How does a "woosh" work?

[keehan]

I’ve been plateaued for around three months now, but about two weeks ago I believe I experienced the “woosh” that’s often spoken about. My woosh was about 12lb over four days, and it went like day one -6lb, day two -3, day three -2lb and day four -1lb and it mostly occurred (or was noticeable) overnight. That was 10 days ago and I’m down another (almost) 2lb since.

So, my question is;
Can anyone shed any light on what exactly is a woosh and what’s happening during it? Why did it occur and maybe what triggered it? Also, where did the weight go? I don’t recall dumping more than usual. I did get a couple of funny restless nights where my legs sweated profusely, but were cold. Broken down fat is substantially exhaled as CO2, but 12lbs of it over four days seems a bit much.

Any ideas/science to explain a woosh? Is a woosh really a thing? Thanks!

[Kyz]

Congrats! I’m still waiting for a really good woosh! Here’s a video I watched a while back that I thought explained it pretty well… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF3rmi4DJAw

[Siddy]

I found a link in another thread on the forum, to an article written by Lyle McDonald.
Even though he explains that it is common, he doesn’t seem to have any scientific explanation in depth. I wonder if this might in any way relate to white fat having been transformed into brown fat …
It is very interesting an fascinating.

[Shortstuff]

[LouiseReynolds]

I’ve seen the ^^^ above posted image a number of times throughout various groups. However, I would still like to see the science of this phenomena. The reason being, histologically, adipose tissue (under the microscope) looks like chicken wire. They are also hydrophilic - which means that fat and water don’t mix. I’m at a loss as to why water would fill previously fat filled cells? Anyway, I like the simplicity of the concept of the whoosh…great work on your loss!

[Dhananjay_Ragade]

Yeah I’d like to see something about 1) is this effect/explanation really true; and 2) what’s the scientific evidence behind it.

I asked on a FB group and an admin shut it off after these standard answers (above) were given.

[Dipper_Actual]

If it’s due to the insulin-hypothalamus adipo-stat thing/mechanism/lever, then it’s still somewhat theoretical, right? So no one wants to come out and declare it’s the cause, although we may use it as a means of understanding, since you may place your reputation on the line. And who wants to sound like a wacko, right?

The retention of water in adipocytes to maintain or justify from a budget sense the materials used in forming their cell walls makes sense to me. They seem to have a loose budget, being able to expand to what, 20x their smallest size?

[Bahram]

I would also be interested in any science explaining the supposed Woosh effect. anybody?