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Study: Fasting Triggers Body-Wide Changes After 3 Days (www.sciencedaily.com)

submitted 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) by Squire1039@lemm.ee to c/science@lemmy.world

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Fasting for a week:

Causes significant changes in protein levels across various organs.
May have health benefits beyond weight loss, but only after 3 days.
Switches energy source from glucose to fat after 2-3 days.
Average weight loss of 5.7 kg (fat and muscle), with most fat loss sustained after 3 days of eating.

Implications:

Provides insights into the molecular basis of fasting's health effects.
Paves the way for developing alternative treatments based on fasting benefits.
Confirms historical use of fasting for specific health conditions.

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[-] dojan@lemmy.world 28 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

5.7 kilo in three days? That sounds pretty bad (as in dangerous).

[-] agent_flounder@lemmy.world 19 points 8 months ago

Not to mention these results could provide some very dangerous ideas to those with eating disorders (diagnosed or not). Losing 5.7kg (12lb) in three days sounds insanely dangerous. Going for very long is hella dangerous because you're not getting necessary nutrition. That's why there's a minimum calorie intake for dieting and it is dangerous to go below that.

[-] dojan@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago

Yeah as someone who is working on building a healthier relationship with food, this struck me too. It's absolutely super tempting to lose a lot of weight fast, but I'm firm in my belief that if I want to have results that stick, my attitude towards food needs to change. It's honestly going really well too.

[-] agent_flounder@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

I am genuinely glad to hear that! Because I know it is really hard (from experience; still working on it)

[-] dojan@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

I've a feeling it's probably a thing that one will have to remain cognisant of indefinitely. I'm just glad it's a fucked up relationship with food rather than something like a sugar addiction, because that seems really tough to handle. Best of luck to us both, I'm sure we can do it! 🥳

[-] agent_flounder@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

Yes we can!

[-] Baahb@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

Since it looks like you didn't read the article. It's not a 3 day study. 5.8 kg in 3 days is terrifying but it's not what happened.

Researchers followed 12 healthy volunteers taking part in a seven-day water-only fast. The volunteers were monitored closely on a daily basis to record changes in the levels of around 3,000 proteins in their blood before, during, and after the fast. By identifying which proteins are involved in the body's response, the researchers could then predict potential health outcomes of prolonged fasting by integrating genetic information from large-scale studies.

[-] Cuttlefish1111@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

Medical professional here. This is crazy. This is starving your body, I do not recommend.

[-] SendMePhotos@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago

But what about the potential health benefits?

[-] Cuttlefish1111@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

The body believes it is starving after 24 hours and begins to eat itself. The risks far outweigh the benefits. Have to lose weight the real way, diet and exercise.

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[-] Baahb@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

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[-] RainfallSonata@lemmy.world 17 points 8 months ago

The article says it was "fat and lean mass" not water weight. And while the "lean mass" (which I guess could be water) retuned after eating again, the "fat mass" did not.

[-] ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 8 months ago

Lean mass is generally known as a combination as everything besides fat. So muscle, water, and shit would be my guess.

[-] Socsa@sh.itjust.works 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Yes with a normal diet there is something like an average of 5 pounds of actual shit inside of you. Initial weight loss from calorie restrictions literally happens because there is less poop.

[-] rowinxavier@lemmy.world 12 points 8 months ago

You will drop a bunch of water at the start if you are eating carbs beforehand because of the water holding the glycogen in your muscles. As you use the glycogen the water holding it also goes, so it isn't fat loss, just water weight.

[-] RainfallSonata@lemmy.world 9 points 8 months ago

The volunteers lost an average of 5.7 kg of both fat mass and lean mass. After three days of eating after fasting, the weight stayed off -- the loss of lean was almost completely reversed, but the fat mass stayed off.

[-] rowinxavier@lemmy.world 11 points 8 months ago

Yes, correct, so a smaller portion is fat loss but not the full 5.7kg average. I should have been clearer, they did lose a meaningful amount of weight and it does seem to be beneficial, but it is not 5.7kg of fat loss per person on average, it is a loss of 5.7kg average mass with a portion of that being actual body fat.

[-] dojan@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

Right, that makes sense.

