24 Hour Weight Loss Experiment

This is a follow up to my 72 hour weight loss experiment that I did about a month ago.

during my 72 hour experiment I simply fasted for 72 hours.24clock

I ended up dropping from 217 pounds to about 206 over the course of 72 hours.

A few days after resuming regular eating I normalized to a weight that fluctuates between 206-208 lbs

As of right now I am starting a 24 hour weight loss experiment. In this one I am fasting but also doing extended

and frequent bouts of cardiovascular training and weight training. It’s not necessarily practical to try this on a work day or even on a weekend day that you expect to do much else besides exercise, drink coffee and nap.

So my starting weight is 206 lbs. at 8pm on Thurs.

next weigh in will be tomorrow morning after morning workout.

John

Posted by johnbarban in Uncategorized
Tags: 24 Hour Fast, 24 Hour Weight Loss, Fasting, Weight Loss |27 Comments

27 Responses to “24 Hour Weight Loss Experiment”

  1. johnbarban Says:
    September 17th, 2009 at 11:16 pm

    11:15pm

    Just got back from a low intensity cardio session while watching the Miami Hurricanes smoke Georgia Tech.

    Bodyweight – 204.4lbs

    Next weigh in is tomorrow morning 8:30am

    JB

  2. Connie Says:
    September 17th, 2009 at 11:19 pm

    What is the purpose of your experiment? Simply to see what happens? I’m curious.

  3. johnbarban Says:
    September 17th, 2009 at 11:26 pm

    @Connie

    Connie,

    The purpose is two fold:

    a) to see how much weight I can lose in 24 hours.
    b) to see where my bodyweight will level off at once I start eating again after the 24 hours.

    I’m testing a theory that weight loss actually happens very rapidly and not over the long haul. So I’m actually trying to see just how condensed I can make it.

    I’ll be updating the results in this comment section all day tomorrow.

    JB

  4. johnbarban Says:
    September 18th, 2009 at 12:16 pm

    8:30am friday morning.

    Bodyweight is 203lbs

    Next weigh in will be mid afternoon.

    JB

  5. Darren Says:
    September 18th, 2009 at 2:32 pm

    Are you doing any other measurement besides weight?

  6. Ed Says:
    September 18th, 2009 at 2:34 pm

    Are you taking any supplements? How much water/liquids are you drinking? Was it the same for 72 hour feat?

  7. Rahim Says:
    September 18th, 2009 at 5:14 pm

    Are you going to be drinking anything this time? Or it’s just nothing to eat or drink?

  8. johnbarban Says:
    September 18th, 2009 at 7:53 pm

    Just weight measurement this time.

    It’s been about 23.5 hours and my bodyweight ended up at 202.8lbs

    So it seems the lighter I get the less weight I will lose during a fast.

    When I was heavier I could easily lose 6-8 pounds over a 24 hour fast. This time I only lost 3 pounds.

    (of course this isn’t a controlled scientific experiment)

    So next up is a measurement tomorrow afternoon and sunday afternoon to see where I normalize after the 24 hours. Checking to see if I simply go right back to 206, or if I level off somewhere lower than that.

    JB

  9. johnbarban Says:
    September 18th, 2009 at 7:54 pm

    @Ed
    Ed,

    No supplements, and I had a 500ml bottle of zero calorie iced tea to drink today.

    JB

  10. johnbarban Says:
    September 18th, 2009 at 7:56 pm

    @Rahim
    Rahim,

    Nothing much this time, just the iced tea. No food and no drinks with any calories was the only restriction.

    JB

  11. Joel Says:
    September 19th, 2009 at 4:42 am

    What do you eat on non fasting days?

    I bought eat stop eat, and pretty much eat whatever when on non fast days. If I eat too much and don’t beat my weight on the last 24 hour fast I keep going until I have reached a new weightloss record.

  12. Anthony Says:
    September 19th, 2009 at 8:44 am

    Can you do a fast like that and not lose muscle? I’ve been on a muscle building routine for almost 3 months but my bf% is higher than desirable. If I did a fast like you’re doing while training for mass can I still put on muscle and actually lose fat too? What would I do for post workout nutrition?

  13. HD Says:
    September 19th, 2009 at 1:27 pm

    I’m interested to know the answer to Anthony’s question, I was going to ask the very same thing; whether you shed muscle as well as fat (more likely) rather than just fat, and also the ratio lost of each. Thanks. :)

  14. johnbarban Says:
    September 19th, 2009 at 7:13 pm

    @Joel
    Joel

    That is a great strategy and probably the easiest way to manage a weight loss pattern while using eat stop eat.

    JB

  15. johnbarban Says:
    September 19th, 2009 at 7:22 pm

    Anthony and HD,

    The scientific literature clearly shows that there is no way the body will lose muscle mass during such a short period of time without food. In reality 24 hours is a very short time to go without food.

    During a 24 hour fast your body shifts to a fat burning dominant metabolism. From 12 to approx 30 hours fasted your body will be burning an increasingly higher percentage of fat. The body does not upregulate protein burning during this time, only fat burning.

    We all tend to think that all of our metabolic processes function on a 24 hour cycle simply because that is how our days and nights go. Although we do have a circadian rhythm (daily clock) not all processes (and specifically muscle building) can be explained within daily cycles.

    In reality the process of building muscle is long and slow and daily calorie intake seems to have very little to do with muscle growth.

    It would make more sense to visualize your calorie intake on a weekly and monthly basis as compared to daily, as this is closer to the time frames that it actually takes to build muscle.

