# how long can one (safely) go without eating?



## wesmdow

how long can one go without eating before it becomes physically harmful?

i havent really eaten in 4 days and i still cant bear to...well i got down half a sandwich today... but its starting to scare me... i think its fucking with my emotions too...

i feel like i should eat but i just cant. how long before i like... pass out and die? 

i guess ill add that ive always had problems eating enough food, and its not an image thing. i just dont get hungry/forget to eat.

but recently its gotten out of hand. i had a bad ecstasy pill that made me unable to eat for 2 days... and on the second day i got  ascrip to adderall, which TOTALLY muted my appetite.

ive lost 18 lbs this week! i am like.. freakishly skinny at this point.. 5'11" and 120lbs even...

what do i do? (stopping adderall is the obvious answer, but thats sooo much easier said than done!)

am i REALLY in danger or will this pass? is it really necessary to eat every single day? (ive always felt like people, americans in particular, overeat to the extreme...)


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## fenix_starr

In terms of surviving, you don't NEED to eat every day. But if you want to stay healthy, I would suggest atleast having 2 meals, breakfast especially. 

The reason you dropped the weight so fast is because your body has gone into starvation mode. It is using its resources (stored body fat) to keep itself going. This isn't healthy!! It can cause huge fluctuations in your weight, messing up your metabolism. 

The body needs vitamins, protein, carbohydrates, etc etc to run properly. 

If nothing else, try to get your hands on some protein powder and make some fruit smoothies. Also try to take some multivitamins. Peanuts? Crackers? Anything! 

You will find your energy will soon start plummeting. . Also, if you stop eating for a while, your body will begin to shut down. That's not unless its been atleast 2 weeks, i'd say. You'd have to google that, and my browser is about to crash so I can't check the specs. 

Start eating little bits and gradually increase to normal serving sizes. . It's good for your body! 

Take care


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## tango

You can survive for something like 30 days without food, but it may be less for you since it doesn't seem like you'd have a lot of fat stored. Health problems would occur before that though, as you'd get low on vitamins... When your body goes into starvation as well it produces higher levels of the hormone cortisol which can trigger bone loss and put you at risk of osteoporosis...

What fenix_starr said about taking a multi vitamin is an excellent idea! 
Also, I've gone through periods when  felt like I just couldn't eat. I have really low blood pressure so I start to feel pretty shitty pretty quickly, but I'd try and make up some sustagen or milo, or just drink milk. Sometimes I'd just switch to soft drinks instead of water! 

It's a good idea to have something solid everyday, especially high energy stuff like dried fruits and nuts. But I know what it feels like to try and force some dry lump of bread down your throat when it's the LAST thing you feel like, terrible!


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## sc4t

you'll start to feel it mentally before you feel it physically

take care of yourself though

just because you don't feel hungry doesn't mean you aren't (if that makes any sense)

^directed to your adderall script an everything


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## MynameisnotDeja

Well Ive heard of people fasting for 30 days or longer for spiritual reasons.
But this is obviously something different...sooo...Id say if you cannot eat at least do some juicing or something to get some nutrients.


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## delta_9

^I've heard of that too, but the longest I can go is like 2 days


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## mariacallas

I wish I could go for a period of time without eating....  I love food too much!
To the OP:


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## >< /-\ /\/ /-\ ><

^Ensure is some good stuff, expensive though.

I had shingles (adult chicken pox) and had really bad sores in my mouth - so bad I couldn't really eat anything.  Those drinks really helped a lot.

That ensure and even the store brands taste pretty good and are loaded with nutrients, but I wouldn't suggest living off of it.

I'm pretty sure the people who fast for 30 days are allowed to nibble a little bit when the sun is down, this Indian guy I used to work with did this.


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## Trogdor

have you tried using cannabis to increase your appetite?


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## fasteddie

A solid meth run reminds me of the transformation into a vampire, as described in an Anne Rice novel.

It takes some time for the body to readjust to normalcy after 2 - 3 - 4 days of not eating. The "Ensure" suggestion is excellent. 

Don't get too run down.  People around me notice, say 'you've gotten thinner' if I do, and it's most uncool.


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## dbailey11

I've heard of people who have gone over a month without food. Without water you'll be dead in about a week.



EDIT: I just remembered that I read about an ascetic yogi who claimed to have gone without food or sleep for over twenty years. He said that he had been shown a way to absorb energy directly from the sun by God. This was in an Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramhansa Yogananda. It's a fascinating read!


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## mzzmuaa

the book of revelations is an equally fascinating and valid read


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## Karaboudjan

So's reading the ramblings of a schizophrenic three year old.


