Sarah CB Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Has anyone heard this story before? I didn't know it was possible to go a year without eating. Crazy. Some guy in Scotland went 382 days without eating. He was tired of being fat, so walked into the hospital and told them he was going to stop eating until he got to the weight he wanted to be at. He said they might as well monitor him as he was going to do it either way. They gave him vitamins and yeast and they monitored him. He drank water, coffee, and tea. And he lost weight. He went from 456 pounds to 181 pounds. And he seemed to be in good health throughout the ordeal. Crazy. Not something I'd try at home. http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/07/24/3549931.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Yes, I'm familiar with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 this was written up in a medical journal http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2495396/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted July 5, 2016 Author Share Posted July 5, 2016 this was written up in a medical journal http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2495396/ I can't believe he didn't die. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Yes, it's been reported on several times. Didn't read your link. Surprisingly, it was said to be easier than dieting, but his sodium levels did get low so they gave him supplements for electrolytes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 I can't believe he didn't die. Why? The human body was designed for fasting. It's when you go on very low calorie diets for long periods of time that weight loss gets dangerous. Fasting puts you into ketosis (burning mostly body fat and preserving body muscle). Fasting also RAISES rather than lowering metabolism. Dieting removes the protective aspect of muscle-saving ketosis and makes it much easier to damage vital organs by scavenging essential tissues like heart muscle. It also apparently permanently lowers metabolism, if you believe the 6-year Biggest Loser study. Your link must be geoblocked, can't see it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Why? The human body was designed for fasting. It's when you go on very low calorie diets for long periods of time that weight loss gets dangerous. Fasting puts you into ketosis (burning mostly body fat and preserving body muscle). Fasting also RAISES rather than lowering metabolism. Dieting removes the protective aspect of muscle-saving ketosis and makes it much easier to damage vital organs by scavenging essential tissues like heart muscle. It also apparently permanently lowers metabolism, if you believe the 6-year Biggest Loser study. Your link must be geoblocked, can't see it. I want to know more about this. Do you have a book to recommend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Your link must be geoblocked, can't see it. It's not geoblocked - just had an extra character at the end which makes it have that weird question mark thing show up. try this http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/07/24/3549931.htm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted July 5, 2016 Author Share Posted July 5, 2016 Why? The human body was designed for fasting. It's when you go on very low calorie diets for long periods of time that weight loss gets dangerous. Fasting puts you into ketosis (burning mostly body fat and preserving body muscle). Fasting also RAISES rather than lowering metabolism. Dieting removes the protective aspect of muscle-saving ketosis and makes it much easier to damage vital organs by scavenging essential tissues like heart muscle. It also apparently permanently lowers metabolism, if you believe the 6-year Biggest Loser study. Your link must be geoblocked, can't see it. A year seems like a lot of time to live off body fat. I've read a lot about ketogenic diets and I do understand the basics of how they work, but I still think it's pretty amazing that the guy could go for over a year without eating at all. Here's a link to a different story about it: http://starlionblue.kinja.com/the-scotsman-who-went-a-year-without-food-1500731921 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalsummer Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 well if he had 250 lbs of fat to spare, and each lb of fat is 3500 calories (right?), that's definitely a year's worth of calories. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BooksandBoys Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 A year seems like a lot of time to live off body fat. I've read a lot about ketogenic diets and I do understand the basics of how they work, but I still think it's pretty amazing that the guy could go for over a year without eating at all. Here's a link to a different story about it: http://starlionblue.kinja.com/the-scotsman-who-went-a-year-without-food-1500731921 If we believe that a pound of fat represents 3,500 calories, as nutrition science asserts, the math adds up very nicely. 452 pounds minus 181 pounds = 271 pounds lost. 271 pounds times 3,500 = 948,500 calories stored in his fat. 948,500 calories divided by 382 days = 2483 calories per day. Essentially, he lived on 2,500 calories a day. Pretty cool. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frugalmamatx Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 This is very tempting - I've tried for years to lose weight and it never comes off / stays off. Mostly because as soon as I start eating, I tend to binge eat on everything I denied myself. I'm tempted to do this, but what, medically, is the difference between this and Anorexia? Is it just that this person has enough body fat to lose without issues? Because to me it also seems like medically sanctioned Anorexia. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 If going without eating for a year wouldn't kill someone here, the medical bills would. