The fasting journal · matched to fast day 18
Day 18. Why the Scale Barely Moved Today
Eighteen days without food and today the scale gave John almost nothing back.
25.8 pounds in 18 days but only 0.2 today
The scale said 202.8 this morning. Started at 228.6, so that is 25.8 pounds gone in 18 days, 11.3 percent of my starting weight. But today’s drop was 0.2 pounds. The smallest one yet.
I will be honest with you, it is kind of upsetting. I was hoping to lose more. But that is just it. It will fluctuate, how much you lose on a day to day basis. There is no science to it really. Your body is gonna do what it needs to do on a daily basis.
What a 0.2 pound day actually means
Look at the pattern from this fast so far. Day 2 dropped 4.4 pounds. Day 10 dropped 0.7. Day 11 dropped 1.5. Yesterday 0.7, today 0.2. Nothing changed in what I am doing, water, electrolytes, a little salt and no food at all.
That swing is not fat appearing and disappearing. It is water. The body holds and releases fluid all day long depending on sodium, on hydration, on activity and the scale cannot tell the difference between a pound of water and a pound of fat. On a full fast the fat burning side never gets a day off, there is nothing coming in, so the furnace runs around the clock. The scale just reports it on its own schedule.
The ketone log came back with the same number it has held since day 8. Body fat percent is down from 42.3 to 35.2 since day 1, muscle percent up from 34.5 to 36.3 on the home scale. The trend is doing its job, today was just a quiet day at the weigh in.
Waking up tired and managing activity
I did wake up a little bit tired today. I do not think it had anything to do with the electrolytes or with the water I am taking. I was just a little bit more active yesterday than I normally would be.
And I gotta control those levels of activity and make sure they do not come back and haunt me the next day. That is one of the honest trade offs of a long fast. The energy is real, I have said that on camera plenty of times now but the recovery tank is smaller than it used to be. An extra active day shows up the next morning, so the plan is to keep the movement steady instead of spiky. Walking, stretching, errands and nothing that writes a check my body has to cash tomorrow.
Day 18 done
Eighteen X marks on the calendar. Two tenths of a pound is still a pound every five days and the month is not done with me yet. That being said, I am gonna let you guys go. You have a nice day and I will see you next time.
This is a doctor supervised fast with baseline bloodwork on record. Do not attempt an extended fast without medical supervision. John built up to this over 15 years of shorter fasts.
Quick answers
How much weight do you lose per day on a water fast?
Less each week and never in a straight line. John's first days dropped 4.4 and 4.2 pounds, mostly water and glycogen leaving. By week two the average settled near a pound a day and on day 18 he lost just 0.2. Total so far is 25.8 pounds in 18 days, about 1.4 pounds a day averaged out. The daily number is noisy because water shifts dwarf fat loss on any single day. The weekly trend is the honest number and his is still moving down.
Why does weight fluctuate so much from day to day while fasting?
Because the scale weighs everything, not just fat. Water is the big mover. Sodium and electrolyte intake, how much you drank and when, activity the day before and normal fluid balance shifts can hide or exaggerate a day of fat loss. John started salt and electrolytes in week two and watched a two pound night become a 0.2 pound night days later with nothing else changed. His words this morning, it will fluctuate, your body is gonna do what it needs to do on a daily basis. The fluid side of this is real physiology, the body regulates its water constantly.
Does a slow scale day mean the fast stopped working?
No. Fat loss on a full fast runs continuously because the body has no incoming calories, it has to burn stored fuel every hour of the day. What stalls is the water side of the scale. A day of fluid retention can flatten or even raise the number while fat still burns underneath. John's ketone log shows the same reading it has held since day 8, the fat burning marker has not budged. The fix is patience, not changing anything. On a 90 day timeline, one quiet scale day is noise.
How much weight has John lost in 18 days?
25.8 pounds in 18 days, from 228.6 down to 202.8, which is 11.3 percent of his starting body weight. Body fat percent has moved from 42.3 to 35.2 since day 1 while muscle percent went from 34.5 to 36.3 on his home scale. Every daily reading is published on the bloodwork page and the fast runs with baseline labs and doctor supervision.