What Came Back After My 7-Day Water Fast? (Fat, Muscle, or Just Water)
So I didn’t eat for 7 days… and then I started eating again.
What came back? Fat? Muscle? Water weight? My appetite for croissants? Let’s break it all down. And trust me, the numbers are more interesting than you’d think.
💥 Quick Recap: What I Lost During the Fast
In my last post, I walked you through my 7-day water fast. Over that week, I dropped 11.6 pounds (5.3 kg). That included:
Fat mass: down 4.6 pounds (2.1 kg)
Lean tissue: down 7.1 pounds (3.2 kg)
Now it’s time to talk about what came back during the refeed.
🍽️ The Refeed Week: What Happened
I started eating again on Day 8. I kept it clean and simple: small portions, cruciferous veggies, soups, probiotics, and no junk. My digestion handled it like a champ. No bloating, no cramps, no bathroom emergencies.
By the end of the refeed week, I was back up to 157.2 pounds (71.3 kg). That’s a gain of 6.7 pounds (3 kg). But here’s the thing: most of that weight isn’t fat.
Fat: went from 16.8 to 17.3 lbs (+0.5 lbs / 0.2 kg)
Lean tissue: went from 126.5 to 132.8 lbs (+6.3 lbs / 2.9 kg)
Bone mass: steady at ~7.0 lbs (DEXA scan noise likely)
In short: most of the fat loss stayed off. Lean mass (mostly water and glycogen) bounced back fast. This is a good thing.
🔬 Metabolic Markers: Back to Sugar Mode
Ketones started Day 8 at 4.8 mmol/L but dropped fast:
3.1 → 1.1 → 1.4 →0.8 → 0.6 mmol/L
Why? Carbs and insulin turned ketone production off. Totally normal.
Glucose told the same story:
Day 7 ended at 68 mg/dL
Post-refeed peak: 134 mg/dL (thanks, carrot juice...)
Then it gradually dropped to mid-90s
GKI (Glucose-Ketone Index):
During fast: < 1 (deep ketosis)
After refeed: spiked to 20.9, then stabilized around 15
So yes, ketosis ended quickly, but that’s expected. It’s a flexible metabolic state, not a permanent one.
💓 Recovery Markers: Did My Body Bounce Back?
HRV (Heart Rate Variability):
During fast: dropped as low as 18 ms
Post-refeed: bounced back to 50–54 ms
Resting Heart Rate (RHR):
During fast: increased
After refeed: dropped to 43–45 bpm — lower than before the fast
Sleep Score:
During fast: rough, low 60s
After refeed: much better, some nights hit 80+
Respiratory Rate:
Normalized quickly, back to ~12.9/min
🧪 Tools I Used to Track the Journey
If you're curious about tracking your own fasts, here’s what I used:
KETO-MOJO Strips – Amazon link
A1cNow Self-Check Kit – Amazon link
📺 Watch the Full Video
If you haven’t seen the video yet — it breaks this all down with charts, graphs, and a bit of humor.
✅ Final Takeaways
Weight came back, but mostly water and glycogen
Fat gain? Just 0.5 lbs
Muscle? Rehydrated and already recovering
Digestion? Smooth
Sleep and HRV? Improved
Energy? Better than before
Would I do it again? Absolutely. But next time I’ll add strength training sooner to preserve lean mass.
Like this post? Check out the tools I used, subscribe for more health experiments, and stay tuned for what’s next on Practical Health.