Keto Questions: What is the “Whoosh Effect”?

Keto Questions: What Is the “Whoosh Effect”?

One of the stranger phenomenon that occurs when you are losing weight is the so-called “whoosh effect” that I really wish had a better or more scientific sounding name.

 It’s the name we give to a very common occurrence where you are eating right and doing everything you are supposed to do but no weight loss happens for several days and then all of a sudden, you lose 3-5 lbs in a single night.  

Over the course of the 200 lbs I have lost so far it has happened to me so many times that I rarely worry about it anymore, where in those early days it would absolutely mess with my head and convince me I was doing something wrong.

You might also like:  How I Lost Over 200 lbs. <— Just click here

What is Causing the Rapid Weight Loss in a “Whoosh”?

So what’s happening in the days leading up to a “whoosh”?  Here is our best guess because it does’t appear to be something that has been studied a whole lot.

As triglycerides that are in the fat cells are broken down into their component fatty acids and glycerol and moved out of the fat cells to fuel your body, your body begins to fill those fat cells with water.  

It’s not absolutely clear why this happens but the prevailing theory is that your body is trying to reach a state of homeostasis and keep your fat cells the same size they were in order to make refilling them with triglycerides easier.  

These cells will generally hold that water for a few days and then release it all at once.  You will usually find yourself heading to the bathroom multiple times over the course a few hours and find that you have dropped 3-5 lbs in one night.

While the fat cells are transitioning from mostly fat filled to more water filled, you will find that your adipose fat around your midsection will get “lumpy”, almost like soft marbles are under your skin.  

Then when the water is emptied, your fat tightens back up and the process starts all over again.  This is why when you are tracking your weight loss, it is not one smooth slope but almost a stair-step pattern as the weight comes off in bursts.

Can You Speed Up a “Whoosh”?

I have read several blogs that suggest that breaking your diet pattern can cause a “whoosh” to break, so either eating a high carb meal or a high calorie meal can spur one on.  

I say that you should absolutely not do either of these things because they will cause an insulin spike which will force fat to be stored back into the fat cells.  While this will absolutely force the water out and “tighten up” your fat cells, you are doing it at the expense of real fat loss.  What sense does that make?

Remember that while I understand that the number on the scale can be a big deal, you need to remember that we aren’t trying to lose weight as much as we are trying to lose fat.  It’s a subtle distinction but a crucial one.  

You have to be in this for the long haul and not be willing to break the long term benefits of being in ketosis for the short term gain of seeing the needle on the scale move south a bit.

So What Should You Do?  

Keep calm and keto on.  Stick with highly nutritious low-carb and high-fat meals that will nourish your body, keep you feeling well-fed, and keep you in a state of nutritional ketosis.  Stay the course and you will reap the benefits.

Keto Questions: What Is the "Whoosh Effect"?

Don’t miss a post! Click here to sign up for our daily email!

Need more info about the ketogenic diet? How about a great support group? Join our Ketogenic Facebook support group!

57 thoughts on “Keto Questions: What is the “Whoosh Effect”?

  • What about eating foods that have a natural diuretic effect? like asparagus for instance. Will this help?

  • Fat cells get bigger or smaller, they don’t disappear unless you have liposuction. When the fat cells shrink, the body holds on to body fluid around the fat cells to fill up the extra space, you will lose this fluid naturally over time (the blood stream will reabsorb this fluid and expel it through the elimination process). Just like if you were to have surgery and have an organ removed, the body fills that empty space, its like a response to an injury (that’s why people have drains put in after some surgeries, it prevents build up of interstitial fluid). Eating high calorie or drinking alcohol to induce the whoosh effect is counter productive. Keep up with safe and varied exercise along with a nutrient dense and varied diet, and the rest will take care of itself. A fit body is a life style, and a time table should not even be followed. It takes a long time for an extra 20, 30 or 40 pounds to be gained, so just know that it takes a long time to safely and effectively lose that weight. You’ll never have to worry about your weight again if you allow proper time to lose the excess weight!

    • I am just responding to your very first sentence..yes it’s true that your fat cells get bigger or smaller but they don’t disappear…BUT you said UNLESS you have liposuction which is not true..lipo just sucks out the fat it does not suck out your fat cells…you are born with x amount of fat cells and like you said they get bigger and smaller but never go away.

    • I can not give medical advice and you should discuss that with your Dr. All I can tell you is that I would never take a statin myself. I would recommend you read the book Cholesterol Clarity by Jimmy Moore. Excellent book that will help you make this decision.
      http://amzn.to/2uyRVZQ

  • This happened to me today. It was crazy! I bet I lost a bunch. Could not leave the house. Totally makes sense…your description. Lots of water and fat left the building. Lol! Had to google it…thought it was this whoosh people talked about. Thanks for explaining.

