When do you see weight loss from a fast?

Do you guys see a pattern to your weight loss? As in, when you fast (more than IF), do you lose weight during that fast? Does it happen during your fast or after? I've been tracking my weight and I still don't see a pattern but I can be oblivious to that stuff sometimes. Edit: to clarify - I’m simply curious how long it takes for weight loss to show up from a given day. As in, if I fast for three days, does the weight loss reflect right away, does it take a few days? The reason I ask is i have hashimotos (autoimmune thyroid) disease, which means that CICO isn’t really as much of a thing and my weigh is significantly hormone driven. I actually can’t normally lose weight if I’m eating below 1600/day. I would like to use my weight as one indicator (among many) of whether my body is responding well to fasts. I’ve been fasting in various forms for years and what I’ve found is sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, and I suspect that the stress hormones may play a part (people with hashi are extremely sensitive to stress hormones which is part of why it’s so hard for us to maintain good weight) but stress hormones are a lot harder to keep an eye on than calories on a day to day level. So it’s more I am curious how long it takes most people to see a weight loss benefit from a given fast, because that will help me know if the stress hormones are screwing me up or not. If i fast for five days and don’t see the weight going down during that time, that may be an indicator that there’s an issue - unless the general consensus is that the actual weight loss doesn’t happen until after. Which is why I’m asking - when you fast, do you see your weight go down during the fast itself? Or does it happen later?

Answer

I don’t have a scale. I notice a big difference in how I look around Day 3. My abs are much more defined and I tell myself I’ll work harder to look like this when I’m not fasted 🤣

I don’t have a lot of excess fat but with every 5 day round there seems to be less fat in the stubborn areas. I work at it between fasts too by eating almost exclusively whole food I prepare myself, hitting the gym and being active in my daily life.

I’ve been doing a 5 day once a month or so. I’m thinking of doing 72 hours instead so the fasting doesn’t cut into my life as much. There’s not much info out there and a lot of it is conflicting but 72 seems like a good length for various reasons. I fast to try to address some auto immune issues and for the purported benefits to healthy aging. I’m 50 and want to set myself up for a healthy and productive life.

Answer

You are going to fluctuate (fast or no fast) about 2% of your body weight every day, due to levels of hydration and/or bowel contents.You have to look solely at the bigger picture over the longer term.Always weigh yourself at the same time - first thing in the morning right after a bowel movement is your lowest of the day. At the end of the day, expect to be 2 lbs heavier.

Answer

On an extended fast I weigh myself at the same time every morning, after using the toilet and before drinking any water or electrolytes. This is to keep the weigh in as accurate as possible. I lose weight every day. A lot more in the first three days, water weight, than the remaining days.

Answer

When you eat less calories than you burn.

With intermittent fasting if you eat 4,000 calories in your feeding window but only burned 2,000 that day you can gain weight. I learned that the hard way.

On extended fasts or the ketogenic diet first you lose retained water from carbs. For every gram of carbs still in your body you retain 3 or 4 grams of water. As those carbs get burned you drop that weight. When you start eating carbs again, they’ll come back.

For me there’s about 3-5 lbs f retained water and when I start a fresh round of keto it takes a couple of days to flush it out. So it’s got to be the same for an extended fast. But, I usually start ketosis a week before an extended fast to manage the hunger of the first couple of days.

Next you’ll lose weight as you clear out your digestive tract. Some people suggest a laxative or salt flush at the beginning of your extended fast. A salt flush is just a glass or water with 1/2 a teaspoon or more of salt that you drink in a couple of big swallows that gives you diarrhea for a while. Anyhow, again, when you refeed you’ll refill your digestive tract and that weight will come right back. I think this is another 3-5 lbs but others may not lose as much because many get constipated during extended fasts and then diarrhea when they refeed.

Finally, at some point you’ll start burning body fat and lose about 3/4 lbs/day. Each pound of body fat contains 3,500 calories and most people burn 2,000 or so per day. Dont eat and your body burns up body fat after it goes through the calories still in your system and your glycogen stores.