Gained 3 pounds after a 24 hour fast, how?


(Susan) #1

I have been doing Keto for a few months, and have lost 33 pounds so far. I did a fast yesterday that was a bit over 24 hours, then I ate a Keto supper of sauteed veggies in extra virgin olive oil, 2 ounces of boneless, skinless chicken and water. I only drank more water and some plain peppermint tea in the evening, no food. I woke up this morning, and weighed myself, and gained 3 pounds, and cannot figure out how, as my supper was like 400 cals max… so anyone know how?


#2

You didn’t gain fat, so the calories are not relevant- it’s just the weight of the food itself and the water.
Some weight regain after a fast is normal and to be expected!


(John) #3

Or your scale is not precise. Mine can vary a few pounds just by exactly where I stand on it, how I shift my weight, where it is on the floor.


(Susan) #4

Okay, thank you both for responding, I just cried when I saw the increase because I am trying so hard to lose the weight. I am down 33 pounds, but still have about 100 to go… so some days I feel really discouraged.

Thank you both =)


(George) #5

I never weigh myself after eating a meal post-fast. I don’t want to see a discouraging number lol. At minimum I’ll do a 36 to 48 hour fast, but weigh myself the morning before I plan to break fast. It’s more than likely just water weight that will come off pretty soon.


(Susan) #6

Okay, thanks =) I ate the meal last night supper time, and weighed myself this morning though, so was 14 hours after I ate. I will not be going back on the scale for a few days now though, as it makes me afraid to eat if I see any gain, which is not good either! Thank you. I just go through feeling that I am doing really good some days, then looking in the mirror and feeling horrible and fat at other times. I will be really proud of myself when I can lose the other 100 and feel healthy and be able to run around with my grandchildren =).


(John) #7

So just to give you a point of reference - this morning I got up, peed, weighed myself. New low!

Did some stretches, put on my walking clothes and shoes, and went out for a 2.5 mile walk.

Came back, made breakfast. Omelet: 3 eggs, about a cup of chopped raw spinach, about 1/2 cup of diced red peppers, 1 slice of swiss cheese. Had that along with a 16-oz mug of coffee and about 12 oz of almond milk, along with my morning vitamins.

Did some light weightlifting (very light), took a shower. Weighed myself again. Gained 3 pounds. Since waking up.

So we have the liquids, the food, and possibly even my skin absorbing some moisture from the shower. And my old, analog scale that is kind of a best guess most days anyway.

I am not worried in the least. That new low reading was probably the outlier, not my 3 pound regain (which puts me back at what I weighed yesterday morning).


(Susan) #8

Thanks for all the encouragement, I just joined this forum because well I am driving my friends and family insane talking about Keto, IF, etc all the time so needed a place to talk to other people that want to talk about these things and hoping I can contribute over time and encourage all of you, and share any things that have been helping me too =) Thanks everyone.


(George) #9

14 hours is a decent amount of time, but everyone’s body is different and processes food at it’s own unique pace. When I fast, I’ll stop drinking any liquid around 5pm the day before I weigh myself to give myself enough time for my bladder to do it’s thing and flush out water/urine, plus I’ll have some magnesium citrate to flush out the rest of my system. This method always results in seeing some kind of a loss on the scale.

I completely understand that feeling. I would feel the same way about myself as I was losing weight because I couldn’t see a difference in mirror. A part of the problem is that we see our reflection so often, we don’t notice the little changes our bodies make. For example last week my wedding ring felt so much looser, I just knew that the scale was going to show a good number (which it did, -4lbs), but this week, my ring doesn’t feel loose anymore, so I’m thinking “crap I must have gained weight”, but I won’t know till my weekly weigh in on Saturday.

Just keep doing what you’re doing, 33 lbs is a great accomplishment! You’ll hit the other 100 in no time.


(Susan) #10

Thank you for all your comments and I think the weighing once a week is probably a better option for me too! My weight is all around my middle, and I am short (5 feet, 2 inches). I will do it, I am determined! I just get frustrated some days, especially when I see the scale increase instead of decrease is all.