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I want to know more about this. Do you have a book to recommend? Sure. Fasting and Eating for Health by Joel Fuhrman, MD (though he's promotes a high-nutrient junk free vegan diet, be warned). Also The Obesity Code by Jason Fung, MD. He has another book about this coming out in October called The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body through Intermittent, Alternate-day, and Extended Fasting. I've also read a lot about ketogenic diets in general and how they heal, but honestly I think so much of how your body responds to a high-fat, low-carb diet is genetic that I feel uncomfortable recommending a specific diet. I guess the original Atkins diet book from the 70's is the first time I recall understanding ketosis, and why that's different from ketoacidosis. But I know from my blood work that's a terribly unhealthy diet for someone with my genetics, even if it is great for some people. This is very tempting - I've tried for years to lose weight and it never comes off / stays off. Mostly because as soon as I start eating, I tend to binge eat on everything I denied myself. I'm tempted to do this, but what, medically, is the difference between this and Anorexia? Is it just that this person has enough body fat to lose without issues? Because to me it also seems like medically sanctioned Anorexia. Medically you're not Anorexic until your weight gets below 18.5% AND you have body dysmorphia AND you have a psychological issue such as depression that you control by using food as a control mechanism. This is different from medically supervised fasting. As a nurse I've frequently had patients, usually admitted for abdominal pain, who get prescribed fasting. Frequently it is the best treatment for some things, such as pancreatitis. If going without eating for a year wouldn't kill someone here, the medical bills would. LOL. This is NOT MEDICAL advice, but really you could just get an at-home blood pressure cuff and if your blood pressure got too low you could go in for an electrolyte check. And otherwise have a test every few days or so. There have been cases of people dying at supervised fasting centers in South America because their blood pressure got too low, they didn't take electrolytes, and when they passed out they hit their temple on something and died. The electrolytes would be the biggest issue, and attempting to supplement them without any testing would scare me in different ways - electrolyte imbalances causing heart arrhythmia is I believe one of the more dangerous aspects of eating disorders. Point being, if you're going to fast for more than 10 days, get supervised by someone with the ability to do blood work. Don't do something stupid like take hot showers or sit in saunas that lowers blood pressure dangerously. Don't go to some raw vegan "fasting retreat center" that doesn't employ any medical professionals. This isn't difficult, but it is important. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 (edited) I want to know more about this. Do you have a book to recommend?The Obesity Code The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss https://www.amazon.com/dp/1771641258/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_dxfFxbB50TFDG The author is Dr. Jason Fung. He has several videos on YouTube that you can watch. He's a nephrologist and got interested in fasting because he wanted to help diabetics before they got to the point of kidney failure. Ha, I should have read the whole thread before posting. Edited July 6, 2016 by kitten18 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I wonder what happened when he started eating again? A very important part of the process of dieting/losing weight is learning to eat correct portions of food and to recognize satiety signals. I'm guessing he started off on a carefully monitored re-feeding program, and maybe learned during that time? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I wonder what happened when he started eating again? A very important part of the process of dieting/losing weight is learning to eat correct portions of food and to recognize satiety signals. I'm guessing he started off on a carefully monitored re-feeding program, and maybe learned during that time? That would assume that it was a medically designed programme. From the description in the OP (I haven't read the links) it doesn't sound as if it was. It sounded as if the hospital just kept him alive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 His name was Angus Barbieri. Here's a contemporary article about his first solid food breakfast: http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1966/07/12/page/5/article/scot-eats-his-1-st-solid-food-in-392-days 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 His name was Angus Barbieri. Here's a contemporary article about his first solid food breakfast: http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1966/07/12/page/5/article/scot-eats-his-1-st-solid-food-in-392-days I found this article too but absolutely nothing about the long term effects. What happened 1 yr, 5yrs, 10 yrs later? I cannot find anything at all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 LOL. This is NOT MEDICAL advice, but really you could just get an at-home blood pressure cuff and if your blood pressure got too low you could go in for an electrolyte check. And otherwise have a test every few days or so. There have been cases of people dying at supervised fasting centers in South America because their blood pressure got too low, they didn't take electrolytes, and when they passed out they hit their temple on something and died. The electrolytes would be the biggest issue, and attempting to supplement them without any testing would scare me in different ways - electrolyte imbalances causing heart arrhythmia is I believe one of the more dangerous aspects of eating disorders. Point being, if you're going to fast for more than 10 days, get supervised by someone with the ability to do blood work. Don't do something stupid like take hot showers or sit in saunas that lowers blood pressure dangerously. Don't go to some raw vegan "fasting retreat center" that doesn't employ any medical professionals. This isn't difficult, but it is important. Still would cost a zillion dollars if one needed regular electrolyte testing. I mean hell I just had a pap smear/hpv test and the bill was over $1500 from the lab alone (no clue what in hell about that). And electrolyte imbalances are really not something to play around with. My mother had some issues with that and ended up in the hospital for days several times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Ok and practically speaking you'd probably need a special BP cuff if you were that large. And with the automatic ones you really need a good one otherwise they are not reliable. Good luck finding an extra large automatic one. I think this is a crazy idea really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 (edited) I found this article too but absolutely nothing about the long term effects. What happened 1 yr, 5yrs, 10 yrs later? I cannot find anything at all. In the original medical paper from 1973 it said that five years later, his weight remained around 196lbs. (Which means a gain of 16 lbs since the fast) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2495396/pdf/postmedj00315-0056.pdf Edited July 6, 2016 by regentrude 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I found this article too but absolutely nothing about the long term effects. What happened 1 yr, 5yrs, 10 yrs later? I cannot find anything at all. 5 years later he was reported to have gained 5 kilos (in another article). They also said his family had sold their fish and chip shop which made it far easier for him :p I can only imagine how much I'd weigh if my family owned a fish and chip shop and every day at the end of the day I was looking at unsold delicious fish and chips. