The FastDay Forum

For the nerds....

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article ... 5-0056.pdf

A 27-year-old male patient fasted under supervision
for 382 days and has subsequently maintained his
normal weight.

Usual disclaimers apply.

Here's a 50 year old paper on intermittent fasting - http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.asp ... eid=328040
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article ... 7-0182.pdf

Funny how old science gets reinvented.

Truly impressive, 27-year old Mr AB's weight went from 456 lbs to 180 lbs, and five years later was still 196 lbs.

If I read it right this was a total fast in the sense of no solid food for 382 days, allowing only zero-calorie liquids and vitamin/mineral supplements.

It puts our 5:2 regime into perspective doesn't it! This is 0:382! I wonder where Mr AB is now? Fit and healthy let us hope, he would be aged 72+ I think, still enjoying the Scottish air (and not the Scottish breakfasts...)

Phil or Caroline, can you explain about protein though? I thought you had to have protein because the body can't store it, yet Mr AB managed without any protein intake for 382 days?

[carorees]

He would have lost muscle as well as fat as the reducing weight required less muscle to move it around. The muscle tissue would have been used to supply protein for repair...is my guess.

Thanks Caroline, so if there is insufficient protein in the diet then the body has to 'eat' its own flesh to make protein? It's an alternative to eating another animal's flesh I suppose! Nice!

"Humans can produce 10 of the 20 amino acids. The others must be supplied in the food. Failure to obtain enough of even 1 of the 10 essential amino acids, those that we cannot make, results in degradation of the body's proteins—muscle and so forth—to obtain the one amino acid that is needed. Unlike fat and starch, the human body does not store excess amino acids for later use—the amino acids must be in the food every day."

http://www.biology.arizona.edu/biochemi ... aa/aa.html

Nice question Dominic. Maybe try asking the Dr on the fasting connection website. They have have an interesting forum too and the Dr gives what appear to be v clear and sound answers.

http://www.fastingconnection.com/forum/ ... mitstart=0

Thanks Phil, I learn something new every day here!

What an amazing achievement but it must have been so gruelling. Having fasted myself for 28 days (juice fast 24 days/water fast final 4 days) I can only imagine how hard that must have been. The first 3 days are very difficult in my experience - not only are you very hungry but you have all kinds of physical symptoms which can be pretty scary - that's why it's so important to be properly supervised. After 3 days the hunger disappears as if by magic (ketosis), but the physiological and psychological changes intensify. Breaking the fast is just as important as the fast itself.

During my fast I lost 32lbs but two years down the line have put it all back on again! That's what is so impressive about this particular faster - that he managed to keep it off. I would definitely consider undertaking another fast - maybe 3/4 days every 2 months and am thinking about it because the physiological benefits are profound according to Valter Longo's research.

[carorees]

Yes, if we knew how he kept the weight off it would be a massive breakthrough!

I would definitely consider undertaking another fast - maybe 3/4 days every 2 months and am thinking about it because the physiological benefits are profound according to Valter Longo's research.

Do you have any links? I ask because I've been considering something along the lines of a 3-day fast every quarter. During the Horizon presentation Longo talked about fasting for 3 to 4 days every few months, and he gave the impression that himself was doing it. Recalling that, I ran a search for Longo's research. Everything I found was either quite general, like the Horizon interview, or related to his work with fasting for cancer prevention and treatment. The latter is certainly impressive and persuasive. But I would also be interested in his research, if any, regarding fasting for healthy individuals.

In particularly, I would like to learn about the benefits of a 3- to 4-day fast a few times a year vs. the 1-day a week fast (non-calorie) that I've been doing.

[carorees]

I thought he said you would have to do the 4 days every month? No? That would be the same as one day a week I suppose.