The fasting journal · matched to fast day 13
Day 13. Ten Percent Of Me Is Gone, And How Much Salt I Actually Take
Thirteen days without food. 23 pounds gone. That is ten percent of me, walked off a hill in San Diego.
23 pounds in 13 days
The scale said 205.6 this morning. We started at 228.6, so that is 23 pounds in thirteen days, another 0.7 since yesterday. And it puts me past a line I have been watching for a few days now. Ten percent of my starting body weight is gone.
My clothes is fitting a lot better. That is the change you feel before any chart shows it. The waistband tells you before the scale does.
The quiet numbers keep doing their thing. Body fat percent is down from 42.3 on day one to 36.0 today. Muscle percent is up from 34.5 at the start to 36.0 now, still climbing. Every reading lives on the bloodwork page.
How do I feel? I feel good.
The salt woke me up
However. I did wake up last night having to go to the bathroom.
That probably had something to do with me adding salt and electrolytes into my diet yesterday. Sodium holds water. My body retained some of that water during the day and then it wanted to release it late at night. So this will happen. I will have to adjust that, probably by keeping the salt glass earlier in the day so everything moves through before bedtime.
That is what week two looks like. You change one small thing and the body answers within a day. You listen, you adjust, you keep going.
How much salt am I taking? Not that much
The DMs keep asking the same question, so here is the exact answer. Less than a third of a teaspoon a day. For now.
I mix it into my water together with my electrolytes and I have one glass a day, in the middle of the day. That is the whole routine. As we go forward I will be adjusting it based on how I feel and what the doctor visits and bloodwork say.
Remember the context. On a water only fast there is zero sodium coming in from food. That one glass is my entire daily intake and before day 12 I was running on nothing at all.
The ketone strip is still parked at the top of the chart, where it has lived since day 8. Deep in fat burning, nothing new to report there. That is exactly how I want that line to read.
Day 13 done
Thirteen X marks on the calendar. Ten percent of me gone, clothes fitting looser, one small salt lesson learned and one adjustment coming.
That being said, I am gonna let you go. Have a good day and I will see you next time. Cheers.
Quick answers
How much salt do you take on a water fast?
John's current amount is less than a third of a teaspoon a day. He mixes it into one glass of water together with electrolytes and drinks it once a day, in the middle of the day. He started it on day 12 after feeling a little dehydrated in the evenings and he expects to adjust the amount as the fast goes on. His fast is doctor supervised with monthly bloodwork, which is the safety net behind changes like this. On a water only fast there is zero sodium coming in from food, so what he adds in that one glass is his entire daily intake.
Why does salt make you wake up at night on a water fast?
Sodium holds water. When John added salt and electrolytes to his routine on day 12, his body retained some of that water and then released it late at night, which meant waking up to use the bathroom. Nothing was wrong. It is the normal fluid shift that comes with changing salt intake and the fix is timing. He drinks the salt and electrolyte glass in the middle of the day and will keep adjusting so the water moves through before bedtime.
How much weight can you lose in 13 days of water fasting?
John's number is 23 pounds in 13 days, from 228.6 down to 205.6. That is just past ten percent of his starting body weight. The early days dropped 2 to 4 pounds each and the pace has now settled to just under a pound a day. Body fat percent has fallen from 42.3 on day one to 36.0 today, while muscle percent climbed from 34.5 to 36.0. Every daily reading lives on the bloodwork page.
What changes when you lose ten percent of your body weight?
For John the first change is the simplest one, his clothes are fitting a lot better on day 13. The composition numbers behind it matter more. His body fat percent is down more than six points since day one while the muscle share of his weight has gone up, so the ten percent he lost is coming heavily from fat. He also reports feeling good, with steady energy. His ketone strip still reads at the top of the chart, where it has been since day 8.