Did I really lose 5 lbs in 3 days???

This topic contains 3 replies, has 2 voices, and was last updated by Adaline 8 years, 2 months ago.

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Tokyo-Skinny

7:56 am
15 Sep 16
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Wanted to ask your guys’ opinion of whether or not I really lost weight or if it was just water weight!

Basically, I determined to start my diet on Monday, so I ate a lot over the weekend. I want to eat healthier in general, so I planned to calorie count on my non-fast days as well. I did my first fast day on Tuesday, and since the cravings stopped, I decided to do my second fast day on Wednesday. Compared to Monday morning (after using the toilet, before eating) my weight has dropped 5 pounds??

Looking online, a lot of folks attribute quick weightless to water weight. However, I made sure to drink over 2 liters of water (more than I ever drank before!) each day. Should I still attribute my weight loss to water weight, or is it possible that I really lost 5 pounds?! (Regardless, I know that this speedy drop won’t continue long term, but I’m just rather curious!)

Adaline

9:01 am
15 Sep 16
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For me, the correct way to estimate if I’ve lost / gain fat, ignoring the water weight fluctuations, is to look at my calories: consumed (food) and burned (TDEE).

So you estimate your food intake in this 3 days (let’s say you’ve eaten 3.000 calories in total), you estimate your TDEE in this 3 days (let’s say you’ve burned 4.500 calories in total), make the difference between them: 4.500 – 3.000 = 1.500 calories deficit. 1 kg of body fat has around 7.700 calories. So 1.500 calories deficit means around 1.500 / 7.700 = 200 grams of fat lost. The rest of your weight loss is water weight (less salt, glycogen), less food in transit, etc. You will regain part of it when you eat normally.

Tokyo-Skinny

9:13 am
15 Sep 16
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Thanks so much for the conversion rate! I have been using my FitBit to calculate calories burned, and I know it’s not completely accurate, but according to this estimate…

I burned 6,932 kcal between existing and exercise (I walk about 1.5 to two hours a day between work and intentional exercise)

My food consumption was…
1222 on Monday
397 on Tuesday
497 on Wednesday.
=2116

6,932-2116=4816
4816/7700= .6kg or so. 1.3 lbs.

I didn’t really think about doing the math formula! This is great. Thanks so much, and I’ll definitely use this in the future! Back to eating normal today, so I can expect 3-4 lbs to return within the next couple of days!

Adaline

9:31 am
15 Sep 16
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Glad I could help. 🙂

Good luck with the last kg!