    Make sense?

    JB

  16. Anthony Says:
    September 19th, 2009 at 8:09 pm

    Thats a consolation, but it’s very shocking. When I work out I don’t need to drink a protein shake right afterwards? I could even build muscle without food during a fast? Everything I’ve ever read has always said to never neglect protein and post workout nutrition. It sounds so crazy, but I really want it to be true. So bottom line, I can actually fast intermittently, workout for mass, not worry about protein shakes, and STILL build muscle?

  17. Rashad Says:
    September 19th, 2009 at 8:56 pm

    This is quite an interesting experiment.

    I have actually experienced a similar drastic weight loss. The past year I went on a eat whatever, whenever diet and gained 15 pounds. A month ago I went on a vegan diet for three weeks, and basically decreased my calorie intake to a minimal amount and lost 20 pounds. I did not jump on a scale until after the diet was over and the results surprised/scared me. I have now returned to a regular healthy diet and have been able to keep that weight off.

  18. johnbarban Says:
    September 20th, 2009 at 12:41 am

    @Anthony
    Anthony,

    The research about post workout protein has never shown a direct effect on muscle building. That research typically looks at markers of protein synthesis or nitrogen balance and assumes that these markers have something to do with muscle gain.

    But when you look at them in more detail you’ll see that there is never any proof or even correlation to these markers or true muscle gain.

    The fitness/bodybuilding industry grossly misinterprets this research to mean that post workout protein is necessary for muscle gain, but in reality that has never been shown to be true.

    So yes, you can build muscle while doing an intermittent fasting program, and you don’t need to have a post workout protein shake if you don’t want to.

    JB

  19. johnbarban Says:
    September 20th, 2009 at 12:42 am

    @Rashad
    Interesting story Rashad. There is nothing quite like the experience of trying this stuff on yourself. Once you’ve been through a weight gain or a weight loss it really opens your eyes to what is possible.

    Good to hear you’ve found a healthy diet that is working for you.

    JB

  20. Anthony Says:
    September 20th, 2009 at 7:39 am

    Wow, my whole perspective has just been shocked. I feel like I’ve been scammed by people I thought supported me. But in the long run I guess it will be my gain cause I won’t have to worry about buying expensive protein powder anymore. John what you’ve said makes sense, and it’s hard to swallow because it’s so anti-mainstream. I mean what fitness trainer at the local gym would say “all you need to do is work out, just eat normally.” I’m really looking forward to changing my selfish eating habits, making sure you eat protein every 3 hours isn’t exactly a socially accepted practice. Thanks for the new perspective!

  21. Amity Says:
    September 20th, 2009 at 11:15 pm

    After half-trying countless diets over the years to lose that last subborn 5 kgs that has been lingering after having 3 kids, I have been experimenting with Eat-Stop-Eat for about a month. I sometimes find it hard to do a full 24 hours, usually because I am so often preparing food for my family. But I have found success in having a light dinner at 6pm and then fasting until about midday the following day, so fasting for about 18 hours. I do this most days, maybe not on weekends, and fit in about 4 Weight/HII Training sessions at the gym a week (in a fasted state) and have noticed the weight is slowly shifting and I’m starting to feel great. The thing I like most about this way of eating is that it has helped me to learn to listen to my body…it’s amazing how much we over eat in this western, modern, sedentary culture of ours. Thanks to all these great sites (Rusty, Brad etc) that have turned the wheels on conventional thinking and helped me find my way to a healthier and happier me.

  22. Damien Says:
    September 21st, 2009 at 4:32 am

    Hi John,

    I hope the normalizing part of your experiment is going well! I love your approach of exercise and nutrition from a scientific angle. I would love to study this in a bit more details as well and see what I can learn. Your approach about eating, and potein intake in particular is quite interesting.

    May I ask how and where you find the scientific studies that you base your reasonning on ? I’ve been looking for papers and information to study myself but it’s hard to come about.

    Cheers,
    Damien.

  23. johnbarban Says:
    September 21st, 2009 at 9:30 am

    @Damien
    Damien,

    The research is found through a standard pubmed search, but you gotta know how to find it. The second part of that is knowing how to read and interpret the research once you have it.

    Mainstream media publications like magazines, newspapers, websites and books are no peer reviewed and therefore the information they are presenting has no standard. At least the peer reviewed literature has some standards to it. With that said there is a lot of poorly done research that also gets published.

    Me and some colleagues have also spent a significant amount of time researching all of this for previous careers and have many contacts in the academic fields associated with all of this stuff, so we have people we can call to help us find things when we need to.

    JB

  24. johnbarban Says:
    September 22nd, 2009 at 12:07 am

    Just to update.

    My bodyweight on Monday evening ended up around 205. So we’ll give it another day or two and see if I’m consistently down or if this is a normal fluctuation.

    JB

  25. Brian Says:
    September 22nd, 2009 at 10:35 am

    HI John,

    What is your take on 3, 24 hour fasts a week? (ex. Mon-Wed-Fri) Besides difficuly fitting in to one’s scehdule/inflexibility – do you see any other issues with fasting 3 times a week for 24 hours? Your thoughts would be much appreciated

  26. doro Says:
    September 29th, 2009 at 12:06 pm

    ugh i never weigh less after 24 hour fasts :(

  27. DClark Says:
    March 16th, 2010 at 11:31 am

    At what point in a fast does your body switch to consuming your body fat for calories? also what is it when you stomach starts to make a roaring sound when you fast? goes away in about a minute.

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