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 (edited) In the original medical paper from 1973 it said that five years later, his weight remained around 196lbs. (Which means a gain of 16 lbs since the fast) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2495396/pdf/postmedj00315-0056.pdf Thank you I didn't see that before. 196 lbs is still fairly trim for a 6 ft man. Edited July 6, 2016 by soror 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I read about a guy who went on a raw vegan diet and lost about the same amount of weight. He lived off of fruits and vegetables, almost no fat, and no dressings, etc.... His method seems healthier overall. I hate it that I am so cynical, but the "experts" I have read say NOT to fast for too long, that you DO lose muscle and not just fat, and that your metabolism DOES slow down. I would be very hesitant. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joules Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I read about a guy who went on a raw vegan diet and lost about the same amount of weight. He lived off of fruits and vegetables, almost no fat, and no dressings, etc.... His method seems healthier overall. I hate it that I am so cynical, but the "experts" I have read say NOT to fast for too long, that you DO lose muscle and not just fat, and that your metabolism DOES slow down. I would be very hesitant. I would be hesitant, too. Dealing with a parent with dementia colors everything I see, but I keep thinking about all the micronutrients that your body and brain are missing as it feeds off only fat. Yeah, we can take multivitamins, but there is so much good in healthy food that we haven't identified yet. I just think the long-term damage to the body and brain would be hard to calculate. I know staying obese is bad, too, but... If drastic measures are necessary, I would think the bariatric surgery would be safer and quicker and much less likely to cause long term problems. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I read about a guy who went on a raw vegan diet and lost about the same amount of weight. He lived off of fruits and vegetables, almost no fat, and no dressings, etc.... His method seems healthier overall. I hate it that I am so cynical, but the "experts" I have read say NOT to fast for too long, that you DO lose muscle and not just fat, and that your metabolism DOES slow down. I would be very hesitant. Sounds awful too though. I'd be on the toilet constantly with all that roughage. (TMI I'm sure, but yeah....) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted July 6, 2016 Author Share Posted July 6, 2016 His name was Angus Barbieri. Here's a contemporary article about his first solid food breakfast: http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1966/07/12/page/5/article/scot-eats-his-1-st-solid-food-in-392-days Fascinating - thanks for posting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Sounds awful too though. I'd be on the toilet constantly with all that roughage. (TMI I'm sure, but yeah....) Plant based high fiber eaters tend to go 2-3 times a day. It's no more inconvenient than going pee. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Why? The human body was designed for fasting. It's when you go on very low calorie diets for long periods of time that weight loss gets dangerous. Fasting puts you into ketosis (burning mostly body fat and preserving body muscle). Fasting also RAISES rather than lowering metabolism. Dieting removes the protective aspect of muscle-saving ketosis and makes it much easier to damage vital organs by scavenging essential tissues like heart muscle. It also apparently permanently lowers metabolism, if you believe the 6-year Biggest Loser study. Your link must be geoblocked, can't see it. Maybe I should try a fast? My weight is stuck at a high level and I NEED to get some weight off. Maybe just a week long fast? I hate fasting, but, it might be the only way. Should I discuss it with my doctor? I had a doctor who suggested it a while ago, a short term fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Maybe I should try a fast? My weight is stuck at a high level and I NEED to get some weight off. Maybe just a week long fast? I hate fasting, but, it might be the only way. Should I discuss it with my doctor? I had a doctor who suggested it a while ago, a short term fast.Always talk to your doctor before attempting something like this. I've had good luck in the past with Whole30 and the grapefruit diet. Both are very nutritional and would be healthier than fasting. I lost about 8 pounds per month both times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I would talk to your doctor too. They may want to run tests first. I don't think there would be any issue with intermittent fasting- like one meal a day, or eating whatever in a 6-12 hour period every other day, but honestly longer than that I'd get medical testing first. Especially in the heat of summer. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Plant based high fiber eaters tend to go 2-3 times a day. It's no more inconvenient than going pee. btdt...not true for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Although to be fair I eat lower carb so if that involves heavy on the plants it will also be very high fiber stuff. Too much of that was NOT good. It's just TOO much fiber. Someone eating rice with that or fruits (I rarely eat fruit) it would be a little less chaotic on the digestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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