I ran across a woman who made the following post.
"I have been doing extended fasts from Thursday night until Monday morning, every weekend since Thanksgiving. I have lost 13 pounds since then but it’s been like a stair step down. Lose 6 pounds and gain 4 back each week. I usually net 2, which is OK but I’m wondering if ADF will yield greater results. I guess I’ll just have to try it and see "
It made me think that people need an attitude readjustment. They think that if the scale says they are lighter at the end of a fast that they lost that much weight and when they go off the fast they gain the majority of weight back. Totally wrong, you can’t gain back weight that you never lost. I’m going to classify losing weight as losing Fat , Cartilage or muscle.
She lost the right amount of weight for the amount of time that she was fasting. She never gained weight back because she never lost it. She shed water and she shed Food from the digestive track.
It’s wrong thinking.
See below:
She is fasting 3 1/2 days a week. So according to Dr Fung you can expect to lose 1/2 to 3/4 of a LB a day when fasting. Take that 3 1/2 days by 1/2 LB - 3/4 Lb a day and her 2LBs weight loss is exactly in the parameters of what can be expected.
Maybe because I’m over 100Lb Overweight I have to think more of a long term. But people should think in the long term. If you are as fat as me than 2 LB isn’t enough. But let’s say you are only 20 Lb over weight. In 2 1/2 months you will be at your ideal weight if you do what is necessary to continue to lose 2LB aweek. And you may have created habits that will help you keep the weight off.
Take the actual lost weight and multiply by the amount of time necessary to reach your weight goal. Example, I want to lose 100 LBS. Then at 2LB per week it will take a year (50 Months) to lose the weight at this rate. Yes I know it slows at the end, but you could also fast more or change your diet to make up for it.
What she did that affected the scales upwards was:
- Absorb back water
- Have her digestive system fill with food again.
On the subject of the digestive track, it’s very interesting I always hear about gaining back water weight but never about Food Weight.
According to the Mayo Clinic Food takes around 52 hours to work it’s way through your digestive system. So after a 64 hour fast your whole digestive system is emptied. When you eat again after the fast, that food will go into your system and a significant percentage will show up as gained weight.
Anyway what that woman needed was to change her attitude. Figure out that every day she fasts she loses 1/2 LB and if she wants to lose more than fast more.
BTW not to say that ADF might not work for her.