Water Fasting: It Helps With Weight Loss, But You Can Also Gain It Back Quickly

For all intents and purposes – fasting should help the average individual lose weight. It makes sense right? Well, scientists believe that only so much fasting will help you shed the pounds before you just put them back on again.

Many people perform “water fasts” – which is when you only consume water for a few days. According to scientists at the University of Illinois Chicago – this strategy does guarantee that the weight you lose will not come back.

Researchers believe that other water-fast benefits such as improved cholesterol and lower blood pressure may also revert back to type after you have stopped fasting.

According to Professor of Kinesiology and Nutrition Krista Varady, people who water fast or do some kind of fasting shouldn’t be too worried about any serious negative effects. “I guess you could try it, but it just seems like a lot of work, and all those metabolic benefits disappear,” she said.

Despite this, Varady also recommends that people don’t undertake any kind of fasting for more than five days without professional medical consultation. Other scientists reached out to her as they were curious about her opinions on water fasting, also known as Buchinger fasting.
This type of fasting is practiced by many people throughout Europe and the final study drew the following conclusions:

– Short-term weight loss is a byproduct of water fasting
– People who fast for five days consecutively lose about 4-6% of their weight
– People who fast for seven to 10 days lose about 2-10%
– People who fast for 15-20 days lose 7-10%.

Other findings from the study also showed that many participants gained back the weight they had lost during a five-day water fast during the three months that followed. For those who didn’t see much of the lost weight come back, they had been instructed to lower their calorie intake after the end of the fast.