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## dbailey11

^^^don't knock it 'till ya read it,


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## cire113

didnt mahtma ghandi eat no food for something like 30+ days . might have even been upwards to 50 or 60.... hes the man...

Know to the original poster... Ensure, Boost, Protein shakes!!!!!! and some peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches.... if you dont eat you will feel bad if its been longer than a minimum of 5 hrs due to decrease in blood sugars.... i reguarly go around 8 to 10 hours without food before i throw in the towel and eat alot!


good luck


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## Jabberwocky

Go that long without food and your body will start eating its own muscles. Which, of course, isn't good.

As for the guy who didn't eat or sleep for 20 years? Unless he was embryonically frozen then it's shite, pure and simple.


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## wesmdow

hash works.


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## krazycrow

After a while your body will start taking energy from your muscles, teeth and bones so it can continue to run your vital organs, which means you will turn into a skeleton with rotten teeth and weak bones. People who fast a lot use all sorts of juices and energy drinks maybe you could google some info on fasting and put together some drinks, I don’t know though that heath food stuff is expensive sometimes. People like Gandhi and yogis fast for 30 days or so but they don’t burn any energy they turn their bodies fire into a small candle and they don’t give a shit about their bodies. I think it depends on how much energy you burn if you are taking stimulants you are probly burning some energy and need to eat a least once a day. That would be my uneducated guess.


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## Jackal

I have gone a week with only stolen cup soups and two tins of beans. It's not good though. I generally fluctuate in weight by up to 20 pounds a month. Never heavier than 160 and lightest at 128 about three months back.

Im 6'1.

I often forget to eat also but lately I make sure to get at least one BIG meal a day. It's not good when your clothes suddenly don't fit you and you were not overweight to begin with


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## Khadijah

Jus eat the damn food. Yea, you gotta eat to live. Sucks, but true. so, choke it down. i know it sucks to do that when you aint hungry, but if you are logical at all youll just handle your biz and do what you gotta do, to not eat when you know you are physically starving is just bein silly. If you are adult enough to use drugs youre also adult enough to handle your eating maturely and not that "Well, like, i did drugs, and im not hungry, and im loosing weight" Well its stupid to even ask what to to, you know what you have to do, so do it. 

SOrry if that sounds harsh but i been in your situation many times, and sometime in the past few years i just realized how incredibly , ridiculously stupid it is to not eat when you should.when you got a sickness or soemthin its different, but if you go for more than a few days without eating claiming you aint hungry and you forget to eat, then thats just excuses, cuz its something important enough that you need to make time for and make yourself do even if you dont feel like it. This aint whether to go to the store for cigarettes or not, this is your normal healthy body function, dont fuck it up, havin a healthy body and metabolism is a precious gift and if you willingly fuck it up that is a huge waste and somethin that many people with eating disorders would kill to have, so i would suggest stopping the "Im too lazy to eat" fast and eat something,anything, it really dont matter just put some damn food in your stomach.  

Good luck! And i second the smoke weed motion.


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## Dtergent

I've gone almost 3 whole days without food and water, in a drugged-out feverish state


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## mzzmuaa

I went for a few days with nothing. I was soon lying in a hospital bed with some yummy IV drip.


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## zigzag| dta

wesmdow said:
			
		

> how long can one go without eating before it becomes physically harmful?
> 
> i havent really eaten in 4 days and i still cant bear to...well i got down half a sandwich today... but its starting to scare me... i think its fucking with my emotions too...
> 
> i feel like i should eat but i just cant. how long before i like... pass out and die?
> 
> i guess ill add that ive always had problems eating enough food, and its not an image thing. i just dont get hungry/forget to eat.
> 
> but recently its gotten out of hand. i had a bad ecstasy pill that made me unable to eat for 2 days... and on the second day i got  ascrip to adderall, which TOTALLY muted my appetite.
> 
> ive lost 18 lbs this week! i am like.. freakishly skinny at this point.. 5'11" and 120lbs even...
> 
> what do i do? (stopping adderall is the obvious answer, but thats sooo much easier said than done!)
> 
> am i REALLY in danger or will this pass? is it really necessary to eat every single day? (ive always felt like people, americans in particular, overeat to the extreme...)



first off, all americans dont eat unhealthy

that be like me saying all french people smell.


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## fuzzywuzzy123

Using pot is a great way to gain weight, smoke a bowl and you will hungry, also the muscle relaxant Soma makes you hungry as well.


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## Perpetual Indulgence

zigzag| dta said:
			
		

> first off, all americans dont eat unhealthy.



You have got to be kidding.

Approximately 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million obese, and 9 million severely obese. 

This fact is taken from the American Obesity Association.


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## 9mmCensor

I consumed nothing but water and apple juice for 3 days and came down with a bad cold.  body need food to stay healthy.


