The FastDay Forum

Hello everyone!

I have a question about my initial weight loss. Since starting the 5:2 diet a few days ago i have apparently lost 1.85kg. Now this strikes me as quite a lot of weight loss for just a few days. On my fancy scales it tells me my fat % as well as water and muscle. I've kept a note of all of them and it appears that only the fat % is going down, with the water % going up and muscle staying constant ( which makes sense as i haven't being doing anything to build muscle)

So is that right can i be loosing that much weight and small percentage of fat in a few days while my water percentage is going up, which would lead me to believe that it is in fact fat loss rather than "water weight loss" which is counter to everything i've ever been taught about dieting.

Can anyone help me unravel this?

Thanks!

I spoke to a friend of mine who is a GP, and he was basically saying (I am not a scientist) that the water weight is what goes initially. It is something to do with carbohydrate metabolism (I think), and as a consequence you pee a lot. This is certainly my experience, first of all on this woe, as well as others, such as Weight Watchers etc, that I pee a lot (sorry if this is tmi). Might be worth thing about if you are in the loo lots, then it is more likely to be water. This is a very unscientific tuppenceworth!

As I understand it, one pound of fat is 3500 calories, and so you need a calorie deficit of that amount to lose 1 pound of fat. Any other weight change is likely to be water

My scale measures fat/water/muscle too. All three numbers bounced around a lot when I first started 5:2. Up and down, up and down. They still do to some extent 3 months in to this WoE. Over the long term the trend is for fat% and weight to go down and muscle to remain constant. I think you should track the numbers for a couple of weeks.

I'm assuming your scales are like mine and work by sending an electric current thru the body and measuring conductivity. It's not the most accurate way to measure body fat and muscle. My guess is that part of why we see the numbers seem to make impossible changes in either direction has to do with them being approximations complicated by the our dieting and having those substances being in the midst of change.

At any rate, don't take your scales numbers too seriously. It's not giving you info that you can say with absolute certainty is correct.

Hi and welcome.

It is both water loss and a reduction in bowel contents (you are eating less so less food weight {not cal.} in).

Here is information on what you might reasonably expect to lose following 5:2: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6600

Here are some tips for someone just starting 5:2: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6317

Enjoy the ride!

Answers to these questions are in the fast diet book. I need some motivation as after an initial 5lb weight loss nothing is happening. Help. I feel disheartened.

Hi KMS - don't be disheartened, this forum is full of people saying more or less the same thing. I've been on the 5:2 for 2 months and have only actually lost about 3lbs, and even that didn't come until 5 or 6 weeks in! BUT although initially I was disappointed and a bit impatient I have lost inches off my waist and hips and my clothes are seriously starting to drop off me. Don't be a slave to the scales, go by how your clothes are feeling, you will definitely notice a difference if you stick with it.

Answers to these questions are in the fast diet book. I need some motivation as after an initial 5lb weight loss nothing is happening. Help. I feel disheartened.

Your body is currently trading the water weight you initially lost for fat weight you are losing via 5:2 (ie. adding water, losing fat). When the process is complete, you will start losing weight again. It just takes time. These might help: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6317
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6491