Hacker News Reader

Comment by narrator | Hacker News Reader

Yes, really. Some people do it for 30 days or more if they have a very large amount of weight to lose. You have to take electrolytes (potassium, sodium, magnesium), and it should never be done if underweight. I started getting seriously into fasting when I asked all the people I met at longevity conferences who looked extremely good for their age what practices they used. The ones who looked the best for their age were longer-term fasters.

Fun fact, the longest fast was 382 days[1]. The guy started at 456 lbs and ended up at 180 lbs.

[1]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angus_Barbieri%27s_fast

View on HN

I am very curious about a couple of things regarding that experience, so I hope you dont mind if I ask a question. I want to preface it by saying that I am not trying to dismiss this pracice as inherently dangerous or bad (because I frankly have no idea).

While with 14 days of it probably not being a concern in that aspect, but do people who do it for much longer periods (100+ days, or maybe even less would qualify) not have any atrophy-related issues in relevant systems? Anything related to their intestines and all the way to the exit, wouldn't they lose a significant amount of their ability to do their jobs properly? I am not saying they should be able to start processing 5000kcal of carb heavy food immediately in a single meal after the fasting stops with no issues (as that 5000kcal meal can would give quite a lot of healthy people who dont fast issues as well), but would their intestines actually be able to function fine again? I mean, for something even as banal as sphincter muscles, I am simply lost. Is human body actually that adaptable to handle it like a no big deal?

You could always do the “lite” version like me.

I eat one day and fast the next. I rode this very simple procedure to melt away 40 lbs (was easy). I have been doing this for about 3 months, lately my weights been stable as I’ve skipped fast days.

I also only eat for about one hour on days when I do eat; normally it seems like the sugar rush becomes noticeable at the one hour mark, so even if you eat for the whole hour, that will pause you.

My experience:

1st day of fasting is the hardest. But if you are fasting every other day obviously you’ll get used to it.

You become aware that your imagination (imagining savoring the food etc.) was a big part of your eating. Knowing that it’s easier to not eat.

I don’t know what it’s like to skip food for multiple days (well, more than 2), but for 48 hours between meals, it’s very doable, and stops feeling “heroic” (or needing massive willpower) pretty quickly. It just feels like your stomachs vacation day - which feels good.

> I eat one day and fast the next. I rode this very simple procedure to melt away 40 lbs (was easy).

Do you know how much of this is muscle, fat and water?

Between muscle and fat - a lot, an even mix; I didn't care if it was muscle or fat and didn't do anything to retain muscle. I have a condition such that, for me in particular, protein is hard on my body; so I want to have basically the minimum amount of protein in my diet and, by extension, a low amount of muscle (so as not to have to consume any more protein than is necessary).

As for how much of that was water: my weight still fluctuates with water but in the normal range - 2 lbs up or down, let's say. My weight has stayed in its current range for... weeks now, so I don't think I could call the lost weight 'water weight'.

In long-term fast of more than a week there's the possibility of refeeding syndrome. If the person fasting hasn't kept up with their electrolytes, they can have possibly fatal issues if they absolutely gorge themselves when stopping the fast. When I end the fast, I am going to proceed gently for the first couple of days before resuming a normal diet even though I have used an electrolyte formulation to keep my electrolyte levels at an optimal level.

I'd love to learn more about the longevity conferences you've attended, if you don't mind.

The ones who looked shitty because of long-term fasting probably didn’t attend.

If it works for you, sounds great. But this is survivorship bias 101.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com