72 Hour Weight Loss Experiment

I am starting a 3 day weight loss experiment.Scale

It’s actually very simple. Here’s how it goes.

I’m going to fast for 72 hours.

That’s it.

I’ll be recording my bodyweight and various measurments as well as strength throughout the 3 days.

I’ll update my progress in the comments area of this post along the way.

Starting Bodyweight is: 217.2 lbs

JB

Posted by johnbarban in Uncategorized
30 Comments

30 Responses to “72 Hour Weight Loss Experiment”

  1. johnbarban Says:
    August 10th, 2009 at 9:30 pm

    After 24 hours I’m down to 210.2 pounds.

    Will do another measurement at 36 hours and record it here.

    JB

  2. Ken Says:
    August 10th, 2009 at 10:35 pm

    I hope you will also report your weight during the refeeding period so we can see what the net weight loss will be (assuming there will be a net loss after refeed).

  3. Ryan Says:
    August 10th, 2009 at 11:21 pm

    I think you will lose less and less weight as you fast longer and longer. Your metabolism will slow down the longer you go.

    How tall are you and what type of food do you eat? I think changing you diet to be healtier and include lots of fruit and veggies would be a better experiment.

    Unless you fight your hunger afterwards, I’m thinking you will gain the weight back when you binge out…

  4. johnbarban Says:
    August 11th, 2009 at 12:57 am

    Ken, I will post refeeding weight numbers as well. There will be a measurement before refeeding and one immediately afterwards. This should be fun.

    Ryan,

    You’ve got the right concept but the slow down you speak of doesn’t happen until a person approaches dangerously low bodyweight levels. I am 6’0 tall. I will be in no danger of any metabolic consequences. In fact there is a great deal of well done research on intermittent fasting that shows an INCREASE in metabolic rate during a 72 hour fast.

    Also to be clear, I am not doing this experiment because I am searching for a new weight loss solution. I’m just testing to see what will happen to my bodyweight, my measurements and my strength over this time period.

    John

  5. johnbarban Says:
    August 11th, 2009 at 1:01 am

    I’m currently 28 hours fasted.

    Bodyweight is 209.8 lbs.

    Not really feeling hungry.

    Going for a workout now.

    JB

  6. johnbarban Says:
    August 11th, 2009 at 2:27 pm

    Currently 40 hours fasted.

    Bodyweight is 207.8 lbs.

    Not hungry.

    JB

  7. Ken Says:
    August 11th, 2009 at 5:11 pm

    Just one measurement after beginning refeeding? I’d love to see readings at 24, 48, 72 hours after resuming a normal eating schedule. Even one a full week later would be nice. I do IF myself and I actually think this is going to work out great but I’m anticipating naysayers claiming that all weight lost will be regained in the days after resuming normal feeding.

  8. johnbarban Says:
    August 11th, 2009 at 6:42 pm

    Ken,

    I’ll be doing more measurements. This first 72 hours is actually half of a larger week long experiment. I’ll keep you posted on all of it here.

    John

  9. joseph Says:
    August 12th, 2009 at 3:19 am

    how do u even manage to stay not-hungry?
    are u taking any pills/supplements?

  10. Brad Says:
    August 12th, 2009 at 2:15 pm

    It’s called staying busy :)

  11. johnbarban Says:
    August 12th, 2009 at 2:21 pm

    65 hours fasted.

    Bodyweight is 206.6 pounds

    Not feeling hungry at all. In fact I haven’t felt anything that I would describe as hunger for at least 30 hours.

    JB

  12. Charlie Says:
    August 12th, 2009 at 3:08 pm

    Whats your liquid intake during these 72 hours?

  13. snedden.net » Blog Archive » 72 Hour Weight Loss Experiment Says:
    August 12th, 2009 at 3:13 pm

    [...] 72 Hour Weight Loss Experiment [blog]: http://johnbarban.com/?p=234 [...]

  14. johnbarban Says:
    August 12th, 2009 at 6:08 pm

    Charlie,

    Not monitoring liquid intake per se. I have been having a cup or two of tea, a glass or two of water, and yesterday I had a 500ml of diet coke.

    That’s about it.

    I’m currently at 69 hours fasted and bodyweight is at 205 lbs.

    Starting a re-feeding process over the next 5-7 hours.

    Will do another bodyweight measurement after the refeed then the second half of the experiment starts tomorrow.

    JB

  15. johnbarban Says:
    August 12th, 2009 at 6:11 pm

    Going to the gym now to test strength. Will update strength and bodyweight after the gym.

    JB

  16. Charlie Says:
    August 12th, 2009 at 7:40 pm

    It will also be interesting to see if it has affected your sleep.

  17. johnbarban Says:
    August 12th, 2009 at 11:42 pm

    Charlie,

    First two nights sleep were ok, third night I couldn’t sleep at all. Not sure what was going on there. Not feeling tired today either. There is some research indicating a rise in excitatory neurotransmitters and andrenaline, perhaps that is partly the cause.

