that you're still able to balance performance and recovery and that could be tricky, but that's a separate issue. Strictly in terms of whether or not it's HARMFUL, I would say don't worry about it provided the rest of your nutrition is on point. You aren't going to slow your metabolism or cause nutrient deficiencies in one day.

2) But the bigger issue here is that you're specifically looking to water fast to "boost weight loss". In my opinion this demonstrates some impatience on your part. I'm not saying that all people who do it are impatient, but the way this came about strikes me as "hey, I want to lose weight faster, so I'll water fast". The truth is, overall energy balance will drive weight loss, and whether or not you do that by creating a small deficit daily, or a few large deficits weekly, will still balance out over time.

I would put water fasting far down the list of things I would attempt in order to lose weight. There are preferential things that you can manipulate in order to maximize your adherence, but realize that your "average" intake of food is going to determine your general progress.

There are no tricks.

IF has two main 'schools'. One takes a day or two out of the week for a 24 hour fast. This is suggested to start the fast after dinner at night. Then the next day, break the fast with dinner at the time you started the fast. I think the hardest part of this whole thing is being disciplined about the calorie amount on your first meal after a fast. So, a 5/2 means 5 days of eating and 2 days of fasting. For example, Wed and Sat fasts.

The other school suggests limiting the 'window' of time during your day that you eat. For example 16/8 means that you fast for 16 hours and eat during 8 hours.

IF can be a very powerful strategy but it is not for everyone. So, its important to honestly assess how it is helping you.

Whoever says that fasting 24 hours starts eating away at your muscles is actually incorrect. Catabolization does not begin to start until at least hour 36. This is backed up by numerous studies. There is an e-book called "Eat Stop Eat" that provides excellent information. Besides helping calorie deficit, fasting also helps our body to product HGH (human growth hormone) which helps us burn fat. it helps us to increase our body awareness and be more in tune with hunger. You will also find that your energy level does not diminish at all when you work out during a fast, even at the end of it. Some folks find that it actually goes up. Before trying it though I would encourage you to read some more material on the topic. Be able to discern what is a fanatical view of IF as well as those that are 100% against it and feel they must eat every 2 hours. Then you can find the proper balance of perspective. This is a tool. It may be for you, but it may not as well.