Even if you have struggled to lose weight for years, you shouldn’t attempt to recreate the experiment that the sports scientist and writer Ross Edgley did. Even though this method can be tempting to try, you should know that it can also be harmful to your body.
Edgley decided to prove that it is really possible to lose 10kgs (22lbs) in 24 hours, but his mission was to emphasize that our diet and self-confidence should not be suppressed by the number we see when we step on the scale. In any case, there was a real battle going on against the scale during those 24 hours.
In his blog post for the “Huffington Post” Ross wrote: “Many people are slaves to the scale and I hope that this experiment will create a healthier relationship between people and their scales, so people will finally realize that variations in weight depend on many factors, not just fat”.
The Diet, the training and diuretics
During the 24 hours, Edgley has given up carbohydrates, salt and liquids entirely and spent the whole day working out in special clothes that helped him sweat. He also used the sauna, as well as special salt baths to help him further draw fluids from his body.
“More than 50% of our body is composed of water. Therefore, theoretically speaking, of my 95 kilograms, about 47.5 kilograms are water, “ said Edgley, once again emphasizing how dangerous his experiment was : ” Water is essential for normal functioning of vital organs, therefore, the intake of enough water is of paramount meaning. “
During this official one-day challenge Edgley used natural diuretics such as vitamin C, dandelion root and caffeine, in order to encourage his body to further flush fluids. And although he only drank about 100 milliliters of water during the day, he used the toilet 20 times.
The Weight Came Back in only two hours
Edgley again stressed that this is not healthy, nor a recommended diet … it is simply an experiment, and everyone should be extremely careful with the use of diuretics, “Do not start on such experiments unless you are familiar with the functioning of a certain diuretic because it can cause serious health problems, ” warned Edgley.
He added that during the 24 hours he had lost 10 kg or 22 lbs, but the wight loss did not come from lost fat, but the loss of body fluids, and the lost weight returned in only two hours after the experiment stopped.
Finally he reminded that this was a method that boxers and MMA fighters use to lose weight fast, before a fight.