fasting diet Very popular right now. That's probably because they're such a simple concept. Basically, fasting is a period of time when you don't eat or eat very limited amounts of food. Some fasts are short and designed to be done often, while others are longer but less frequent.
Popular fasting diets include:
Of all the protocols, water fasting is arguably the strictest and hardest to adhere to. However, it's also where you're likely to lose the most weight. With a water fast, you only consume water during the fast. No coffee, no juice, no tea, and no solids – just water.
See, we told you fasting is easy!
But how much weight can you lose while fasting? The answer depends on how long you fasted, your starting weight, and your gender. Use our water fast calculator to estimate how much weight you will lose during your next water fast.
The Water Fast Calculator is designed to estimate how much weight you will lose during a water fast. During fasting, you don't eat any food and drink only water. Most people should aim to drink 2-3 liters of water per day, but there is no upper limit to how much you can drink, and up to a point, more is better.
To calculate your weight loss, the Water Fasting Calculator takes into account your current weight, gender and fasting duration. It then estimates how much weight you may have lost by the end of your water fast.
This is useful for predicting weight loss, and the results can also motivate you as you will be able to see how much weight you can lose in just a few days.
Water has no calories. If you drink only water, your body will quickly start breaking down and burning fat for the energy it needs, and your weight will plummet.
Your weight, gender and activity level determine how many calories you need each day, known as total daily energy expenditure or TDEE for short. By estimating your TDEE, the calculator can determine how much weight you should lose each day while fasting.
It is generally accepted that a pound of fat contains 3,500 calories. So, if you need an average of 2,500 calories to maintain your current weight, but you don't eat any food, you can expect to lose about ¾ pound per day on a water fast. Multiply that number by the length of your fast water and you can predict how much total weight you will lose.
Studies have shown that men lose weight faster than women during fasting periods, and the more they weigh, the faster they lose weight ( 1Trusted Source ).
This is because males and larger bodies generally require more energy to maintain body weight. Drinking only water created a greater calorie deficit in these groups, and therefore more significant weight loss.
Water fast weight loss calculator takes body type and gender into account.
Our water quick calculator is very simple to use. Just follow these step-by-step instructions to estimate how much weight you'll lose during your next fast.
After entering your gender, fasting duration, current weight and pressing enter, you will get two results or statistics:
It is important to note that these results are estimates only and actual weight loss may vary based on factors such as activity level, age, metabolic rate, stress level and genetics.
Use the following strategies to ensure you lose as much weight as possible while fasting.
Fasting means not eating, and fasting means that the only thing you can consume is plain water. Tea, coffee, soda and juice are off the menu! Breaking your fast with snacks or drinks other than water can affect your results and reduce weight loss.
Drinking plenty of water will ensure you stay hydrated, feel less hungry, and lose weight faster. When you consume a lot of water, your body excretes more water. When fasting, you may urinate more than drink water.
Water is heavy stuff, weighing 1 kilogram or 2.2 pounds per liter. The more water you drink, the more you excrete, and the more weight you lose.
While you may not want to exercise during a water fast, you should avoid sedentary periods. The more you move your body, the more calories you need and the more fat you burn. In short, exercise more and lose weight faster.
Even a few steps a day can help you lose weight faster.
Lack of sleep can make losing weight more difficult. Improve your fasting results by getting 7-9 hours of sleep each night. This may mean you have to go to bed earlier, but getting more sleep can have a big impact on weight loss. It will also give you more energy.
Stress causes your body to release a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol limits fat burning and promotes fat storage, which is the opposite of what you want during fasting. Avoid stress as much as possible to maximize weight loss.
Good options for reducing stress include:
Like all calculators of this type, this tool provides estimates based on factors such as weight and gender. However, your actual daily calorie burn depends on activity level, age, stress and sleep, which are not considered by this calculator.
Therefore, this water fasting calculator is very accurate, but it cannot be said to be 100% accurate. Therefore, your actual weight loss may be more or less than estimated.
Water fasting is mostly safe, but there are still some risks to consider. These include:
These symptoms tend to get worse when the fast begins and go away after a few days. They also tend to be less severe during subsequent fasts. Shorter fasts have less effect than longer fasts.
However, the biggest risk associated with water fasting is not the outcome of the fast, but the time it takes you to start eating again. This is called refeeding syndrome, and it's especially true for people who have fasted for five or more days.
Refeeding syndrome is a potentially fatal condition caused by eating too much food after a long fast. Symptoms of refeeding syndrome include:
To avoid refeeding syndrome, you should eat small, frequent meals and avoid overeating. Fresh fruit, vegetable soup, and natural yogurt are all good choices. Subsequent meals should also be light and digestible. It takes a few days to gradually return to a normal diet.
When you quickly stop drinking water and resume eating normally, you will most likely regain some of the weight. That's because, during your fast, you lose fat, but also some muscle and a substance called glycogen. Glycogen is glucose stored in the liver and muscles.
Glycogen is chemically bound to water, so when your glycogen levels return to normal, you also store more water. When you break your fast, glycogen levels are replenished, leading to rapid weight regain.
However, if you dehydrate quickly by eating small, frequent meals and don't overeat, you should not gain weight after dehydration.
While you can do an extreme water fast of 7 days or more, it's usually best to stick to two to five days. For most people, this is physically and psychologically achievable. Once you are sure that water fasting is working for you, you can try longer fasts.
However, if fasting is completely new to you, do a 24-hour water fast first and see how your body responds. If you succeed, feel free to try again, for a longer duration.
In general, the longer the water fast, the less often you perform it. For example, you could do a two-day water fast every month or a one-week water fast every six months. However, fasting more often than this can be harmful, leading to eating disorders and other long-term health problems.
However, there are other fasting regimens that are better suited for more frequent use, such as OMAD, the 16:8 and 5:2 diets.
People have been fasting for centuries, and the proposed benefits include:
Life extensionists believe fasting is the key to living longer and healthier lives. During fasting, your body has time and energy to focus on removing dead cells and replacing them with new ones. This process is called autophagy.
Autophagy is considered essential for lifelong health, including protection against cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, and life-threatening diseases. Many of the world's oldest living people fast regularly.
Water fasting is a fast and effective way to lose weight, during which you can lose about one pound per day.
However, water fasting can also be challenging, and many people will find it too restrictive for anything but short-term and occasional use.
Water fasting is generally safe, but some people experience side effects including extreme hunger, headaches, nausea, and fatigue. It's also important to break your fast with small, frequent meals to avoid potentially life-threatening refeeding syndrome.
Use our water fast calculator to estimate how much weight you can lose during a water fast.
1– British Medical Journal: Energy supply, tissue utilization and weight loss in chronic starvation
