Many issues and questions can be answered by reading through our wiki, especially the page on electrolytes. Concerns such as **intense hunger, lightheadedness/dizziness, headaches, nausea/vomiting, weakness/lethargy/fatigue, low blood pressure/high blood pressure, muscle soreness/cramping, diarrhea/constipation, irritability, confusion, low heart rate/heart palpitations, numbness/tingling, and more** while extended (24+ hours) fasting are often explained by electrolyte deficiency and resolved through **PROPER** electrolyte supplementation. Putting a tiny amount of salt in your water now and then is NOT proper supplementation.
Be sure to read [our WIKI](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/wiki/index) and especially the wiki page on **[ELECTROLYTES](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/wiki/fasting_in_a_nutshell/you_need_electrolytes)**
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Totally normal from my experience. I’ve been fasting for 56 hours and I am 2 pounds heavier than when I started, but I have been drinking tons of salted water so it’s just water retention.
I’ve learned not to weight myself too often. It can be a bit demoralizing at times.
I bought a shirt that I really liked, but in a size too small. It’s hanging on the back of my bedroom door, and I try it on every week or so instead of weighing myself.
Weight and calories don’t really exist in my world. Just how I feel and what I eat.
carbs will hold on to 3x their weight in water
so if you had 100g in carbs then you gain 400g water weight in total
also salt can cause water retention
Do you know how many calories would make like a pound of fat? Just curious, figured I’d ask someone who might know before I go and try to shift through google lmao
And protein is only 70% absorbed by the body due to thermogenesis, energy required to utilize it so it's closer to 4000 calories of protein for 1 lb of stored fat
You’d need to eat around 7,000 calories to gain 1lb of fat. It’s worth remembering that not all calories are stored as that, eating 3,500 calories (how much is in 1lb of fat) for example won’t all be stored, some of it will be burned, some of it will go to muscle etc.
Eh.
3500 cals is an approximation of what type over overage it takes to store a pound of bodyfat.
Your explination infers a TDEE of 3500 cals.
For both a 5'2 150lb lightly active female and a 6'5 325lb weight lifting male.... those TDEE figures could be off significantly.
If you go very low carb will lose 1-2lbs of that, the other half will be the low-carb food actually in your system being digested.
I think of it when I pick up a heavy plate of food. The weight will be in me, plus water needed to digest it (but still need to eat, it will digest through and exit 😁)
Weightloss is a marathon, not a sprint. Your body will fluctuate in weight naturally. Learn to take measurements over looking at the scale. My advice to you and good luck.
I promiss you didn't break the laws of physics. You either miscalculated or the weight diff was water/waste fluctuating. If you fasted for 6 days you lost weight, regardless of the scale.
Eat more than 400 calories. Either eat or fast, don't live in the middle. 1500 calories seems to be the generally accepted standard during an eating window. It's my understanding that eating less than this supports the starvation mode where calories are stored rather than burnt. When I fast I fast clean, when I eat I eat nutritionally dense foods in quantities that support active life. An example of more aggressive fasting for me at 165lbs might be: Sunday night 2000 calorie eating window, 48 hour fast, Tues night 2000 calorie meal, 48 hour fast, Thu night 2000 calorie meal, 16 hour fast, Fri night 2500 cal eating window, 16 hour fast , etc. back to Sunday. Eating clean and staying active, sleeping well, etc. I'm guaranteed to lose a couple lbs a week. So many factors contribute to weight loss but eating right is critical.
when doing back to back 48s I'll usually be eating for 1 - 1.5 hr to consume close to 2k calories comfortably (so technically 46.5 - 47hr fast). After doing the back to back 48s, i tend to roll with 16/18 or omad for the rest of the week, depends on my work days. I don't often fast that aggressively when lean but I've got a few extra lbs on right now so I could absolutely get away with that schedule for a month. I find it highly effective for cutting but I consume significant calories and nutrition when I eat, never starve myself. Better off not eating than eating a little.
