northernmusician's Journal, 11 January 2016

Gained 2 pounds myself - FASTING! Doesn't make any sense. And I moved a lot! Guess all that circadian rhythm stuff is true - didn't sleep more than 5 hours the whole time. I will make a better effort at trying to get sleep between 11 pm and 2am - my wide awake alert time. 

SheaDlady, how much liquid did you take in during your fast? Depending on my body water percentage, my weight can change by 3 or more pounds in a day.  

Drank about half a gallon of water, some diet soda (not so good for me), and 2 cups of hot tea. I think my problem has to do with sitting so long a one time when I had some emergency data entry to do last night - up until 2 am, back up at 4am to finish for their 7am eastern time opening. Always have fluid retention. I did get up and move some, but not as much as I should. I have a feeling Monday's are always going to me this way for a while.  

I never heard of a gain either unless the body is holding on because it thinks you are starving. Yeah, that would explain it. 

Nope. Not starving. Personally, I think our weight change is long term and not over a days worth of eating. I trust the numbers. That starvation mode reflex to fasting is something supported by the food industry and not by science. 

I know you aren't starving! Ha Ha! I am all for fasting. 

I applause you. I don't fast simply because I am a true hypoglycemic. I always knew because it runs in the family but my doctor ran the GGT tests several years ago and reconfirmed it. I have to eat every 3-4 hours. Not a lot, just a little to keep the sugar level up. So I always admire people who can go all day or even 24 hours without eating.  

I understand, M. Diabetics and hypoglycemics need to be careful. 

Sorry, but i really don't buy into the whole idea that your body "holds on because it's starving". Your body ALWAYS needs to burn something. et al : http://drbenkim.com/fasting-fast-one-day-week.htm 

hey.Northernmusician, I've been doing daily 21hour fastsbut today I'm doing a Monday evening to Wednesday!(Although I will drink some clear liquids-dry fasting is tiring) So here's to our fasts. yah 

Good plan, HafPaf. Glad to hear so many others are doing the fasting. I'll have my evening snack tonight and then I'm fasting until the Wednesday evening meal. While weight seems stable in a week, my body composition is changing. In two weeks I'm down 1% of body fat. :) 

I fasted from noon Sunday until after noon on Monday and I gained 2 lbs.....only ingested water and black coffee 

thats amazing! i have no idea what my body fat % is. I think, perhaps, I should find out. It's 6pm and I'm not hungry but I want to eat :( 

For me diet sodas seem to cause a weight spike of 3-4 pounds the next day which is mainly water weight. Your body will always burn fat in a calorie deficit and the emptied out fat cells tend to get filled with water which is one of the reasons why fat loss is not a linear process. also you cannot keep loosing fat week -in week out, your body will slowly start compensating for the lost weight by slowing down your metabolism and eventually tapping in to your muscle stores. you diet and diet and diet for weeks and can't seem to get the weight scale to move, and then out of frustration you got out and have a big meal and then all of a sudden you have lost 3-4 pounds the next morning and can also see the changes in the mirror. you look leaner. your body seems to hold on to water a lot especially during dieting as a response to the stress hormone cortisol. I have experienced this multiple times during my dieting stints. keep doing what you are doing , you will loose fat as long as you are in a calorie deficit. also, while fasting is good, in order to loose weight you need to be in a moderate caloric deficit (say 20% below your maintenance), also if you go beyond 16 hours especially while in a calorie deficit, you then start tapping in to your muscle stores and run the risk of loosing muscle for fat. I have experienced this first hand. 

EDC, I gained too. So did ShaeD. Don't sweat it. It's still calories out. That the weight gain could be fat is a physiological impossibility. 

Shenoysr, some of your info is out of date. 72 hours fasting as been determined to not tap muscle stores. Extended dieting at a deficit (talking consecutive months) has also been shown not to decrease muscle mass if the subject is weight lifting 3 times per week.  

Northern you got this one! Unfortunately starvation mode and loss of muscle mass just a few of the many urban myths that surround fasting. If anything according to Brad Pilon author of EatStopEat; in the long term fasting may actually improve your ability to build muscle mass. Don't fear the fast! 

Completely agree. The production of HGH has been proven to come through fasting. Fountain of youth stuff.