    So the 72 hours are over. I’ve started eating again. Started very slowly with a coffee with 1 milk and 2 sugars.

    had a cheese and bacon croissant sandwich about 2 hours after the coffee <– this gave me a slight head rush/tightness for about 10 minutes. (perhaps due to a rise in blood pressure)

    about 2 hours later I had a small bowl of yogurt mixed with cottage cheese and some granola.

    Went to the gym, felt pretty good, knocked out a leg workout.

    Going for a more ‘dinner’ like meal in a couple hours and that will be it for today.

    Will report back with a post feeding weigh-in, and then another weigh in tomorrow am.

    JB

  18. johnbarban Says:
    August 13th, 2009 at 1:46 pm

    Morning after the refeed.

    Bodyweight 210

    JB

  19. Rahim Says:
    August 15th, 2009 at 7:32 pm

    That’s was a crazy experiment John! I’ve fasted before, but never for that long. What made you decide to try that?

  20. johnbarban Says:
    August 16th, 2009 at 6:28 am

    72 hours is commonly studied in the scientific literature, so I just figured I give it a try.

    No big deal really. The biggest issue of all was dealing with a lack of social stimulus. I had to turn down multiple invitations to go out for a coffee, or a bite to eat, or a drink over those 3 days.

    It really shows us how many of our social rituals revolve around some sort of consumption.

    JB

  21. Charlie Says:
    August 16th, 2009 at 10:07 am

    JB, I think your right, if we were to drop the social rituals and just eat when we are hungry I am sure I would be better off. However, when the family has breakfast, lunch and dinner followed by supper it seems rude to say no.

  22. Charlie Says:
    August 16th, 2009 at 10:22 am

    Just re-reading this article, are you saying that you could have fasted for 24 hours and had the same result?

    I can only assume that the 7 pounds in weight loss was due to your system being empty?

  23. Claus Says:
    August 17th, 2009 at 6:16 am

    @ Charlie
    I agree. When I’m at home (I’m a university student) I have no problems doing my fasts (Eat Stop Eat), and saying no to temptations. But I also find it “rude” to say no to my mom when I’m visiting my parents, and she’s made lasagna or something she knows I like very much.

    The consequence for me has been to do my 2 fasts during the week days from monday ’till friday, and then not worry about it in the weekends.

    The most difficult thing I find in doing Eat Stop Eat is the social accept or lack thereof. I mean I know I’m doing the best I can, and Eat Stop Eat is by far the easiest way to sustain a low fat % while also being able to enjoy food. But every time people ask me why I don’t eat on some days, they act like I’m an idiot and tell me how unhealthy it is to skip meals. Now I’m a confident person, but it does get to you some days if you’re having a bad fast for instance. I really wish I had a background like John Barban or Brad Pilon those days so I had more “authority” when discussing. But I’m just a regular guy fasting 2 a week and working out. And I guess with the “mass media food fact science” that it so integrated in people’s beliefs, it’s difficult to change it.

    My reply became a little longer than expected. But the point is I also find the social aspect of fasting the most difficult as both Charlie and John Barban wrote above.

    C.

  24. johnbarban Says:
    August 17th, 2009 at 6:39 am

    Claus,

    The social aspect you’re talking of is a bit of a trick to overcome.

    Fasting is perfectly safe and healthy. Anyone who says it isn’t is showing their lack of knowledge in human physiology.

    But getting into an argument over it wouldn’t be all that useful or productive either. I suppose you could just say that ESE is a fully referenced book and that you feel healthy doing it.

    If it is someone you trust and that you could get into a real debate with you could simply ask them to point you to the research that supports their claim about skipping meal not being healthy. Or get them to read ESE and provide the research that actually counters the research presented in ese.

    This might come across as adversarial so I would only do this with someone who is open to learning. This might take some work, but educating them is the only way to get them to support you over the long term.

    JB

  25. Anders F. Says:
    August 17th, 2009 at 3:51 pm

    @johnbarban

    Hey John, will you write a new post summing up the experience? If you had a good experience I might want to try it myself.

  26. Joshua Says:
    August 17th, 2009 at 9:52 pm

    I think that the first seven pounds was probably a lack of fecal matter and a little water loss…however, after the refeed this is not the case and most weight loss is water and fat loss.

  27. johnbarban Says:
    August 17th, 2009 at 10:04 pm

    I seem to have leveled off around 210

    So after the refeed my weight fluctuates daily between 208-212

    So overall it was intersting, but probably not worth doing a full 72 hours. I felt great at 48 hours, but 72 hours was getting kinda boring.

    John

  28. Chris Says:
    August 19th, 2009 at 5:41 pm

    At the start you recorded your weight at 217.2
    So apparently you lost 7 pounds in 3 days!!

    That is pretty insane.

  29. johnbarban Says:
    August 28th, 2009 at 8:13 pm

    @Chris

    right now I fluctuate between 206lbs-208lbs.

    Will do another 48 hour fast next week and let you know how that goes.

    JB

  30. Oliver R Says:
    November 19th, 2009 at 8:15 am

    If you are 6ft and over 200ib I reckon that still puts you on the overweight bracket (though not obese) — what do you attribute that to, if you are doing all the ESE fasting etc — or are you very muscular? Or do you actually love to eat, and eat an amount of calories that would make you obese if you weren’t doing this stuff?

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