this post was submitted on 31 Jan 2025
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[–] 2d4_bears@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 22 hours ago

Probably around 72 hours. I had a severe bout of depression a decade ago. I’m not certain how long I went without food because my memory of that period is hazy, but I barely ate or left my bed for a week. A few years before that I had salmonella poisoning (do NOT recommend) and didn’t eat or really even sleep for something like 10 days. I drank sugar water and electrolytes to stay alive but I still lost about 10 kilos.

[–] arality@programming.dev 5 points 1 day ago (2 children)
[–] grrgyle@slrpnk.net 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] arality@programming.dev 2 points 7 hours ago

It's not a great story unfortunately. When I was younger, and still believed in an imaginary sky daddy. I was told all throughout childhood that if you believe in him, anything is possible. My mother is a quadriplegic from a car accident when I was 14. So, I REALLY believed that she would be healed and walk again. I fasted for 30 days, praying everyday. After the 30 days I gathered my friends and we all prayed for my mom. As you can imagine, not much has changed, aside from me being an atheist now.

[–] bhamlin@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Just diggin' that air, amirite?

[–] arality@programming.dev 2 points 7 hours ago

Air and water, what more could I ask for?

[–] GladiusB@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Something like 65 hours. I used to routinely do 3 day fasts when I was working out a lot. But routinely like every 3 to 6 months. They are very hard to sleep and be functioning on.

[–] dandelion@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 day ago

Fasts like that can feel so good, though - though my longer fasts were usually 36 - 48 hours.

Something like 36 hours without food, and around 12 hours without water in prep for surgery. I was delirious the last several hours.

[–] grrgyle@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 day ago

Less than 48 hours, I'm sure, and I've been homeless.

[–] gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

It depends on whether you're working or just slacking off. I think i've gone for 60 hours without eating, but that was when i was a teenager and bed-rotting and just didn't care about eating properly.

Now, i don't do that anymore. While being active (going to school, working), i guess it's less than 24 hours.

[–] Strayonaise@lemm.ee 5 points 1 day ago

A few 24 hour periods for surgery. I've gone at least 48 hours without eating, it made me feel pretty rotten

[–] hmmm@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago

Around 30 hour when my great grand mother died.

[–] dditty@lemm.ee 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

When I was in high school I went 48 hours just as an experiment when my mom went out of town. Now that I have GERD I don't think I could make it that long again though

[–] dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Yeah the acid from not eating sucks pretty hard. Thank goodness for pepcid complete.

Edit: Yep, GERD is right.

[–] Kitathalla@lemy.lol 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I usually see it abbreviated as GERD when I'm dealing with doctors' notes, medical forms, patient charts.

[–] dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago

You're right of course, I'll edit. I thought gastrointestinal not gastroesophageal.

[–] IDKWhatUsernametoPutHereLolol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 28 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Like... less than 24 hours

I ain't trying to be the next Gandhi

[–] uhmbah@lemmy.ca 22 points 2 days ago (3 children)

8 day fast. Water only. I was living and eating horribly at the time. I needed a drastic reset and it worked very well.

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[–] OmegaLemmy@discuss.online 10 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

At Ramadan

Wake up, eat breakfast at 4 am Go to work, come back home Fall asleep, don't wake up at the correct time, Come home, fall asleep, wake up late once more, break my fast because I gave up

4:00 to 21:00, sleep from 16:00 to 5:00, forget to break the fast, 6:00 to 20:00, finally break the fast

17 hours + 12 hours = about 30 hours

Even more if you include sleep (45 hours)

[–] moody@lemmings.world 12 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Covid had be bedridden for about 3 days and feeling too sick to eat, and living on my own I had nobody to help me.

[–] palordrolap@fedia.io 17 points 2 days ago

About 30 hours.

I had to go nil-by-mouth for 12 hours before an operation to repair a fairly serious injury and they kept pushing the surgery back and back and back. Higher priority cases were keeping the surgeon. It wasn't like I was low priority either, but my injury was stable and not immediately life threatening.

Did I mention I'd also lost blood? That made for a force multiplier.

In the end, they admitted defeat - the surgeon had worked too long anyway - let me eat something and rescheduled my surgery for the following day.

Let me tell you, that was the best chicken I ever ate.

[–] user224@lemmy.sdf.org 14 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Probably a few days, like 3 maybe. I forget sometimes.

"Why hands shaky?"
Oh...

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[–] Usernameblankface@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

From a Sunday lunch through dinner Wednesday evening.

Not a purposeful fast, I just had a huge hours-long meal of endless samples of steak, lamb, and chicken at a Brazilian Steakhouse. Also several large salads, and a small dessert.

So anyway, I just wasn't hungry for days after that. I didn't have any constipation, no drop in energy, so I went about my business as usual, but without eating for a few days.

Keto diet may be for you then.

[–] hansolo@lemm.ee 10 points 2 days ago

Did a 3 day fast once.

It was actually amazing. The last 8 hours were where it got rough, but from hours 12 to 66, I basically wasn't even hungry because my body entered ketosis. Did full keto for a month afterwards because I was already there. Dropped 15lbs and felt like a golden god for months afterwards. I've done some 36-48 hour fasts since then, but even 48 hours isn't the same thing.

