Re: 20lbs in 16 days?

hi corielle,

I am a huge believer in the benefits of Water Fasting for a myriad of reasons, but i believe there is a really fantastic misconception out there about the "real" weight you will lose.

I even have a fasting book with really excellent content, but a terribly misleading title: paraphrased, "lose 5 pounds in 1 day by water fasting".

You could lose about 20 pounds in a 7-10 day Water Fast (a 24/7 consecutive/unbroken fast), but about 13-15 of it would be water weight which you could expect to return within about 2 weeks of eating again, leaving about 5-7 real pounds of weight loss, almost predominately from stored body fat, and a small amount from your dead and weakest/least valuable tissue.

I have water fasted for 7 days probably about 20 times. Almost every time i broke the fast sensibly, followed the guidelines of healthful eating and in moderation, and each time, 15 of the 20 pounds i lost have been back within about 2 weeks.

I don't believe there is any way to lose 20 pounds of real weight in 16 days unless you exercise 8 hours a day, and i suspect that would not be very healthy. 2 pounds a week is a very good goal with proper diet and exercise, perhaps with a 5 pound lead-in from a 7 day Water Fast that includes plenty of light to moderate exercise such as brisk walking. Tweet