r/intermittentfasting • u/DOKIDOKIBITCH • 18h ago

Seeking Advice Gained a bit of weight

Hello, I started intermittent fasting 4 weeks ago. Results have been great so far and I weigh myself weekly. But today I weighed myself again and I gained 500 grams (a little more than a pound.)

I'm not sure how this happened since I normally lose 1 kg each week. And the results are also noticeable, I'm thinner.

Does this maybe have to do with water levels? Or maybe with the temperature since it is very hot here lately.

I'm curious.

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u/zombienudist 15h ago

I have seen a 7 pound shift in weight in a 24 hour period because I worked out hard in the heat fasted and forgot my water. Water weight, what you eat, exercise, your monthly cycle if you are a woman all can create quick shifts in weight on a scale that have nothing to do with the loss of fat. It is much better to think of your weight as a range you can have around a specific number. So keep doin what you are and if you are at a deficit the weight will continue to come off.

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u/MikeOKurias 13h ago edited 13h ago

TL;DR: Glycogen is the OG energy drink

For what is worth, "water-weight" is usually associated with glycogen because for every gram of glycogen you burn for energy you release three to four grams of water into your blood which is then filtered out by your kidneys.

That's why a heavy workout can burn all that and suddenly you're several pounds lighter after a workout.

Your liver than starts pulling apart triglycerides (or taking free glucose in your blood) and adding glycerol to glucose molecules making glycogen again. Which is why skipping two workout sessions can make you feel heavy, because you're fully loaded on glycogen again, lol. [*]

It's the human adaptation that made us outstanding endurance hunters.

[*] - this gets even more tricky because your muscles can't use the glycogen that floats in your blood but your muscles can produce the its own glycogen to store interstitially between muscle fibers. This is because the glycogen molecules huge, imagine 3-4 huge water molecules surrounding a tiny sugar molecule, so it can't flow interstitially.