  • I just started Keto a few weeks ago. The first week I lost 10 lbs (I know this was water weight), but I had terrible back pain. So I upped my carbs and the back pain went away. However, this last week or so I am retaining water like crazy. My legs/ankles, feet, and hands are so swollen. Is this my body trying to regulate itself? Do you have any suggestions?

    • It would depend on how far you bumped up your carbs. If they are too high then they could definitely be causing that to happen. Also, certain medications can cause retention. Are you sure you have good kidney function? Barring those factors, then I would say you are going through a transition and if you stick with keto, it should self-regulate within 2-4 weeks. The back pain is odd though because that rarely happens. I know my back pain went almost entirely away once my inflammation decreased and excess weight decreased as well.

      • I’ve been doing Keto exactly 4 weeks today… only lost 4 pounds .. very discouraged after constantly reading people losing such great amounts in short periods of time.. I feel like at this rate I get the same results with reg dieting.. Also. My back has been killing me too! I was wondering wth??? I guess I’m not the only one!!

        • Thanks for reaching out. Let me see what I can do to help. First let’s tackle the back pain. If I had to guess, I would say it is probably kidney pain from dehydration. The Ketogenic diet is naturally diuretic and requires a lot of water to replace water lost from your muscles. Being dehydrated can lead to over worked kidneys which will start to ache. You are probably also not eating enough salt as your salt stores are depleted as you lose water. I use Redmond’s Real Salt as it is also higher in other minerals besides Sodium (http://amzn.to/2B0HAXJ)

          Now for the weight loss. It is impossible for me to track down the issue here because I don’t know what you are eating. If you think you would benefit from more personalized support, I would encourage you to join our support group. It provides weekly meal plans, ongoing FB Live training videos and a great group of people who are very knowledgeable about the diet and can help in many ways. If you would like to join us, go to MySugarFreeJourney.com/28Day to sign up. Hope to see you there!

      • The back pain may have been kidney pain…. I got it day two on keto and needed to up my water consumption. It’s totally gone now after upping water

      • I had horrible back pain also about 4 weeks into keto. Lasted for a week and finally went away. I suspect part of it was being dehydrated and the rest was my body adjusting to being in keto. Have been fine for 5 weeks now, habe been on the keto diet a total of 10 weeks now and am down 13 lbs.

      • May I suggest that you up your water intake. One it will help kidney and liver process but also it will plump up the intervertebral disc that cushion the spine. True about all joint and articulation that have some sort of bursa or disc for cushion.

      • Its usually caused by a lack of serotonin which makes us feel pain moreso. It happens with keto, in our last few days of our cycle, the rollercoaster of perimenopause and menopause when we have very little estrogen.

  • I have also been having more back pain. I’ve been doing keto for about 3 weeks now and down 11 lbs. Not sure what’s causing my back pain?

    • If I had to guess, I’d say it has something to do with dehydration. As you keto-adapt, your body sheds water from muscles and sometimes that results in minicramps and pains. I would up your water and salt intake and see if that resolves the situation.

  • Can you have a keto whoosh day? Multiple trips to the bathroom? The first few days of this WOE I felt backed up and now this. I have lost almost 15 lbs in about 12 days. I know it is water weight but still happy that it is gone. I have been in ketosis since the 3rd day. I bought the strips and have tested at least 3 times since I started.

  • Today was the end on week 4 on Keto. Weeks 1,2,3 I lost 5lbs each week for a total of 15lbs lost in 3 weeks. Today’s weigh in…..0!!! Too soon to have plateaued. And although I tried a few new recipes I’m still diligently counting carbs and calories. Any advice? Similar experiences??

  • I have lost 13 pounds and gained 4 back. Even though I count everything and stay on track to a T I will loose then gain then loose then gain. I feel like I’m not getting anywhere! Any thoughts?

    • There are a ton of things you could try. Try experimenting with different foods as there might be a food you are sensitive to like dairy or eggs. You can try working in some Intermittent Fasting or weight bearing exercises. You can just stick with it as is for a while and see if there are other things your body os trying to repair before it deals with losing weight.

  • I have been doing keto for 7 weeks. The “whoosh” effect is definitely something I have experienced especially having a couple of carb free drinks the night before. I am curious about the use of over the counter diuretics just to level out my water retention. Any feedback?
    I have been in full ketosis for weeks now and I sometimes get disheartened when I gain even though I know it’s just water weight.

    • As a general rule, I’m against trying to hack weight loss with pills or supplements. Just stay the course and eat good high quality food. It took you decades to put the weight on, just give your body the opportunity to heal and the weight will eventually come off.

  • I’m doing low carb/keto and have lost about 40lbs and am now 149ish. I have 15-20 more to lose. I just noticed that my upper arms, which are very fat, now feel lumpy/bumpy like there’s marbles under the skin. If I pull the skin tight, you can see all these lumps. Kinda freaking me out. So are you saying that this is a good thing?? That’s I’m gonna see a woosh and my arms will soon be skinny? lol!

