How long can you not eat for?

[Andsoitbegins3]

Hi

this is going to sound a bit daft but I thought I’d ask here since it’s anonymous. How long can you go without eating without being unwell/fainting/not being well?

the reason I ask is NOT because I have an eating disorder etc, it’s just I get really badly upset stomachs (IBS) and the only way I can stop the cramps, discomfort and pain is to fast and only drink water. Sometimes doing it for a day is long enough to let my stomach settle but other times it has to be for a few days, the longest I’ve had was 3 of 4. If I eat ANYTHING in this time I’ll get the most horrendous cramps so I completely lose my appetite and don’t even want to eat. Fasting seems to let my stomach reset itself and go back to normal. I don’t have any issues with my weight and I’m not trying to lose weight, but I’m worried about not eating for several days in case it makes me unwell etc, as I thought if you didn’t eat for a few days you would feel sick/faint but actually that hasn’t happened so presumably it’s fine? It’s the only way I’ve been able to stop the cramps and when I’m nervous I completely lose my appetite altogether, so presumably it’s fine as long as I’m still drinking which I am, and as long as I’m not unwell, which I’m not? Usually I feel slightly hungry for a day after starting the fast and then it subsides by day 2 and I can start trying to introduce food again. I just don’t want to make myself unwell/ faint/ be more sick by fasting when I’m doing it in the first place to stop myself feeling unwell, but presumably it’s ok if I haven’t been unwell so far and it’s only occasionally that it’s up to 3/4 days? If it ever lasted more than 4 days I would obviously go to the doctor because I know that’s too long to fast

TIA x

How active are you? I ask because I’m a very active person so I run a lot, lift weights and walk on average 20k steps a day. If I didn’t eat anything, I would be seriously sick as a result. If you’re fairly sedentary perhaps you can get away with it more but it still doesn’t sound particularly healthy. I feel faint and black out momentarily whenever I stand up if I haven’t eaten enough.

I can do 84 hours without too many issues.

Around 24 hours, and I do this occasionally. However I have a fairly active lifestyle, between walking my dogs for 1-2 hours a day, swimming, and strength training. I wouldn't do any more than just the walking on a fast day and I miss the other activities if I skip them for more than 24 hours.

I start to feel odd after about 2.5-3 days of not eating. But am active, like a PP, running and active job, on my feet all day. I don’t not eat on purpose but have a bit of a nervous stomach and it doesn’t take much to put me off eating anything, a shock or feeling upset about something will do it.

With my busy job/life there is often no time for eating so going 20-24 hours without managing to grab anything is something that happens regularly, at least one day a week. 2-3 days is definitely more unusual and is usually because of something traumatic going on or illness.

I don’t feel sick/faint from lack of food.

In your situation however I would 100% see a doctor, as that doesn’t sound normal or healthy.

In theory you can go for 30 days without food if you have water.

In reality, if you want to live a "normal" life and function, you are going to need some form of energy going into your body as otherwise your body will take the energy from your fat stores and then your muscle.

The human body adjusts very quickly to low calorie intake.

Can you not have glucose drinks?

I don't think going 4 days without food occasionally is going to give you health problems.
Doing it often would be tough on your body.
But the fact you're having to do because your stomach isn't happy is concerning, getting to the bottom of what causes that would be where I was putting my efforts if possible.
Consulting a nutritionist would be a good start.

Well I’m clearly in the minority here. I’m feeling shaky nauseous by lunchtime ifI haven’t had breakfast.

Have you looked into electrolytes? Important to maintain your levels, even when fasting.

What are you doing other than fasting, for your ibs? You can't just not eat and feel you've solved the problem, it's just an avoidance technique.

Around 12 hours

Thank goodness you said this. I was starting to wonder if I am a complete odd ball.
I get the dreaded hanger.

I don't think I've ever tried missing a meal never mind going several days without food.

What have you been through to identify the triggers etc? Have you seen a proper dietician? Don't go to a nutritionist or any holistic approach entities, you need to look at FODMAP etc and the only way to do that's properly is under a dietician. They'll help you identify what's going on with your gut health.

Starving yourself for 4 days on a frequent basis is absolutely not healthy and you really really need an intervention.

Four days won't do you any harm - just make sure you drink during that time to keep hydrated. I've gone 14 days with no issues ( not really by choice, but it didn't do any harm).

When I had weight issues I would go a couple of days without eating easily. Unfortunately it would lead to more weight gain so it was a vicious cycle and fortunately I’ve not learnt to eat normally.

I don’t think fasting for days in your case is helping you in the long term though.
I would have thought if you have IBS you need to avoid certain food buts having an empty stomach and then eating could make it more sensitive.

I would work on finding out what causes your flare ups and avoiding these things for a few days but still having small amounts of food that doesn’t cause your flare ups.

I don't eat breakfast until I am hungry in the morning. I haven't tested how long I could go w/o food, and I suppose if I retired to my bed and drank water and just went to the loo and back, I could manage for a few days.
I'd be terrible company, my son would be very cross, my family would worry, and my employer might not be happy so I'm not going to try it.

That's withdrawal. You have a carb addiction.

Think about it. How can your body 'need' food to the extent it makes you feel ill, just from missing one meal on a background of years of regular eating, and a healthy level of body fat (or more)?

You're not in the minority though. The majority of people think they'll be in hell if they miss one meal. It's just because we fuel ourselves poorly most of the time.

I'll bet your diet is quite high in carbs. It's what the NHS advise us to do for health!

Oh goody. Competitive fasting.

Or 'some people talking about how long they sometimes fast for, in answer to a question about it'

Have you anything relevant to the thread to say, or did you just come to be rude?

The longest I've ever done it was a day. (Not intentionally.)
But I definitely wasn't feeling well - I get awful headaches so I basically have to keep taking paracetamol etc. to be able to function.

5 hours!! Balanced diet, healthy slim weight, but I need to eat!!

Please take proper advice from appropriate professionals and not strangers online. You do not know these peoples background or motives. It's not safe.

Great thanks for all the advice.

I’ve tried FODMAP, avoiding every possible allergen or trigger, probiotics, anti anxieties, any spasm meds, buscopan, loperamide, mebeverine, I’ve even tried therapy in case it was anxiety causing it, I’ve been to dieticians, nutritionists, GI doctors, had endoscopys, colonoscopys, multiple calprotectin etc and I’ve tried everything unfortunately and luckily I don’t get flare ups too often but when I do fasting is the only thing that helps! I just didn’t want to cause more problems by doing it but since it’s not often it seems like it’s ok 👍🏻

I do 16/8 all the time (only eat during an 8 hour window). Before I started that I did 72 hours fast with no ill effects, in fact it did marvels for my energy levels. When I was in my 20s I had a kidney infection and didn’t eat for 11 days, but then they put me on a drip.

I’ve done 7 days before now and was fine on it. If you are doing a longer fast then start small and simple when reintroducing food.

You don’t say if you’ve checked for parasites, Candida, SIBO etc.

I get nauseous, vomitty migraines and when I do I eat vanishingly little until it goes. Can be 3-4 days.