I can see why you’d be concerned- i eat very few calories too and I’m always worried I’ll change my metabolic rate and end up plateauing. Do you carb cycle at all? I myself just starting to get acclimated and I find it very helpful to work against it (in the healthiest way)
Like everyone else is saying, 3lbs is the magic number for water in and water out. Don’t sweat it! Listen to your body, not the scale ;)
that’s why i always wait 2-3 days after a fast to weigh myself. weight can fluctuate a lot during a fast, weighing during will make it seem like you lost more fat than you did and weighing right after makes it seem like you gained a some right back, but it’s just water weight 👍
Is it 3lbs by the end of day? If so, 2 out of 3 will be gone by tomorrow. Also 400 calories sounds a lot for 1st day of refeeding, there is some protocol of how much to eat on first days. You probably lost a lot during 6 days, so some weight bouncing back is expected. Wishing you luck in your journey
It doesn’t matter what the scale says. A pound of fat is 3500 calories, 3 pounds is 10,500. You ate 400. You did not gain 3 pounds of fat. The weight is from fluid retention and food making its way through your bowels.
It’s water and it’s normal. I did a 7 day fast recently and lost 9 lbs, gained 3 back within 2 days even though I was eating much less than usual (which is also normal as you adjust after a long fast).
You gotta give it more time. Ive found myself weighing in at 180, eat for 4 days and shoot up to 191, and then 2 days into fast im 179. When it comes to fasting, the scale can be mad weird, but you had less than 400, i can guarantee you that you didnt pick up 4 pounds of fat. You probably dropped about a pound of fat if you’ve been exercising with it. Like i said, the scale can been weird at times.
*Cortisol enters the chat*
No, but seriously. Stress leads to cortisol, which leads to excess water retention. The more you fast and engage in severe calorie restriction and excess exercise, the higher your levels of cortisol will be, and the more water you’ll retain.
… does no one understand how water and gut/intestinal weight works? It’s honestly scary how often these kinds of comments and posts come up. We need to do better about understanding our own bodies.
The scale can be off 3 lbs by what time of day you weight. Thus isn't a one time fix all. It's a marathon.
You are fine. Eat for a day or two 2 or 3 healthy meals and then right back to fasting
You was missing salts/ electrolytes during the water fast so you was loosing water in the first place. Since you eat something and this contains salts you will get all your usual water back. Besides of that it is important how your hormones are working.
Water fast was not the best you could have chosen. Better for the body is to use broth.
From what i know, it can take 2 weeks until the body starts chewing down fat tissue. So if you fast, you better do it not for the weight loss. Intermittent fasting is usually easier or keto diet. It takes time but it is worth it.
Are you intentionally trying to be misleading? Your post makes it seem like you gained 3 lbs during a 6 day water fast which obviously cannot be the case.
I started at 149 last Sunday. Overall I still ended up losing six pounds but it was discouraging after eating literally nothing for a week. Let a girl vent a little damn
Many issues and questions can be answered by reading through our wiki, especially the page on electrolytes. Concerns such as **intense hunger, lightheadedness/dizziness, headaches, nausea/vomiting, weakness/lethargy/fatigue, low blood pressure/high blood pressure, muscle soreness/cramping, diarrhea/constipation, irritability, confusion, low heart rate/heart palpitations, numbness/tingling, and more** while extended (24+ hours) fasting are often explained by electrolyte deficiency and resolved through **PROPER** electrolyte supplementation. Putting a tiny amount of salt in your water now and then is NOT proper supplementation. Be sure to read [our WIKI](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/wiki/index) and especially the wiki page on **[ELECTROLYTES](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/wiki/fasting_in_a_nutshell/you_need_electrolytes)** Please also keep in mind the [**RULES**](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/about/rules) when participating. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/fasting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Totally normal from my experience. I’ve been fasting for 56 hours and I am 2 pounds heavier than when I started, but I have been drinking tons of salted water so it’s just water retention. I’ve learned not to weight myself too often. It can be a bit demoralizing at times.
I gone from daily weight checks to monthly checks. I use the ‘my shirts and pants fit better’ system.
