One 3-day fast is not going to have a significant impact on your weight. You may notice some changes on the scale, but don't mistake these changes for long-term weight loss. Any weight that you lose during a fast is mostly water weight (6). Once you start eating again, you quickly regain this weight.
Water fasting helps you lose weight quickly. According to studies, you can lose 0.9 kg per day by drinking water in 24 to 72 hours. However, this loss of body mass is only from water, carbs and even muscle mass, not fat.
The 3-Day Diet claims dieters can lose up to 10 pounds in three days. Weight loss is possible on The 3 Day Diet, but only because it is very low in calories. And realistically, most of that weight is likely water weight and not fat loss because the diet is so low in carbohydrates.
Water fasting for 3 days would thus put you in about a 7,000-calorie deficit. Because a caloric deficit of 3500 calories results in one pound of fat loss, you would experience about 2 pounds of true fat loss for every 3-day water fasting protocol you completed.
Some people who try the fasting diet for 3 days do it as a way to lose weight. While people do lose weight, it is important to note that the weight loss is water weight and not fat loss. Research has shown a positive correlation between increased water consumption and weight loss.
Fasting will boost your metabolism. This study showed that healthy men increased their metabolism by a whopping 14% by performing a 3-day fast. It's thought that the increased metabolism during fasting might be due to the increase in the production of norepinephrine which is a hormone that promotes burning fat.
You'll lose weight
Keep in mind, Shapiro doesn't consider the 72-hour fast as a way to achieve meaningful weight loss. “You will likely lose more water weight than actually fat as your body uses its glycogen stores for fuel before dipping into actual fat,” she says.
Get enough protein daily, and you shouldn't lose muscle mass intermittent fasting. Further research has backed this up: subjects who underwent 70 days of alternate daily fasting (eating one day and fasting the next) lost NO muscle mass.
Beneficial Metabolic Effect Called Ketosis
During a 3-day fast, the body burns through its glycogen stores in the first 24 hours. After that, it begins to burn fat and protein for fuel. After 48 hours, the body enters starvation mode and begins to conserve protein and burn mostly fat for energy.
The three-day diet or Military Diet as it is called is a low-calorie diet which aims at a decreased intake of calories per day (870) and will help you lose 10 pounds (4.5 kg) in three days. This three-day diet plan involves set meal plans for each meal of the day, which vary for all three days.
Fasting of 72+ hours is also shown to improve the body's response to toxin exposure and stress hormones. 24 to 72 hours: you start producing ketone bodies to fuel your brain, and see an increase in fat loss and autophagy. You also start to see an increase in BDNF which supports brain function.
Because calorie burn in this study was greater when skipping dinner compared with skipping breakfast, Peterson says “it might be better for weight loss to skip dinner than to skip breakfast.”
Eat or drink a cup of vegetable or chicken broth in the afternoon of the first day after your fast. Eat a piece of bread or some plain crackers with the broth, if desired. Continue drinking the diluted juice. The broth will provide more nutrients and prepare your digestive system for heavier foods.
Many medical experts agree that a one-day fast can feel great. But extending beyond three days can begin to cause harm, especially if you have other medical conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease. “A fast longer than a day or two can deplete vitamins, minerals and electrolytes,” Dr. Hopkins says.
So if you do a 5-day fast, you might only burn 1.5 pounds of fat. And since average human weighs 137 pounds and has about 25% body fat, they have 34 pounds of fat to burn, meaning they'd only lose 4.4% of their body fat in a 5-day fast. The huge potential weight-loss benefits are long-term.
Water fasting for weight loss is an ideal short-term strategy to burn fat and use it as energy. A 10-day water fasting plan should ideally begin with limiting the intake of solid foods during the first two days. From day 3 to day 7, drink 1-2 liters and completely avoid solid foods.
For this reason, for people who are fasting for weight loss, the best fasting length is often more moderate (such as 16 hours) than for those who are fasting for health reasons (wherein it might be 20 or more hours).