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[-] TisI@reddthat.com 5 points 8 months ago

I think that's for the whole week, but even then, it depends on the person's weight to begin with.

[-] skeptomatic@lemmy.ca 2 points 8 months ago

Looks like it's 5.7 kg loss in a week, the weight loss is sustained after resuming eating for 3 days

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[-] Tangent5280@lemmy.world 19 points 8 months ago

I can't imagine not eating for three whole days. I'd be a groveling mess switching between begging for food and raging at every little thing. How do people do this comfortably? Atleast without breaking the china?

Is there a way to train yourself vis a vis slowly building tolerance or something?

[-] Socsa@sh.itjust.works 14 points 8 months ago

Hunger is entirely a hormonal thing. It's basically a form of anxiety your body induces to make you want to eat. After about 18 hours without food your body switches itself into different hormone state where you just don't experience hunger the same way.

[-] BrightCandle@lemmy.world 13 points 8 months ago

I have done it quite a few times its actually not that bad. The first 24 hours is usually the worst and then the hunger goes away most of the time. You get reminders that you are hungry but it doesn't last. Its no where near as bad as people think it is from the first hunger pangs you just have to get over that initial hump.

[-] Socsa@sh.itjust.works 11 points 8 months ago

The biggest secret to losing weight is literally to just be hungry. Once you feel hunger, that's your body telling you that you are running a calorie deficit.

[-] constantokra@lemmy.one 5 points 8 months ago

I wish I had started fasting sooner. When you got for a few days without food it really puts that grouchy kind of afternoon hunger into perspective. I used to feel anxious about where and when I was going to eat, whether or not I was hungry. Now that i'm comfortable with going without food for days i'm just totally unconcerned about it.

[-] SoleInvictus@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

It's like having a super power. I remember being stuck in the Santa Fe airport in the late afternoon waiting for my massively delayed flight to arrive. After three hours or so, it's past dinner time and people start becoming unglued. One family even has pizza delivered and manages to convince airport security to run it through the security gauntlet for them. I had been fasting for awhile so I was fine, where a year prior I would have been scrambling for food with the rest of them.

[-] constantokra@lemmy.one 3 points 8 months ago

Exactly. Even if you plan on eating, just the ability to stretch that for a couple more hours till everyone else isn't hungry at the same time is huge. Even if people have no plans or reason to fast for health, as long as they can do it safely they should try, just for their own peace of mind.

I was shocked when my doctor suggested intermittent fasting, but having done one meal a day for a while it was only a tiny bit more difficult when I did my 5 day fast. It's just so freeing to realize that I can go for days without eating with basically no ill effects. It really does reinforce that, if you're a bit overweight like I am, 3 meals a day, even if they're healthy, is a luxury I don't need. To day nothing of the horribly unhealthy food i'd like to be eating.

Even more, it's helped my relationship with food. I used to worry about the 'healthy' option that would still fill me up. In a restaurant that just doesn't exist. Well, if there isn't one, I just won't eat. Or I'll sit down to a 3000 calorie meal with zero guilt because i've either not eaten for long enough that it's a reasonable intake, or I can just not eat later. It's really taken a lot of food related stress out of my life. Of course, I see how that could be bad for people with certain types of relationships with food, but it's helped me immensely.

[-] SendMePhotos@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

Yeah... At one point I forgot what that feeling was. Was just a weird feeling, "what this?.... Oh wait... Dude this is 'hunger' wtf?!"

Needless to say, I'm overweight again.

[-] BugleFingers@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

You could do what I just did and get a horrible stomach bug that leaves you in bed for four days dreading the thought of food and barely able to suck down half a glass of water! -5/10 would recommend active effort to avoid.

RIP myself, silver lining though lmao

Edit: I did lose ~10lbs though likely a fair amount is water weight

[-] constantokra@lemmy.one 2 points 8 months ago

It really isn't a big deal. You do think of food, but after the second day it's not like you're hungry. If you start by intermittent fasting, eating one meal a day, or reducing carbs it makes it a bit easier. Honestly, I find scheduling fasts around family gatherings, etc. much more difficult than being hungry.

[-] Metype@lemmy.world 8 points 8 months ago

The only time I've gone that long without eating was when I was stressed beyond belief. It was excruciating and I cannot imagine doing that willingly.