Can I donate blood to lose weight?

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Replies

  • sloth3toes
    sloth3toes Posts: 2,212 Member
    Well, you can donate blood once every 56 weeks, about 6 times a year.

    ¿Qué

    that should say every 56 days.

    I just wanted in on the thread. I wasn't sure if I should tell the story about how me and buddy used to donate blood before we went drinking, when we were poor.
  • iandroid989
    iandroid989 Posts: 62 Member
    I wish I could help with this crazy experiment but.....they wont take my Blood !!!!! , I'm British living in the US and they refused my donation and said something about "Mad Cows"
  • _Stardust_
    _Stardust_ Posts: 124 Member
    OH, it's you.
  • Lauren8239
    Lauren8239 Posts: 1,039 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!

    56 weeks? 6 times a year? 52 weeks in a year...I'm confused.
  • MiloBloom83
    MiloBloom83 Posts: 2,724 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.

    Sabotage!!!
  • HannahLynn91
    HannahLynn91 Posts: 238 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.

    hmm. We learn something new everyday! Thanks for sharing :)
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    the body just regenerates the blood it lost so.....wouldn't you just gain the weight lost that same day?

    Regenerates it from what?
  • holmed90
    holmed90 Posts: 21 Member
    :huh:
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 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.

    I wonder if it lowers your blood pressure, ya know because you have less blood.
  • gabrielleelliott90
    gabrielleelliott90 Posts: 854 Member
    The body creates 9 litres each day so it would only be temporary lol
  • holmed90
    holmed90 Posts: 21 Member
    Um :huh:
  • ksuh999
    ksuh999 Posts: 543 Member
    Why stop at blood? How about donating your brain? You don't seem to be using it anyhow.
  • sloth3toes
    sloth3toes Posts: 2,212 Member
    I just wanted in on the thread. I wasn't sure if I should tell the story about how me and buddy used to donate blood before we went drinking, when we were poor.

    "Here's your cookie and juice!"

    "Thanks, but I brought my own"

    *flask*

    Pretty much. We'd run past the cookies and juice, to get outside to spark up, and quaff as many ales as we could afford.
  • holmed90
    holmed90 Posts: 21 Member
    Why stop at blood? How about donating your brain? You don't seem to be using it anyhow.

    :laugh:
  • paulawatkins1974
    paulawatkins1974 Posts: 720 Member
    You may be down a few pounds, but you won't look any better in jeans. It's fat that makes you look fat not the weight of blood. But go for it anyway I'm a strong supporter of people donating blood, organs, etc.. Wait if I donate a kidney or part of my liver (which is what I'd love to do once I'm healthy enough) will I wake up from the surgery skinny?
  • kaseyr1505
    kaseyr1505 Posts: 624 Member
    Protip: Have a lot of fake IDs with you, so you can go to different locations in the same day.
  • paulawatkins1974
    paulawatkins1974 Posts: 720 Member
    Well, you can donate blood once every 56 weeks, about 6 times a year.

    ¿Qué

    that should say every 56 days.
    I thought it meant 5 - 6 wks. Lol oh well almost the same anyway
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 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.

    don't waste that donation on burgers and donuts and ****...it's beer time...and you'll be wasted pretty quick too.

    also...some of y'all are hilarious 'cuz...

    over-your-head-o.gif
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    I just wanted in on the thread. I wasn't sure if I should tell the story about how me and buddy used to donate blood before we went drinking, when we were poor.

    "Here's your cookie and juice!"

    "Thanks, but I brought my own"

    *flask*

    LOL. Now that's crazy but only because alcohol is just empty calories.
  • MFPMol
    MFPMol Posts: 151 Member
    Well, you can donate blood once every 56 weeks, about 6 times a year.

    ¿Qué

    lol, sorry, I meant DAYS!
  • 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!

    56 weeks? 6 times a year? 52 weeks in a year...I'm confused.

    I meant to type 56 days.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    I remember reading somewhere that the body does burn a substantial amount of calories to make blood after a donation.
  • Potentially, yes, you could lose weight doing this. However, when you remove blood from your system, you're not really in a healthy state of being any more. It's kind of like healing from injury or sickness - you want to eat extra and drink extra to compensate. I'm not entirely sure that something bad would happen, just probably not ideal.

    I think it would just work perfectly to make that sort of your cheat time. Reward yourself for doing something good, reward your body, keep it healthy rather than what you are suggesting.