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

With people claiming they feel perfectly fine not eating for 7 days; very probably.

I weight lift and run, I also do huge amounts of yoga. I can go 3 or 4 days and be fine. Feeling faint after a few hours without food isn't normal and shows severe carb and sugar addiction. I don't routinely fast for days I usually do the whole day on just water and coffee then enjoy whatever I like for dinner.

I do a four day fast twice a year with no ill effects. In fact it acts as a reset and is beneficial to me.

I have never seriously fasted, but almost every day I go without eating for 19 hours. I also exercise first thing.

I think I could easily manage 48 hours if I tried.

There's very little evidence to suggest fasting as in a complete lack of food for longer than 24hrs has any benefit and may come with significant risks

@CarPour

What's your evidence for that assertion ?

@Clefable

Thank you, that's a very interest article.

Wow. Some people are going a long time!

I've never gone super long without food before, but sometimes I have to go from supper the night before to dinner the night after, depending on what work's like and if I get a chance for a break. Doesn't work out like that too often so I don't mind.

@Milkkbottles

Nobody has said that it isn't normal to feel hungry when you haven't eaten. Why did you feel the need to state that it is?

5 days - not by choice.

Feeling faint and being hungry aren't the same thing. 'Hungry' in a fasted state means that you recognise a physical feeling that tells you to eat, but it's not urgent, it's like a gentle reminder that pops up every hour or so, and goes away if you don't shove anything in your mouth. Hungry when you're addicted to sugar feels like you need to eat right now, and you have similar withdrawal symptoms to those of any addiction: headaches, nausea, feeling faint/dizzy, over-prioritising the substance, feeling angry/emotional if you can't get a fix etc.

Hungry isn't always the same, but you show your lack of experience if you think it is. Which pp literally said it's not normal to feel hungry if you don't eat?

Hunger pangs come and go. Plenty of religious and traditional practices have an element of fasting. I have come to question who benefits from us constantly eating. Snacking is a relatively modern invention. Many cultures didn’t traditionally have a breakfast meal. England didn’t have a midday meal until 17/1800s. Only posh ladies had lunch to stop them fainting in their restrictive clothing.

Fasting has had many health benefits for me - clearing up skin conditions and easing a neurological disorder. I am still v overweight (BMI 38), but slowly losing at what feels like a healthy and manageable pace. Cutting out snacks and regularly fasting has got rid of my hangar and irrational cravings for sweet things and toast.

There will undoubtedly be both sorts of disordered eating on a thread like this. But plenty of people fast without being one of them.

I have come to question who benefits from us constantly eating

Same here, @SmallTreeDeepRoots . And what we're being advised to eat, too. There's a hell of a lot of flour on the government's 'Eatwell Plate' and coincidentally, it's the biggest commercial crop in the world. It's very low in nutrients. It doesn't sit right, when you start thinking about it.

@Watchkeys - nope. I still get hungry and faintness (both) if I haven’t eaten enough. Even if I’m eating low carb low sugar.

I swear this site gets more pro Ana by the day, and I'm annoyed at myself for reading the thread. (I used to have an ED)

I know current thinking advocates intermittent fasting but I was sure it was more like 16-8 or one meal a day not 3 or 4 or 7 days!

Fwiw I feel starving at 6.30pm when I get home from work after having eaten lunch at 1pm. As far as I know there's nothing wrong with me!

And what we're being advised to eat, too.

Quite* *@Watchkeys . And UPFs, highly palatable foods, fake meat, big sugar and now the sweeteners. Their priorities are not (or should not) be ours.

I was expecting a deletion message by now, yet here we are.sorry meant to quote @Fizbosshoes

I thought research said that prolonged fasting for over 24 hours affected women differently to men, and could fuck up hormones?

Only vaguely remembering - does anyone know?

Different to the 16:8 stuff, which does seem to be safe for most people.

I didn’t start this thread to be a pro ANA thread fgs, it was because I’m struggling with a medical problem and this is the only way I’ve been able to control it (and several other posters have been similar)

it’s clear in the title what the thread content is about and nobody has to click it and read it, im not forcing people I simply posted as I wasn’t sure and wanted perspective about if what I’m doing was ok or not!

it's like a gentle reminder that pops up every hour or so, and goes away if you don't shove anything in your mouth. Hungry when you're addicted to sugar feels like you need to eat right now, and you have similar withdrawal symptoms to those of any addiction: headaches, nausea, feeling faint/dizzy, over-prioritising the substance, feeling angry/emotional if you can't get a fix etc.

Hmm.

I have to say this reads to me like classic eating disorder rhetoric.

The language used is very similar ("if you don't shove anything in your mouth", "if you can't get a fix") and ultimately prizes controlling the urge to eat, and not eating, over following the body's cues.

I didn't say hungry once I said faint.

18hrs when fasting, but when i've been sick/off food, 3 days or so.

i tend to try milkshakes and things when solid food isn't happening for whatever reason.

awful as they are, when i had food poisoning, it took 2 weeks to get back to eating solid food reliably, and i was living on slimfast/meal replacement drinks during that time