Clearly not eating for this long means your body will be dipping into its fat reserves, resulting in weight loss. But people claim a range of other benefits, including improvements to your immune system, giving your digestive tract a break, better blood-sugar regulation and reduction in inflammation.
Some people who try the fasting diet for 3 days do it as a way to lose weight. While people do lose weight, it is important to note that the weight loss is water weight and not fat loss. Research has shown a positive correlation between increased water consumption and weight loss.
The 3-Day Diet claims dieters can lose up to 10 pounds in three days. Weight loss is possible on The 3 Day Diet, but only because it is very low in calories. And realistically, most of that weight is likely water weight and not fat loss because the diet is so low in carbohydrates.
*A note about weight loss on a 3-day fast: On average, 0.5 lbs. of fat will be lost per day during fasting. One pound of fat is 3,500 calories, which is about double the number of calories you likely burn on a typical day (perhaps closer to 1 lb.
Aside from weight loss, additional 72 hour fast benefits include reducing oxidative stress and chronic inflammation, decreasing LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and triglycerides levels, promoting autophagy (cell cleanup) and cellular health, boosting the secretion of human growth hormone (HGH), improving blood sugar regulation ...
Longer periods without food, such as 24-, 36-, 48- and 72-hour fasting periods, are not necessarily better for you, and may be dangerous. Going too long without eating might actually encourage your body to start storing more fat in response to starvation.
3.1.
Water fasting helps you lose weight quickly. According to studies, you can lose 0.9 kg per day by drinking water in 24 to 72 hours. However, this loss of body mass is only from water, carbs and even muscle mass, not fat.
One of the only ways to lose weight in 3 days is by losing water weight. Start by limiting your sodium intake to 1-1.5 grams per day, and avoid canned or prepackaged food. Then, drink at least 1 gallon of water each day, adding some lemon to act as a diuretic.
Once the 3 day water fast begins, you will drink only water (and potentially herbal tea or black coffee if you choose) for a full 72 hours. You cannot eat any caloric food or beverages, and most people avoid all artificial sweeteners as well.
The 72-h fasting induced significant decreases in glucose level, body weight, and an increase of ketone bodies that confirmed successful fasting of the volunteers. In addition, the median of BDI-2 increased significantly (4 vs. 7, p = 0.006).
If you normally exercise, or even if you don't, you can still do it during fasting. Whether you fast for 24 hours or 24 days, you can still exercise.
Since your body has been without food for so long, it may not be used to producing the digestive enzymes you need to properly break your food down. Try some bone broth soup and well-cooked vegetables as the first meal after a long fast. Another idea is to sip on some broth for an hour, then eat a small first meal.
In fact, trying to lose 5 kg in one week is generally not realistic or healthy. Rapid weight loss can lead to muscle loss, nutrient deficiencies, and other negative health effects. Additionally, most of the weight lost during rapid weight loss is often water weight or muscle mass rather than body fat.
So, is the diet really effective? If Facebook user Piyu Roy is to believed then the answer would be, yes. As per a recent post by Roy, she resorted to the military diet and lost almost four kilos by the end of its third day! That's right.
A 72-hour fast, or fasting for three consecutive days without any food intake, can help your body enter a state of ketosis. Ketosis is a metabolic state in which your body burns stored fat for energy instead of glucose from carbohydrates.
Fasting deprives the body of the fuel it needs, so expect to feel tired and low on energy. A lack of food can also make people feel dizzy, weak, or nauseous, and if these symptoms are particularly bad, it is important to eat something.
Fasting will boost your metabolism. This study showed that healthy men increased their metabolism by a whopping 14% by performing a 3-day fast. It's thought that the increased metabolism during fasting might be due to the increase in the production of norepinephrine which is a hormone that promotes burning fat.
Many medical experts agree that a one-day fast can feel great. But extending beyond three days can begin to cause harm, especially if you have other medical conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease. “A fast longer than a day or two can deplete vitamins, minerals and electrolytes,” Dr. Hopkins says.
So if you do a 5-day fast, you might only burn 1.5 pounds of fat. And since average human weighs 137 pounds and has about 25% body fat, they have 34 pounds of fat to burn, meaning they'd only lose 4.4% of their body fat in a 5-day fast. The huge potential weight-loss benefits are long-term.
Some studies showed a weight loss of around 4–6kg within the first week alone. This is not all fat, however, as the weight loss also contains water and muscle glycogen. Still, it's a great way to kick-start your diet.