If You Stop Eating Will You Lose Weight?

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I got an email the other day from someone who wanted to know, “If you stop eating, will you lose weight?”  I’ve actually had quite a few people ask me that in the past so I decided to write a page about it.  Let me first start by saying that it’s a bad idea to try and “fast” to lose weight.  Now, let’s start talking about why this is one of the worst ways to try and lose weight.

No.  If you stop eating you will not burn fat.  Fasting or putting yourself through a “famine” will result in weight loss.  It’s inevitable.  But it’s not the kind of weight loss that you want.  Sure you’re going to weigh less but it really isn’t going to make you look or feel better.  The weight that you lose when you don’t eat is water weight.  What you lose when you starve yourself is really just excess fluid.  What’s worse is that as soon as you start eating the same way as before you’ll gain EVERYTHING back that you lost (and sometimes a lot more).

How Much Weight Will You Lose?

You may lose 5 to 7 pounds but as I said before, it’s going to be all water weight.  What’s worse is that after you lose water weight, if you continue to starve yourself, you’re going to lose muscle mass.  Now this does constitute as weight loss but the problem you’re going to have is that you need muscles to burn calories.   So essentially when you starve yourself you’re going to rid your body of the biggest calorie burning function you have.

What About Belly Fat?

It depends.  People lose weight in different ways.  I can say for sure that if you try to do it by starving yourself then you’re in for some major disappointing results.   On top of the fact that you only lose water weight and muscle mass, your metabolism also slows down.  Think about that.  You lose muscle that burns calories and your metabolism slows down – your metabolism being the rate at which  your body burns the calories and fat.  To make matters even worse is that when your metabolism slows WAY down, you will no longer lose weight regardless of what you do and then when you start eating again, you’ll gain a very large amount of weight right back. Try out foods for burning belly fat.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that your body needs the nutrients you receive from food.  It’s that simple.  If you don’t provide the nutrients then your body shuts down and not only will you not “lose weight” like you want, you may end up making yourself very sick.  You need to lose weight by burning calories with exercise and eating a sensible diet.  There are ways to eat like a King and still lose weight.  There are many diets online like the Dean Ornish Diet that are helpful.

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6 Comments

1. 

   Reiko Banks

   February 7, 2012 at 5:18 pm

   Excellent instruction and recommendations. Looking ahead to burn a few extra pounds. I’ll deliver some opinions just after i try this. With thanks!

   Reply
2. 

   Donte Small

   February 7, 2012 at 5:52 pm

   Awesome instruction and points. Looking forward to get rid of a few bodyweight. I’ll present some remarks just after i try this. Bless you!

   Reply
3. 

   Lee

   May 26, 2012 at 3:35 pm

   Thanks! I read a lot about water fasting and how it is supposed to be terrific for you and tried it for a week last month. I was incredibly disappointed that all of the weight that I lost came back in a day! Ha! Won’t be trying that again and now I know why. Thanks and wish I had read this earlier.

   Reply
   • 

     Admin

     May 26, 2012 at 7:19 pm

     Hey Lee,

     Fasting will make you lose weight, but as you said, you will regain the weight you lost very quickly. And also, a lot of people will gain MORE weight back than they originally lost. It’s much better to just eat a healthy and balanced diet and get plenty of exercise. Thanks for the comment!

     -Sara

     Reply
     • 

       BayLee

       August 30, 2012 at 7:13 pm

       well i don’t want to stop eating because that would be stupid but i excercise pretty good but I still don’t lose any weight what do you think could help me??

       Reply
       • 

         Sara

         September 3, 2012 at 7:30 pm

         Hey BayLee,

         You don’t have to stop eating. You can CHANGE what you eat, however. Try eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, lean meats, etc. Cut out any and all fast food, processed foods, sugary drinks, etc. If you eat this way you’ll lose weight quickly and naturally.

         -Sara

         Reply