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There's more than fat and water that could compromise Woo's 12 pound difference. - Glycogen (stored glucose in your muscles/liver) is depleted - Muscle breakdo

There's more than fat and water that could compromise Woo's 12 pound difference. - Glycogen (stored glucose in your muscles/liver) is depleted - Muscle breakdown may occur (gluconeogenesis-converting amino acids to glucose) Glycogen is also a multiplier as it draws water into muscles. Less glycogen means less water.

cperciva 9y ago
Sure, at the start some of the weight loss will be glycogen, and later some of it will be protein. Those aren't as energy dense as fat, but they still have a significant caloric content. The point remains: If you're losing more than 1 lbs/day and you're not running an ultramarathon (or equivalent), you're almost certainly getting dehydrated.
- dpark 9y ago
  Glycogen storage causes significant water storage. If you deplete your glycogen, you'll lose a significant amount of water weight. This is why people lose so much when they first start dieting. 12 pounds in a week of a real fast seems reasonable for someone who weighs 170. Call it 4 pounds of fat and 8 pounds of glycogen and water.
- rhinoceraptor 9y ago
  You can account for 12 pounds weight loss in a week without much dehydration. Let's say he burns 2500 calories a day, or 17500 in a week. If he has 500g of glycogen, subtract 4 calories/gram and we're left with 15500 calories. He's already lost 500g from the glycogen, and somewhere around 2000g from the water storing the glycogen, so he's down about 5.5 pounds. If the other 15500 calories are from fat, at 3500 calories per pound, he would lose about 4.5 pounds, for a total of about 11 pounds.
  - cperciva 9y ago
    12 lbs = 5450 g. 500 g of that could be glycogen, stored along with 1500 g of water. That's 2000 Calories and 2000 g in total. If the remaining 3450 g is fat, it would be 31000 Calories, for a total of 33000 Calories, or 4700 Calories/day over the week. Not a reasonable amount! Taking your 2500 Calorie/day value, I get about 1700 g of unexplained weight loss.

cperciva 9y ago

Sure, at the start some of the weight loss will be glycogen, and later some of it will be protein. Those aren't as energy dense as fat, but they still have a significant caloric content. The point remains: If you're losing more than 1 lbs/day and you're not running an ultramarathon (or equivalent), you're almost certainly getting dehydrated.

dpark 9y ago
Glycogen storage causes significant water storage. If you deplete your glycogen, you'll lose a significant amount of water weight. This is why people lose so much when they first start dieting. 12 pounds in a week of a real fast seems reasonable for someone who weighs 170. Call it 4 pounds of fat and 8 pounds of glycogen and water.
rhinoceraptor 9y ago
You can account for 12 pounds weight loss in a week without much dehydration. Let's say he burns 2500 calories a day, or 17500 in a week. If he has 500g of glycogen, subtract 4 calories/gram and we're left with 15500 calories. He's already lost 500g from the glycogen, and somewhere around 2000g from the water storing the glycogen, so he's down about 5.5 pounds. If the other 15500 calories are from fat, at 3500 calories per pound, he would lose about 4.5 pounds, for a total of about 11 pounds.
- cperciva 9y ago
  12 lbs = 5450 g. 500 g of that could be glycogen, stored along with 1500 g of water. That's 2000 Calories and 2000 g in total. If the remaining 3450 g is fat, it would be 31000 Calories, for a total of 33000 Calories, or 4700 Calories/day over the week. Not a reasonable amount! Taking your 2500 Calorie/day value, I get about 1700 g of unexplained weight loss.