I Am Dead Serious and On This Day Eleven. I Hereby Commit to Completing 30 to 45 Days of Water Fasting!

by Robert Buran
(Reno Nevada)

One of the readers wanted to know if fasting weight loss was real, was it noticeable and was it really possible to lose a pound a day?

Regarding fasting weight loss being noticeable I am again posting before and after pictures of myself. However, I hope to soon revise that after picture.

After losing 50 pounds with periodic fasting I suffered a set back of a ten to fifteen pound weight gain. I did not go on a cruise or even enjoy some good meals in restaurants.

I gained 10 to 15 pounds nibbling on goldfish, saltine crackers and my son’s macaroni and cheese. But I am now correcting that and am in the eleventh day of water fasting.

On the scales I show a 9 pound loss. 9 pounds in 11 days is shy of one pound a day, but it is close. Historically I have lost about a pound a day when I have fasted.

I should hit my previous weight low (50 pounds off my high) next week, but I am in it this time for the long haul and I am committing to going for 30 or even 45 days. For some reason it is going really smooth and easy this time. The more you fast the easier it gets.

I have even lowered my goal weight from 170 pounds to 155 pounds which means I am, starting with my fat picture high of 255 pounds, seeking to lose 100 pounds total. But I am not planning on getting there this time around even if go to 45 days.

Curiously I ran the Boston Marathon, 30 years ago, in 1975, in 2:50:58, weighing exactly 155 pounds. Back then I thought I was fat when I hit 165! I cannot run or jog now, but who knows what I might be able to do if I weighed 155 again.

But back to the question of losing one pound a day. If you want to do the math you can actually figure what your real weight loss should be.

First calculate how many calories you are actually burning. For an absolutely sedentary person use this formula: 655 + (4.3 x weight in lbs) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age) = ____ calories.

When I plug in the numbers I come up with about 1600 calories and then when I add about 500 calories for 90 minutes of daily walking I get my figure to about 2100 calories per day that I burn.

Now consider the constant: 3500 calories = one pound of baby fat!

Therefore if I consume no calories, in theory, I should lose about a half pound a day fasting.

But the scales will most likely show a greater loss that that because you will lose 5 to 10 pounds clearing out your intestines (this may take longer than you think) and you will also lose some water because your body is not taking in any sodium that can cause water retention.

But regardless fasting almost always results in rapid weight loss. It can be very rewarding for that reason and it can also make you feel very good after you get through the shock of the first few days. Right now I am mildly euphoric (and a bit brazen) at day 11.

I am 72 inches tall and I am presently about 210 pounds off a high of 255. I would like to see the low 190s or even the 180s before I pull up this time.

But to avoid disappointments and setbacks I am currently spending a lot of time planning exactly what and how much I am going to eat when I do resume eating. Although I do not agree with everything they say I am very interested in what the calorie restriction, CR, folks have to say.

I will most certainly write further regarding my research and my ongoing experiment of one when the time comes. And like I say I will look forward to submitting a revised after picture.

I do not want to have to lose 100 pounds again and the reality is that I need to train myself not only to fast, but to eat very lightly all the time.

But right now while in a total fasting state the thought of resuming eating by consuming, say only 1200 calories a day, sounds like a feast! That is another good reason to fast periodically. Fasting promotes psychiatric clarity and makes the impossible seem possible.

As you can see I make no effort to conceal my identity. Feel free to contact me at my personal e-mail address for comments and encouragement: bobburan@juno.com