Week-long Fast page 4

[Zach]

I've read something like this too. Hans Selye? It was an experiment on rats, but he reported a severe atrophy after 4 days of fasting and 48 hours it began to decrease in size.

Yes the rat study says 48 hours induced atrophy. I have also read on humans the thymus is one of the main organs broken down during starvation.

[Cossycarrick]

Hi, the longest iv fasted was 4.5 days and after day 3 i felt great. Hungry but good! Just take a small healthy meal when starting to eat as this can help you gut not to cramp. I lost about 8lbs and only gained about 2 which then fell off after a couple of days. I didn't exercise as this can be a bit dangerous so be careful. Also i had just one cup of tea a day to give me something warm to look forward to at night. A friend of mine also done this but he would have a bowl of soup a day just to keep something in his tummy. I had a cold at the time which cleared up really quick as they say the body goes into repair mode which i noticed as my knees didn't hurt (which i run 3-4times a week) and when i started to run again i felt even better. Lots of water and i walked abot an hour a day to help. Good luck and keep us updated:-)

[Char Aznable]

Thank you for the well-wishes, Cossycarrick!

I'm over the 40-hour mark now and am enjoying some hot green tea. Feeling pretty good. The thought of eating certainly retains its appeal, however I don't have any tremendous urge to eat. For the most part I've only had slight cravings, which are easily overcome through reason. I'm curious as to whether this will be the case in the days to come. In a few hours I'll be heading off to bed. When I awake and head to work, I'll be sure to post an update with my daily stats.

[Diana Renata]

Good going Char. If it helps, I'm right there with ya. Just hit the 42-hr mark and dinner tomorrow seems a long way off, but still feeling pretty good. Hang in there!

I think it really is easier between the 48 and 72 marks. I've never gone past that, so I'm curious to hear what your experience is.

[Char Aznable]

Good to hear, Diana! Hope you're hanging in there!

Today was an interesting day, to say the least. First, here are my daily stats:

Weight: 291.4
BP: 131/76
HR: 78

These numbers are remarkable to me. As of this writing I've been fasting for nearly 60 hours. That these marked changes have occurred in such a short timeframe is really something. Also, I haven't exactly had the best of days today. I only managed about 3 and a half hours of unrestful sleep and faced a few stressful situations concerning finance that rather ruined my mood. Despite all of this, my fast has persisted and my overall health seems to have improved. Currently, I feel surprisingly good. Despite the fact that I haven't slept, my mind is clear. The hunger pangs were much worse prior to bed, but have since ceased. The combination of hunger and fatigue is a sinister one, so I'll be heading to bed straight after work in the morning, rather than staying up the way I usually do.

I've begun to notice that if I stand up too quickly, I get a nice rush of blood to the head and feel as though I might faint. The sensation lasts only a few seconds and is avoided completely by simply standing up slowly.

So, over the course of about 24 hours, my blood pressure has fallen by about 5/10 and my heartrate by 22 points. My weight has dropped by 3 pounds, although a lot of this weight is likely water.

Feeling good, all things considered. I wonder how I'll be feeling come 72 hours.

[Knifegill]

The rat is designed to live about three years, its heart races, its body is hot. It eats almost non-stop. There is little room for starvation in rat DNA. The species benefits from massive die-offs when supply is short. It's in a rat's favor to die of starvation. There is no validity in any study that compares rat metabolism to human metabolism. Rats also die on a high-fat diet, because they are designed to eat grains - the opposite of what we're designed to eat! I don't see how a rat thymus tells us diddly about the impact of human fasting. What of apex predators? Does the wolf thymus break down constantly between meals?

[Huntress]

I think fasting is a very individual thing - noting this is example is different to what Char Anzable is talking about doing; I've completed food and sleep deprivation in the military which lasted 6 days. It included pre-fatiguing and high intensity work loads, working for 22 hours a day with about 60 - 90 mins broken sleep each 24 hours (allowed after we'd cracked the 42 hour mark of being awake and working).

I only lost about 5 kg, which I gained back within about 72 hours and had no lasting effects from (had awesome 6-pack and super model like defined cheekbones for a few days though!!).

However, some people dropped up to 10 kg and a couple had ongoing stomach troubles for weeks afterwards. Obviously the work intensity and sleep deprivation aspects can't been ignored in this example - but for the majority there were no lasting effects regardless.

Char Anzable - good luck, mate. I figure as long as you are monitoring yourself, keeping up fluid etc you should be right. I don't think I would starve myself that long voluntarily, but I'm interested in following your progress.

[Paleobird]

I agree with Knifegill, those rat studies are worthless. If the human thymus started breaking down that quickly, the human race would have died out with the first ice age.

There was a thread here started by Piscator last summer where a bunch of us did a four day fast. That was great.http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread65233.html

I have been researching the extensive history of fasting as a treatment and in many cases a cure for epilepsy, history going back to the ancient Greeks. I have been contemplating doing an extended fast sometime soon. I look forward to hearing about your experiences.

[Zach]

Thats why i didnt post that study. I still recall a human study about the tissues that start breaking down first and the thymus was high on the list but like i said i cant find it and dont recall specific time frames.

[TimWix]

it/http://fitnessblackbook.com/main/starvation-mode-why-you-probably-never-need-to-worry-about-it/

Interesting study.