How Much Weight Can You Lose when fasting?

All types of fasting can result in weight loss in one way or another. Some of these types are more effective than others. Water fasting is considered to be a highly efficient method of losing weight quickly and without compromising your body muscles. On average, if your water fast goes on for a period of 24 to 72 hours consecutively, then you are likely to lose two pounds in a single day. It means you can expect to lose six to ten pounds per week.

A large amount of fat lost in such a small period of time is the reason why people find water fast to be very useful in losing weight. However, it should be done in a balanced way to make sure your body is not adversely impacted by excessive fasting. Some of the critical and fundamental details about the water fasting are discussed as follows:

What is Water Fasting, and what should be its duration?

Water fasting is one of the many types of intermittent fasting in which you avoid any type of food consumption, and can only drink water for a specific period. You can set the fasting period according to your own conditions and health, but generally, it should last between 24 hours to 72 hours. You should not fast for more than 72 hours as it can have harmful effects on your health.

Weight Loss during Water Fast

Weight loss happens in water fast in the same way as in other kinds of intermittent fasts. When you stop eating food, the glucose levels in your body are diminished, and the glycogen stores are utilized for energy. Eventually, the glycogen stores are also depleted, which leads to the burning of fats for energy.

Ketosis can also help you in burning fat quickly and increase the speed of weight loss happening in your body. Ketosis is a metabolic state in which ketone bodies are produced due to a lack of carbohydrates. Ketone bodies trigger the burning of fats and lead to increased weight loss. The period in which your body enters ketosis while water fasting is dependent on the quantity of the glucose consumed and the glycogen stored in your body. It can take even two to four days before ketonic reactions happen in your body.

There are numerous researches to find out a specific amount of weight that can be lost via fasting. According to a summary of the researches by Harvard, around 40 studies about the impact of intermittent fasting on weight loss have concluded that you can lose about 7 – 11 pounds over ten weeks. However, the participants of these wide-ranging researches observed different types of fasting, and some of them fasted for about 12 hours a day, thrice a week.

All of the significant research has concluded the fact that fasting can enhance weight loss and trim down your body, but it should be done cautiously. It is imperative to maintain your body muscles, so if you want to lose weight via fasting, try to find the right kind of balance for yourself so you can lead a healthy life.