Thanks to all and good luck to all of you in your pursuits of a healthy body too!


(Paul H) #11

If I may… I have been Keto for 4 months… not worrying about weight as I have other issues T2D specifically. It sounds like you are doing things correctly and your numbers show it… I just bought a scale because weight is now a new goal I have set. Don’t raise your cortisol/stress weighing every day… no need for it. Inaccuracy and normal fluctuations are just going to confuse people. While I will weigh myself regularly for awhile to clarify my scale and learn for myself. I agree with the others that only weigh themselves once a week. Trust yourself, you got this! You are in it for the long haul even after weight loss hopefully. Don’t stress out daily or even weekly. Be patient with yourself. :hugs:


(Carl Keller) #12

My belief is that as a fat cell empties, it has a tendency to refill with water which sets up a potential whoosh down the road. So it’s possible to lose fat without the scale moving at all. This would explain how we can lose inches but remain the same weight. So take measurements and don’t invest too much faith in a scale to validate what’s happening to your body. A scale merely defines our relationship with gravity,.


(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #13

Susan

A couple of things. Let the trend be your friend. You are losing weight long term and that counts. Daily or even hourly weight swings can be large.

Post fasts I can gain 3 to 8 lbs in a day or two. I track my weight several times a day when I’m fasting because I’m curious about what is going on in my body when my fasts exceed 24 or even 48 hours. I don’t track what I eat. I just stay <20g carbs and eat to satiety. I do mentally count oz of protein sources most days because I want to avoid sarcopenia.

Notice the wild swings. I can actually predict my longer term weight from my 48hr fasted weight. But post fast the weight can go way above that.

Fat cells want to remain the same size and fill with water sometimes. I can literally feel my fat rolls get stiffer the day or two after an extended fast. Eventually they give up the water but it can be weeks or require another fast to do so.

Smile and listen to nurse Cindy talk about the whoosh factor.

KCKO

BTW - I’ve lost 55lbs in about a year and would like to lose another 35 or so. But the weight loss is slowing down. It may take 2+ years to get to 160 lbs. I’m good with that because I’m healthier.


(Susan) #14

Thanks all of you! Your combined posts have made me feel a lot better and less depressed about the scales, I really appreciate it. I have bookmarked that nurse Cindy channel too, she is great! Thanks everyone, good luck to all of you on your goals too!


(Zach) #15

Weight is a very poor metric. Waist circumference is far better. Do that weekly or monthly. Record how you feel daily. Do you have energy? Are you hungry?
Fasting does some weird things to your water/electrolyte balance so there can be huge swings in water weight. Whatever you do, don’t skimp on water just to see the numbers on the scale go down.
I always say to myself: it took 40 years to gain the weight, it will take months or even years to lose it. Even if you lose the weight ten times faster than you gain, that’s still months. But definitely worth it. Trust the science,trust the process.


(Susan) #16

To be honest, I still feel so enormous that I don’t feel that I have a waist anymore, but determined to regain it! I still have 100 pounds or maybe more to go… I don’t see any difference in the mirror after 33 pounds, and am still wearing all my same clothes (yes they are looser but I can still wear them). I don’t have funds to well buy new ones atm, and I do have clothes that will fit me after the loss (and some for on the way down). I lost 100 pounds back in 2002-2003, interestingly enough back then I did it by eating no fats or sugars (haha, still on the same line with the sugars ofcourse…)but I did it, and then I destroyed my gall bladder in the process, and had it out (the day after my dad’s funeral actually, I could have re-booked but I was in so much pain and had waited months for the surgery so just had it done). After that. due to it being December, I just had all the funeral food at my house (as my mom told them to give it all to me since I have 5 kids), and I had just had surgery too… and just well gained it all back!

Thanks for the reply and advice! I am trying to focus on the positive and I know I am going to get there in the end, and making lifestyle changes this time around. But I have decided I am only going to check the scale once a week now, and just focus on following the rules!


#17

Excellent plan @Momof5 - best of luck to you :slightly_smiling_face:


(Susan) #18

Thank you Safi, and good luck to you as well for all your Keto goals! =)