Hello,
So I’ve been IF for about a year, then in the past 4 months or so started to do extended fasts and have done many 72 hour and 108 hour fasts. I fell into a pattern for a while of just eating Friday-Sunday night and fasting with electrolytes on all other days. I lost a bunch of weight this way. Around the holidays I fell of the wagon (I did a few shorter fasts but nowhere near as much as before) and now I’m doing my first 5 day in a while.
On all my other fasts, I would lose weight rapidly and it was linear, meaning every day I’d lose. This time is different; I was 132 on day 1 (a lot of which was water weight because I stupidly ate a bunch of carbs and sugar the night before), 129 on day 2, 130, then back to 129 on day 4 (today). I’ve done a few 2 or 3 day fasts in December and one in early January and I lost a lot less weight than when I first began extended fasting and gained it all back. Why does it seem like extended fasts aren’t working the same for me anymore?
In September I’d lose like a pound a day (which was partially water weight, but I was definitely still losing fat over the course of the month) when fasting but now the progress is way more slow and inconsistent. Why does it seem so impossible to lose the last ten pounds? It almost feels like my body sort of got used to it and tries a lot harder to hold onto the weight.
I’ve done a bunch of 3-4 day fasts and I will always gain a few lbs from water retention. I have copious amounts of salt and electrolytes so I know I’ll likely be “heavier” at the end so I don’t worry about it. After I refeed and cut down on salt I can often see a big loss (one time I lost 8lbs overnight).
You are only going up one or two so it’s probably water related to either salt intake, BM or menstrual cycle.
But I hear you on the slower weight loss. My weight has yoyoed most of my life but it seems like I use a diet and get lower , keep it off, get stressed 2 years later and my weight goes back up. Then when I try the diet again it doesn’t seem to work or it’s much harder for me to stick to.
I think if you recently lose weight, it is much easier to put it back on because your body up regulates hormones to do so. Also science seems to point that you diet to lose weight, then once at a good weight up exercise to keep it off. Good guy bacteria and probiotics also seem to be in the mix there.