[–] Boomkop3@reddthat.com 8 points 2 days ago

About 6000 kilometres :p

[–] RBWells@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

I used to fast 36 hours a week, but I am sure the 4 day migraines are the longest (can't even drink water without puking). Unless it was that one time we all got the flu, 10 days, but we did drink stuff with calories to stay alive.

So:

From poverty or ED never more than a day. Plenty of skipped meals and undereating but no long stretches with nothing.

Voluntarily fasting, only a couple of days

From sickness 4 days or 10 days, depending on how you define not eating.

[–] GreyShuck@feddit.uk 10 points 2 days ago (4 children)

When I was around 16 or so I decided not to sleep or eat for a week, which I did - so it would be that.

I was fine, overall, but did get some leg cramps when I cycled 12 miles on the last day. I had no great desire to eat at the end - that had faded over the week, really, but it came back pretty soon once I did actually get something down.

Of course, it is a very different thing if you decide not to eat, and have no particular stresses or anything going on to being deprived of food.

[–] RagnarokOnline@programming.dev 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Was this part of an eating disorder? A week of not eating for a person who can already cycle 12 miles seems unusual.

(Hope that’s not too sensitive to ask, feel free not to respond)

[–] GreyShuck@feddit.uk 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

No. I had nothing much going on for a while and just randomly decided to see what it would be like. Yes, it was 'unusual', but 'unusual' has been quite common for me over the years one way or another.

It was some time after this that I discovered what the record for not sleeping was at the time (around 10 days as I recall). It is probably just as well that I did not know that at the time, or I would have tried to beat it - not that I was being supervised or anything, so it wouldn't have counted, but...

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[–] Skua@kbin.earth 9 points 2 days ago

A week for medical reasons, but I was being given intravenous water and nutrients the whole time. Those don't stop you from feeling like your stomach is empty, unfortunately. The first slice of toast afterwards was possibly the best thing I have ever eaten

Out of choice, maybe 32-ish hours? A full day plus sleep the night beforehand

[–] Gerudo@lemm.ee 5 points 2 days ago

I accidentally intermittent fast all the time, adhd brain along with weird lunch pattern at work. I think at this point, I should just say I do it to sound cool.

[–] Hugin@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

I'll do the occasional 72 hour fast. A 24 hour fast once a month. These days I change the 72 hour to a 48 hour then blood test every hour or two until I see a blood sugar rise. That's when the body starts to cannibalize muscle tissue so I stop.

[–] punkwalrus@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

About 4 days. multiple times. I was really poor once. I used to take Tylenol and Tums to keep away the hunger pains, and I am surprised I still have a liver and kidneys.

[–] shinigamiookamiryuu@lemm.ee 1 points 21 hours ago

I am surprised I still have a liver and kidneys.

You would be surprised how resilient the body is when it comes to hunger. My answer would be like yours, I would say I went a few days if not a week without food multiple times, though for me it's less about resources than stress (I am what many would call a "stress-starver") and everything in me related to eating is not only intact but in average condition.

Back when tribes were still a thing, it was written that it was normal for the local tribes where I live to deprive new children (because adoption from other peoples was common) of food on two day patterns, especially when a trek was going on, only to feast on the third day.

[–] JackGreenEarth@lemm.ee 5 points 2 days ago

A bit over 24 hours probably. No eating or drinking, mostly because I forgot to eat supper the previous night then stayed in bed the next day

[–] ptc075@lemmy.zip 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

10 hours, but I'm also a fatty.

Back in college, my buds & I did a road trip across America, so of course we stopped at the Grand Canyon. Breakfast was just a peanut butter & bread "sandwich", at which point we started hiking down the canyon. If you've ever been, they have numerous signs saying "Do not go past this point unless you are packing food". But hey, we're college kids, and we're not going to go THAT much farther... Long story short, that night the rangers had to chaperone us as we fucking crawled back out. One of us 'got' to ride in a helicopter to the medical building. For the other 3 of us who could still move, they manged to find a dusty MRE at the last way station. That was the absolute best chicken & pea soup in a tin foil bag I have ever eaten in my life.

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[–] De_Narm@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

About 3 days. I do it every now and then since it does help relief a medical issue.

Interestingly, I don't get hungry and don't feel much difference overall. I could go much longer, but I don't want to worry about refeeding syndrome.

[–] isyasad@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

32 hours after making a dumb bet. It messed up my appetite for months afterwards. I got $20 though. Not worth it.

[–] Aggravationstation@feddit.uk 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

What effect did it have on your appetite?

[–] isyasad@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

I totally lost my ability to tell whether or not I was hungry. I don't keep a regular meal schedule anyway so it was hard for my body to adjust back, I think.

[–] LainTrain@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Roughly 3 days as well. The shakes were crazy since I was drinking coffee and abusing amphetamine like mad as well.

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[–] IonAddis@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago

About three days. I get headaches, and shakey, and at some point in the first twenty four hours the hunger pangs vanish. So if I focused through something without eatung I might only realize due to headache and the empty vibrating feel.

It happens less as I get older as I understand body signals better and eat before the point when the hunger pangs fade.

[–] DragonsInARoom@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago (2 children)

32 seconds and you're my next meal

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