How much muscle will I lose in a 21 day water fast? (14 lbs overweight from healthiest weight)
During a water fast, how much muscle mass can you lose?
The majority of individuals in the water-fasting community are unaware of how much muscle mass may be lost during a water fast.
At best, they can tell you that our bodies are quite good at maintaining muscle mass during a water fast. However, I have yet to encounter someone aware of the actual figures.
To clear up this misunderstanding, I used contemporary science in my post. If you read it all the way through, you'll have a good idea of how much muscle mass you'll lose on a water fast (depending on how long you intend to fast).
But first, let me explain why we lose muscle mass when we go on a water fast in the first place.
Why do we lose muscle mass when we go on a water fast?
Some animals, such as bears hibernating in the winter, can go for lengthy periods of time without eating. And the astonishing part is that they can do so without losing any muscle mass.
Humans, on the other hand, lose a lot of muscular mass when they are hungry. To put it another way, our brains require some particular "brain fuel" in order to survive.
Our bodies have no option but to start burning part of our "structural protein" during a water fast because we aren't consuming anything (to keep powering our hyper-intelligent brain).
Because structural proteins are the most fundamental building blocks of your muscles, water fast will almost certainly cause you to lose muscle mass.
It would be beyond the scope of this post to go into great depth on all of this. So let's look at how much structural protein you may anticipate losing on water fast.
Water fast causes a daily loss of structural protein.
They assessed the quantity of protein obese persons lost after a 21-day water fast in one starvation trial.
The loss of structural protein was greatest on the first day of the water fast (the first bar on the left) (69 grams).
The loss of structural proteins was decreased by about 80% by the conclusion of the 21-day fast (the final bar on the right) (to 15 grams).
This demonstrates how effectively our bodies can adapt to hunger. Your body slows down the breakdown of your critical bodily mass in order to keep you alive as long as feasible.
However, you'll lose far more muscle mass than this little quantity of structural protein in the long run.
Why?
Because only approximately 20% of your muscle tissue is comprised of protein, while the rest is made up of water.
A 21-day water fast results in a complete loss of muscular mass.
Depending on how long you plan to fast, this chart indicates how much total essential body mass you may anticipate losing (in pounds).
The chart can inform you that if you fast for 6 days (bottom axis), you may lose a bit more than 6 pounds of essential body mass (left axis).
A 13-day water fast may cause you to lose a little more than 10 pounds of essential body mass, while a 21-day water fast may cause you to lose a complete 13 pounds of vital body mass.
While this chart can help you estimate how much critical body mass you'll lose during a water fast, it can't tell you how much overall weight you'll drop.
I'm sure you've figured it out by now, but I'm not talking about muscle bulk anymore.
Instead, I keep referring to your "vital body mass," so let me briefly clarify the distinction.
You lose a lot more than simply muscle mass when you lose weight.
Things might become a little complicated when it comes to interpreting your ultimate weight reduction results following a water fast.
Take a look at all the different types of weight you'll lose if you decide to go on a water fast.
You will lose both your body fat and lean body mass at the maximum level (also called non-fat, or fat-free body mass).
Some of your sodium and glycogen-bound water weight, as well as some of your essential body mass, will be lost as lean body mass.
Finally, you will lose more than simply muscle mass when you lose critical body mass.
Because the portion of the protein that makes up your important body mass will originate from your critical organ tissue.
What's the biggest issue with damaging the fundamental building blocks of your muscles and essential organs?
Remember that your heart is the most essential muscle and critical organ in your body that might be harmed as a result of this.
I won't go into great depth here, but you can learn more about the health risks of water fasting here).
Let's take a look at some of the ways you may keep your crucial body mass when fasting.
How can I avoid losing muscle mass when fasting?
The most apparent way to avoid losing critical body mass during a fast is to avoid doing one in the first place. If you're thinking about completing water fast for weight reduction, you might choose one of the many less restricted diets available.
Just keep in mind that not all weight reduction regimens are geared to safeguard your critical body mass.
If you still want to do a water fast, at the very least, check alternate day fasting, intermittent fasting, or even muscle-sparing fasting as safer alternatives to water fasting.
For example, muscle-sparing fasting may be done without any solid meals and can provide you with a “pure” sense of fasting (while still helping you avoid that unnecessary destruction of your vital body mass).
My objective in writing this post was to show you that water fasting isn't a fairy tale. Knowing that a 21-day water fast can result in the loss of up to 13 pounds of muscle mass and critical organ tissue, you should at least examine the alternatives.
Now I want to ask you for a tiny favor. If you know anybody who has ever done or has contemplated doing, water fast, please forward this information along to them.
Don't do it for the sake of me or even yourself. Do it for the sake of them and their safety.
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