Can I donate blood to lose weight?

_Waffle_
_Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
edited February 23 in Food and Nutrition
I was thinking about how much effort it took your body to make blood and each pint of blood weighs over a pound. (2.1 pints in a liter, 2.2 pounds per liter) every pound you lose is 3500 calories gone. There might be a little bit of extra calorie burn to create new blood as well but you would lose 3500 calories for sure.

Just one donation can account for 2 hamburgers, 3 donuts, and perhaps 5 granola bars. If I just eat at maintenance and donate blood every 6 weeks (American Red Cross rules) I could potentially lose a good little bit of weight each year and still help other people in need of blood transfusions.
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Replies

  • maz504
    maz504 Posts: 450
    :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:
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  • echofm1
    echofm1 Posts: 471 Member
    I was thinking about how much effort it took your body to make blood and each pint of blood weighs over a pound. (2.1 pints in a liter, 2.2 pounds per liter) every pound you lose is 3500 calories gone. There might be a little bit of extra calorie burn to create new blood as well but you would lose 3500 calories for sure.

    Just one donation can account for 2 hamburgers, 3 donuts, and perhaps 5 granola bars. If I just eat at maintenance and donate blood every 6 weeks (American Red Cross rules) I could potentially lose a good little bit of weight each year and still help other people in need of blood transfusions.

    Test it out. Let us know how it goes. :laugh:
  • Alidecker
    Alidecker Posts: 1,262 Member
    Ha, I donated yesterday. Maybe next time I weigh myself the scale will be nice :)
  • wjstoj
    wjstoj Posts: 884 Member
    oh man!!! I'm gonna donate triple next time !
  • PinkCupcakes84
    PinkCupcakes84 Posts: 235 Member
    Whatever motivates you to give blood, do it. I've had to have 3 blood transfusions and thank God the blood was readily available for me. My life depended on it.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    DO IT!!!!

    http://www.sott.net/article/262305-Why-donating-blood-is-good-for-your-health
    People burn approximately 650 calories per donation of one pint of blood, according to the University of California, San Diego. A donor who regularly donates blood can lose a significant amount of weight, but it should not be thought of as a weight loss plan by any means.
  • Veil5577
    Veil5577 Posts: 868 Member
    Blood is mostly water. I don't think that donating is going to help much with weight loss when it comes to losing fat. But definitely donate... you can save a life!
  • Mr_Bad_Example
    Mr_Bad_Example Posts: 2,403 Member
    I was thinking about how much effort it took your body to make blood and each pint of blood weighs over a pound. (2.1 pints in a liter, 2.2 pounds per liter) every pound you lose is 3500 calories gone. There might be a little bit of extra calorie burn to create new blood as well but you would lose 3500 calories for sure.

    Just one donation can account for 2 hamburgers, 3 donuts, and perhaps 5 granola bars. If I just eat at maintenance and donate blood every 6 weeks (American Red Cross rules) I could potentially lose a good little bit of weight each year and still help other people in need of blood transfusions.

    Nah, it's water weight... except thicker.
  • k_nicole87
    k_nicole87 Posts: 407 Member
    But they give cookies and juice after. Wouldn't you just gain it back? I hear if you have a limb amputated that you can lose a lot of weight super fast.
  • martinel2099
    martinel2099 Posts: 899 Member
    It's not just about losing weight, it's about losing fat. You can sit in a sauna all day and dehydrate the heck out of yourself to lose some water weight, but are you really becoming more healthy? No.

    The scale is a tool and not the end all report card.
  • FoamyRiver
    FoamyRiver Posts: 276 Member
    I donate on a regular basis and have lost 3lbs on a couple of occassions. On average, though, I'd say I only lose 1/2 a pound per donation but I'll take it.
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  • MFPMol
    MFPMol Posts: 151 Member
    LOL.

    Well, you can donate blood once every 56 weeks, about 6 times a year. So if you go regularly you might lose a pound or two per year. Good weight loss plan :drinker:

    Oh, and don't forget to account for the cookies and juice they basically force down your throat afterwards!
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    I can't donate blood thanks to the stupid Red Cross, so now I'm missing out on helping people, cookies, and potential weight loss.

    And now I want waffles.
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,783 Member
    I donate on a regular basis. The only benefit to my weight loss is that it provides an acceptable reason to eat NutterButter cookies and Fig Newtons.
  • fivethreeone
    fivethreeone Posts: 8,196 Member
    I suggest black market organ donation. You can lose weight AND get paid a ton of money, provided you wake up afterward.
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    I say, if you want to donate blood to help somebody, do it. But for any other reason, it's almost like saying "I chopped off my leg and lost weight! Yeah!" Of course, the production of new blood is obviously going to require a metabolic expenditure, but is it of a significant enough amount to make a difference? Without peer-reviewed literature, who knows?
    Chopping off a leg would be crazy. You can't grow it back but your blood well be recreated after you lose it. It's perhaps one of the only body parts you can replenish so rapidly.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    Donate a few times and report back. The worst thing that can happen is you help someone heal or even save a person's life.

    / donated almost 2 gallons lifetime
    // received 4 units over New years because of severe anemia from gastric bleeding (over 1 gallon in the plus column still)
    /// will donate again as soon as I'm allowed and well enough
  • sloth3toes
    sloth3toes Posts: 2,199 Member
    Well, you can donate blood once every 56 weeks, about 6 times a year.

    ¿Qué
  • Yagisama
    Yagisama Posts: 595 Member
    No, but I've had a LOT of success donating fat.
  • ackman2002
    ackman2002 Posts: 69 Member
    I suggest black market organ donation. You can lose weight AND get paid a ton of money, provided you wake up afterward.

    Exactly. Two Lungs? Only need 1. Kidneys the same. Spleen and Appendix and Gall Bladder - not really needed.

    Plus just think how much quicker you'd get buff if you only had one arm to worry about.

    [Of course I'm joking about this, except as donations for those in need]
  • HannahLynn91
    HannahLynn91 Posts: 238 Member
    Doesn't sound like you would be losing FAT though. Just water weight.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Well, you can donate blood once every 56 weeks, about 6 times a year.

    ¿Qué

    that should say every 56 days.
  • HannahLynn91
    HannahLynn91 Posts: 238 Member

    Well, you can donate blood once every 56 weeks, about 6 times a year.

    I'm pretty sure there are only 52 weeks in a year. Maybe you meant days? Just clarifying.
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    Doesn't sound like you would be losing FAT though. Just water weight.

    Your body doesn't burn fat directly. It has to be converted to usable energy and this energy must be carried to the parts of the body that do the actual work. Your blood isn't just water, it's made of living cells and carries rich nutrients and oxygen and this fat you're wanting to burn is right there in the blood readily available with carbohydrates and other sources of energy.

    You can wait to burn the enemy troops on the battlefield or you can kill them in the train on the way there. The effect is the same.
  • thefatveganchef
    thefatveganchef Posts: 89 Member
    Great idea! Be sure you donate 5 pints. That is 5 lbs of weight lost easy. :wink: :tongue: :flowerforyou:
  • lmann72
    lmann72 Posts: 82 Member
    Best question of the day!!:noway:
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
    I donate bodily fluids once a week to try and lose weight, but it only amounts an ounce each time on a good day. And then I'm sleepy afterwards anyway so my TDEE goes down.
  • sarahrosheen
    sarahrosheen Posts: 82 Member
    the body just regenerates the blood it lost so.....wouldn't you just gain the weight lost that same day?
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