Some of the most popular posts here have statistics like “I lost 60 pounds in 50 days” or something similar where it would put them at a rate of losing 1 pound or more a day. This is especially the case for posts about extended water fasts. Conventional wisdom suggests this would only be possible if you had a daily deficit averaging >3500 calories, which is a very high TDEE even for a large male.
I’m not a nutritionist so I’m not looking to cast aspersions on anyone, just wondering why this would be.
When you weigh 400 pounds you could probably lose 5 pounds after a big poo. Almost all of this is water weight and I don think it’s unrealistic for large people to lose a pound+ a day. I don’t think they can maintain this streak for very long though.
BTW at my hospital they have bariatric patient rooms. These rooms have massive toilets. You could almost curl up and lay down in the toilet bowl. It’s amazing how big modern people can be.
Changes in the scale aren’t just due to fat loss but water, food in the digestive system, muscle, and connective tissue.
That and the people who lose the most weight are typically those who are most overweight. Those who have a more moderate amount to lose aren’t going to have those dramatic results and so aren’t going to get all those upvotes.
That said, it would probably be more realistic if people posted their initial weight and then the weight after refeeding for a week. But good luck getting people to do that.
The first time I discovered fasting was by accident.
I ran out of money with about 45 days left to go before the new student loan check came. So I just didnt eat (or smoke weed) for a month and a half, and swam 1 mile (about an hour) a day to keep busy. I was losing about 1lb a day, as a 6’3” 230lb male.
Its very realistic to lose that much.
I’m on day 3 of a 7 day fast and my scale tells me I’ve lost 15 pounds already, from 369 to 354. That’s with repeated weigh-ins. Probably mostly water weight, I’m sure it will start to slow down from here.
I get concerned with how aggressive some people are with fasting to lose weight. I’m worried about them (and myself if I get too aggressive) mentally burning out and rebounding hard, or losing a gall bladder from how quick their weight dropped.