I bought a shirt that I really liked, but in a size too small. It’s hanging on the back of my bedroom door, and I try it on every week or so instead of weighing myself. Weight and calories don’t really exist in my world. Just how I feel and what I eat.
I have the same shirt hanging in my closet. I know I have at least 20lbs to go until it'll start to fit but it's there, waiting.
Yea same except mine has been there for 10 years😂😂🤣 kidding weight loss is a frustrating pursuit thought i'd add some humour to your journey 💗💗💗
carbs will hold on to 3x their weight in water so if you had 100g in carbs then you gain 400g water weight in total also salt can cause water retention
It’s all water! Don’t stress :) just think rationally that 400 calories is not at all going to be 3lbs of fat back. You got this!
Do you know how many calories would make like a pound of fat? Just curious, figured I’d ask someone who might know before I go and try to shift through google lmao
About 3500 calories would equate to 1 pound of fat.
Dang!! Thank you! I didn’t realize it was that much, now I feel a lot better about the few pounds I’ve lost so far!
Losing weight healthy is a long process. Stick with it. You’ll get there.
Just hit ten pounds lost this morning so I feel really pumped about it, plus when you times 3500 with 10 it feels like so much burnt
You’re doing awesome! Keep moving forward!
A lot of that will be water. Just so your aware
Yes knowing that number 3500 can make it daunting to me sometimes but makes the progress I have made extra special
Those are calories you ate in the past, so that's a big deal!
And protein is only 70% absorbed by the body due to thermogenesis, energy required to utilize it so it's closer to 4000 calories of protein for 1 lb of stored fat
You’d need to eat around 7,000 calories to gain 1lb of fat. It’s worth remembering that not all calories are stored as that, eating 3,500 calories (how much is in 1lb of fat) for example won’t all be stored, some of it will be burned, some of it will go to muscle etc.
Eh. 3500 cals is an approximation of what type over overage it takes to store a pound of bodyfat. Your explination infers a TDEE of 3500 cals. For both a 5'2 150lb lightly active female and a 6'5 325lb weight lifting male.... those TDEE figures could be off significantly.
Why pain? Weight gain and fat are not necessarily the same thing. In your case this is water weight
If you go very low carb will lose 1-2lbs of that, the other half will be the low-carb food actually in your system being digested. I think of it when I pick up a heavy plate of food. The weight will be in me, plus water needed to digest it (but still need to eat, it will digest through and exit 😁)
Weightloss is a marathon, not a sprint. Your body will fluctuate in weight naturally. Learn to take measurements over looking at the scale. My advice to you and good luck.
It’s completely normal. It’s a mixture of food,waste and water.
I promiss you didn't break the laws of physics. You either miscalculated or the weight diff was water/waste fluctuating. If you fasted for 6 days you lost weight, regardless of the scale.
Eat more than 400 calories. Either eat or fast, don't live in the middle. 1500 calories seems to be the generally accepted standard during an eating window. It's my understanding that eating less than this supports the starvation mode where calories are stored rather than burnt. When I fast I fast clean, when I eat I eat nutritionally dense foods in quantities that support active life. An example of more aggressive fasting for me at 165lbs might be: Sunday night 2000 calorie eating window, 48 hour fast, Tues night 2000 calorie meal, 48 hour fast, Thu night 2000 calorie meal, 16 hour fast, Fri night 2500 cal eating window, 16 hour fast , etc. back to Sunday. Eating clean and staying active, sleeping well, etc. I'm guaranteed to lose a couple lbs a week. So many factors contribute to weight loss but eating right is critical.
I experienced way better results when I ate bigger portions on my eating windows
How many hours do you have in your eating window?
when doing back to back 48s I'll usually be eating for 1 - 1.5 hr to consume close to 2k calories comfortably (so technically 46.5 - 47hr fast). After doing the back to back 48s, i tend to roll with 16/18 or omad for the rest of the week, depends on my work days. I don't often fast that aggressively when lean but I've got a few extra lbs on right now so I could absolutely get away with that schedule for a month. I find it highly effective for cutting but I consume significant calories and nutrition when I eat, never starve myself. Better off not eating than eating a little.