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## Kul69

> Jus eat the damn food. Yea, you gotta eat to live. Sucks, but true. so, choke it down. i know it sucks to do that when you aint hungry, but if you are logical at all youll just handle your biz and do what you gotta do, to not eat when you know you are physically starving is just bein silly. If you are adult enough to use drugs youre also adult enough to handle your eating maturely and not that "Well, like, i did drugs, and im not hungry, and im loosing weight" Well its stupid to even ask what to to, you know what you have to do, so do it.



Good advice.. I think most people on this message board know what it's like to try to eat food when you're on an amphetamine but you have to do it. You know that you have to do it. 

Come on, if you're a recreational drug user then you should be used to swallowing/tasting disgusting things and forcing yourself to control your gag reflex and just do it for the sake of the high. This is the same thing except for the sake of your health. Just do it.


I just recently spent more than a month without a kitchen so I was only buying prepared meals (fast food and restaurants) for about a week. I don't really like that food already so I was eating one fast food meal a day basically. Then from there I got so sick of eating that disgusting food so much that I just stopped eating.

When I say I stopped eating I mean I would probably eat a candy bar and a coke for the entire day.. or one cup of noodles for the whole day. I didn't totally stop eating (I wasn't on any drugs and I was actually hungry) but I was basically down to less than 1/2 a meal a day of worthless stuff like candy or caffeinated beverages.

My ability to write computer code soared and I was more lucid than I'd been in a long time and eventually my body sort of adjusted and wasn't making me feel hungry anymore. I really felt like I could go on eating this way forever and I'd be fine.

I noticed these really strange marks on my fingernails one day. They were sort of like white dots. I was freaking out thinking that they were some kind of nail fungus or something. After doing some research and looking at pictures though I found out they are spots caused either by trauma to a nail (slamming your finger in a door) or a zinc deficiency. This was my first indication that my health was deteriorating but I didn't take it very seriously.

Then one day I started having weird feelings in my chest which when they first started happening I thought was some kind of blockage in my throat or something because it was at the top of my chest/bottom of my throat. Like most guys do I just ignored the problem and hoped it would resolve itself.

Then for the next couple of days the problem didn't go away and it had become an issue for me when I tried to go to sleep because it happened so frequently. I finally got the idea to take my pulse and see if it was being effected every time this strange feeling happened.

Sure enough, I would feel something slight in my chest that I can't really describe and my pulse would skip a beat then I'd get the strange feeling in my chest that had been bothering me then there was a "surge" in my pulse. It became very clear to me that my heart was skipping beats and the feeling I was getting was the rush of blood or whatever when my heart started again.

This was after nearly a full month of surviving on less than a meal a day. My girlfriend was really worried and kept telling me to go to the hospital but I was still being stuborn about it.

I knew I had to do something though so I finally started cooking meals again and actually eating whenever I was hungry. I relearned what it was like to actually be hungry.

After a couple more days of eating 3 balanced meals a day the problem went away and I've been eating normally since then.

I just wanted to let you know that not eating enough can be a very serious problem especially when you drag it out over a long period of time. To answer your question I think you can safely go without eating for 2-3 days but only if it is a rare occurance and I don't know how adding amphetamines into the mix will affect that. If you are thinking you can go 2-3 days without eating and then eat some for a day or two then go back to amphetamines and not eating for 2-3 days over and over.. No, you can't and it will catch up to you very quickly (for me it took a month).


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## DarthMom

crystalcallas said:
			
		

> I wish I could go for a period of time without eating....  I love food too much!
> To the OP:



since ensure is expensive, using the carnation instant breakfast with whole milk is a good alternative.


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## dbailey11

Stygian8Angel said:
			
		

> yeah.... but c'mon. that's nowhere near all. There's a lot, yes, but most of the people i see around my area are healthy and thin.



Where the hell do _you_ live?8)


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## Perpetual Indulgence

The American Obesity Assoc. must be lying.  Damn propaganda!8(


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## kaleigh_k

you mentioned not being hungry and being anxious. I'm the same. If I start seeing my appetite drop I try to take my vitamins with some liquid cal-mag. At least somethings fueling you and it's not eating, it's swigging water with some pills in it! Force yourself to eat and when you do eat, eat fat, eat protein, eat carbs.  I've been told to eat ice cream before bed. Personally frozen yogurt with fruit works when I can't eat.


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## DarthMom

Perpetual Indulgence said:
			
		

> The American Obesity Assoc. must be lying.  Damn propaganda!8(


penn and teller disagree with you too! they just did a show about this recently.

i love their show, either i vehemently agree with them, or think they are fucking idiots, there is no middle ground.  :D


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