    • Those marbles aren’t a good or bad thing. They are just the subcutaneous fat bunching up because you are losing. Similar to the cellulite you see on the back of legs. Unfortunately it’s just a side effect of age and losing weight. It might smooth out or it might not. The one thing you can be sure of is your overall health will improve with the lost weight. Congrats!

  • Came upon your site “accidentally “. Enjoying the articles and comments. I’m trying keto again and plan to stick to it. Awaiting the “whoosh” affect!

  • I had a physician tell me to use Celtic Sea Salt. I take 2 capsules daily. He said that Celtic Sea Salt binds with (something) in the body and helps you retain more water (the good way for hydration). Just a thought.

  • I’ve been doing this is WOE (under 20 net carbs per day) for 9 weeks and I’ve been on a 3 week stall. When does the whoosh usually happen?

  • To day will be day 6 of keto for me. I feel like my belly has just gotten bigger. I have neither lost nor gained weight but my upper stomach is definitely more protruding. i’ll give it a few weeks. Could my body be getting ready for this whoosh effect? Like maybe im bloated now because my fat cells have filled witb water? My water and salt intake are fine, fats are high, protein moderate and carbs under 20 net. Shouldn’t I have seen some kind of loss by now?

    • You are only 6 days in. It takes 2 weeks or more to get fat adapted. Don’t worry at all about what the scale is saying or what your belly looks like. Just keep going like you are and let your body adjust to its new reality and then you see the results you want.

  • Can this happen to smaller people? I have been stuck for 2 weeks being strict keto and working out 6 days a week…. that being said i am about 5 pounds away my WG. Thanks!

    • I think it is less common with smaller people. You will have issues getting those last 5 lbs because with the working out you are doing, you are adding muscles as fat is coming off. Don’t stop the exercise, just know that it will take a while to get where you are going.

  • Greetings,
    Your article was recommended by someone on the Intermittent Fasting and Keto facebook group (the one with nearly 75k people). I’m grateful for make my way here. I started keto 10 days ago, motivated by the body of research by Yoshinori Ohsumi on autophagy. I learned along the way that ketosis accelerates autophagy, and this seems like a good preventative “medicine”. In addition, I have lost 80 lbs over the past 10 years (through a variety of shifts in mindset primarily, as well as my eating and exercise patterns, with the most recent following the Autoimmune Solution from 2016-present (eating meat + veggies other than nightshades + some fruit). I’ve been feeling GREAT, yet the final 20 lbs of a 100 lb weight gain in my 20’s is still hanging on.

    So, autophagy and its long-term health benefits + the possibility of losing that last 20 have brought me here.

    Now to the moment, it’s day 10 and I woke up with lower abdomen pain. Went to yoga anyway and sweat a bunch. After yoga drank water, and the sensations increased, and I’ve now spent the last 6 hours with sensations moving between dull, heavy kidney pain to lower abdomen tingling and pulsing, to liver/gallbladder sensations.

    I had a whoosh Sunday/Monday (today is Tuesday), and dropped 3 lbs. Today I am up 7 from that drop (so up 4 from original weight of 166 – I’m 5’8′ and imagine 145 to be a healthy weight – though I’m not gripping the # too tightly…more focused on shape and health).

    Would I be having another whoosh? I can’t poop today and the pain is present, even as I type this. I’m still frequently urinating, and in giving myself a abdomen massage earlier I felt those little marbles you spoke of – underneath my belly skin deep in there (in the center, front, just above the pubic bone – would that be inside my bladder? https://human-anatomy101.com/female-human-body-diagram-of-organs/female-human-body-diagram-of-organs-human-body-inner-diagram-anatomy-human-body/).

    Thank sfor any reflections you and others may have to share.

    • I am definitely not a Dr and if these issues persist, you should see a doctor and get their opinion. However, if I had to guess I would say you are probably Magnesium deficient. I would take some Milk of Magnesia for the constipation and I bet that will fix the lower abdominal pain as well. Ongoing I would take a Mg supplement. I use the ones at MySugarFreeJourney.com/PVC and have been very happy with them. Let me know if that fixes the issue.

  • Thanks for telling me about this. I’ve been eating Keto for a month and have only lost4 lbs. but my sugars have dropped 40 points. So I’m staying with this just because it’s helping my sugars!

Leave a Reply

Leave a Reply to Kelli Duncan Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You Can Support The Blog By Donating Through Paypal
Disclaimer:  While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and effectiveness of the information displayed on this website, My Sugar Free Journey makes no guarantee as to the procedures and information contained within. The publisher of this website will not be held liable for direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising from the use of information displayed on MySugarFreeJourney.com. This website is not intended to be a substitute for the advice of a medical professional.
Please note that any content created and/or advice followed using the methods suggested or any products recommended on MySugarFreeJourney.com will be done so at your own risk.
Please note: Posts may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. For more of our privacy and cookie policy, click here.
© 2015 - My Sugar Free Journey All Rights Reserved. No content on this site may be copied and reused in any form or fashion without express written permission.