What was the longest period of time you’ve ever gone without eating, either voluntarily (on a bet, for example), or involuntarily (stranded on a desert island, severe sickness)?
Personally, for me, I went about three days foodless, when I was younger and dumber, on a bet. I know it’s not healthy, but at least I got five dollars from it… The funny thing was, that I stopped being hungry after about 24 hours. Any med-students willing to explain that away?
You probably started consuming your own fats and muscles tissues.
Longest? Two weeks, self-imposed, depression, high-school freshman. Lost 20 lbs.
–Tim
About four days. Strangely, it wasn’t intentional or imposed. I was just very busy and never ate. Passed out while running the mile in P.E. It wasn’t until the nurse was doing a history, trying to figure out why, that I realized how long it had been.
I went 40 hours once (after a while you just don’t get hungry) it was supervised and was for charity. (ever try to bag/carry groceries when you haven’t eaten for a while, it’s not easy). I could very easily seeing someone go for three or four days without food though.
I went 72 hours back in my more pentacostal days (read: about 10 years ago).
Small frame + No food = very sick Bunny. Just cannot do that fasting thing. I drank lots of water but didn’t have the fat reserves to handle it well.
Ten days. Anorexia. Not hungry after the first day or so.
Bad, bad idea.
Five days. Sheer boredom made me decide to see how long I could go without eating. Had fencing on the fifth day, that was interesting…
Um … what time is it now?
Two days. Stomach flu. Not much for a week to ten days after that.
Lost 15 lbs and watched my poop turn green.
But I got better. 
The first time I hit 200 pounds, I decided that since I had just broken up with my girlfriend, I wouldn’t eat until I went out on a date with a single woman.
I lived on miso soup and fruit juices. I even cooked a few dinner parties while I was fasting. Do you know how hard it is to cook a huge meal and not be able to taste anything for the spice balance? I could taste the sauces but not the solids.
Of course, on the lunch date, the woman finally told me all about her fiance, but at least I was back down to 170 pounds.
Probably 3 weeks.
I used to pass out alot…
3-4 days in survival school, although they did give us tiny bits of food once or twice. We were forced to drink so much water that I was rarely hungry.
two weeks. allergic reaction to antibiotic caused my mouth and throat to break out in blisters. incredible pain. no talking, no eating, barely able to drink through a straw. lots of fun. survived on raw eggs and milk through a straw.
lost a stone and a half, i’m little to begin with so i was 6 stone at the end. i’m back up to 7 and a half stone now thank goodness.
Probably about a week. Although I’d not eat for about a week then eat one or two days then go without it again for a week. I did that for a semester in high school. Let me tell you everyone was suprised when I went from a bulky 210 to an unbelievably thin 150. I was so sickly although I didn’t notice at the time. Never again for me I like food way too much.
A month. I wasn’t ready to start eating again, but my parents threatened to take me to the hospital if I didn’t. At the end of it, I could barely stand up, and a half cup of yogurt was all I could manage. During that time period, I barely drank anything, either. I didn’t feel hungry and thirsty whatsoever. My poor body. Of course, my appetite quickly came back once I did start eating again.
Does anyone know how long the average person can go without food and/or water?
Supposedly it’s 2-3 days without any source of water. Note that most foods have a good deal of water in them.
I see that a lot of people here have taken ‘not eating’ to imply that liquid foods are okay. I’d be interested to see what people’s experiences are for not eating or drinking anything but water.
For me, it was three days of total fasting (only water allowed) followed by two weeks of a very strict diet - even vegans don’t have it that bad. It was quite an experience.
About 2 weeks…I’d just had extensive mouth surgery. I drank water and milk ONLY. Everything else irritated my mouth to the point of tears.
It was NOT cool when I could finally eat again. A lot of foods made me sick for awhile until my body could handle eating again.
Mortish:
I heard that the average Joe can go up to 50 days without food, but I could be wrong. I recently heard of a person on a hunger strike surviving ~60 days before snuffing it.
There’s fasting and then there’s fasting. There’s a big difference between taking in only water and taking in liquid nutrients.
If you live on juice and miso soup, or for that matter raw eggs and milkshakes, it isn’t really fasting, just substituting liquid protein & carbs for solid.
I was sort of a Dick Gregory fan in my youth and used to do water-only fasts once a month at the new moon. The longest I ever went on water-only was 4 days. It’s a good idea not to eat much when you break the fast. In fact, just drink juice for a while. Let me tell you, to chug down a quart of grape juice after nothing but days of water will give you quite a sugar buzz.
3 days, not for fun. I had such bad cramps (stomach and menstrual) last July that everything I ate was summarily rejected, so…I decided not to eat, since it seemed like a waste of time.