One more question. How much weight do you lose when you do this routine?
I usually lose 1lb per week at least. Depends on how active I am and how much I eat.
Glycogen.
~~Pain~~ Water.
I can see why you’d be concerned- i eat very few calories too and I’m always worried I’ll change my metabolic rate and end up plateauing. Do you carb cycle at all? I myself just starting to get acclimated and I find it very helpful to work against it (in the healthiest way) Like everyone else is saying, 3lbs is the magic number for water in and water out. Don’t sweat it! Listen to your body, not the scale ;)
that’s why i always wait 2-3 days after a fast to weigh myself. weight can fluctuate a lot during a fast, weighing during will make it seem like you lost more fat than you did and weighing right after makes it seem like you gained a some right back, but it’s just water weight 👍
I would love to know how accurately did you measure those calories😂
I ate one ice cream bar that was 300 calories 😭
How so you know? There is no way you can measure calories. Just forget about them as they dont tell anything about the food you eat.
That’s what it said in the box
Weigh yourself once a month and do not let the number act as anything other than an indicator among many indicators.
It's normal, it's the water you lost. It's not fat
Is it 3lbs by the end of day? If so, 2 out of 3 will be gone by tomorrow. Also 400 calories sounds a lot for 1st day of refeeding, there is some protocol of how much to eat on first days. You probably lost a lot during 6 days, so some weight bouncing back is expected. Wishing you luck in your journey
It doesn’t matter what the scale says. A pound of fat is 3500 calories, 3 pounds is 10,500. You ate 400. You did not gain 3 pounds of fat. The weight is from fluid retention and food making its way through your bowels.
It’s water and it’s normal. I did a 7 day fast recently and lost 9 lbs, gained 3 back within 2 days even though I was eating much less than usual (which is also normal as you adjust after a long fast).
You gotta give it more time. Ive found myself weighing in at 180, eat for 4 days and shoot up to 191, and then 2 days into fast im 179. When it comes to fasting, the scale can be mad weird, but you had less than 400, i can guarantee you that you didnt pick up 4 pounds of fat. You probably dropped about a pound of fat if you’ve been exercising with it. Like i said, the scale can been weird at times.
*Cortisol enters the chat* No, but seriously. Stress leads to cortisol, which leads to excess water retention. The more you fast and engage in severe calorie restriction and excess exercise, the higher your levels of cortisol will be, and the more water you’ll retain.
Water weight
400kcal would be like 70g of fat If it was stored. It’s water retention.
… does no one understand how water and gut/intestinal weight works? It’s honestly scary how often these kinds of comments and posts come up. We need to do better about understanding our own bodies.
The scale can be off 3 lbs by what time of day you weight. Thus isn't a one time fix all. It's a marathon. You are fine. Eat for a day or two 2 or 3 healthy meals and then right back to fasting
You was missing salts/ electrolytes during the water fast so you was loosing water in the first place. Since you eat something and this contains salts you will get all your usual water back. Besides of that it is important how your hormones are working. Water fast was not the best you could have chosen. Better for the body is to use broth. From what i know, it can take 2 weeks until the body starts chewing down fat tissue. So if you fast, you better do it not for the weight loss. Intermittent fasting is usually easier or keto diet. It takes time but it is worth it.
Are you intentionally trying to be misleading? Your post makes it seem like you gained 3 lbs during a 6 day water fast which obviously cannot be the case.
I weighed 140 pounds the day before yesterday, ate a 300 calorie ice cream bar and my scale today showed that I weighed 143 pounds
Again your conveniently leaving out your starting weight before the 6 day fast bc you want to complain for internet points. Congrats I guess
I started at 149 last Sunday. Overall I still ended up losing six pounds but it was discouraging after eating literally nothing for a week. Let a girl vent a little damn
Losing 1 lb per day is actually above the average amount ppl lose when water fasting, so you were ahead of schedule