How long have you gone without food?

[bakerjw]

The thread on stocking up on food brought to mind a question that I always ask people who question why my wife and I stock up on food. What is the longest that you've ever gone without food. Like a total fast. Nothing but water. No juices, milk, etc...

Sometimes in life you hit a spot where you have to stop and question everything. It's like reaching a crossroads and you really have to strip everything down to the bare essentials to get your bearings. That happened to me a few years back and I felt like I had to get a fresh perspective on everything. So, I decided that it would be nothing but water until I got my bearings. The first day or 2 were difficult, but it got easier. I would go to bed hungry and think about how many people in the world were also going to be hungry, not by choice, but by circumstance. The thought of how many children knew no other way of life and accepted hunger as the norm. It really became an eye opening experience. It was also amazing at how strong my sense of smell became. My wife could open a can of tuna or chicken a couple of rooms away and it was overwhelming to me. I tried to continue working on our house but after 3 days I had no energy at all. I lasted 6 1/2 days and started eating again only because I had things that I had to get done. If it weren't for that I felt that I could have gone on at least a few more weeks.

What I did was intentional and I saw that hunger was quite a motivator, especially if it is not a conscious decision.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

I will have to try to dig up two interesting articles for you. One was on how earlier on in certain circles of Western society, it was believed that you would die in a ridiculously short ammount of time without food. With this notion, a man tried to commit suicide, but found his head cleared and spirits rose during his fast...he also found that he did not actually die during that short amount of time.

The other was on a starvation study done during, I believe WWII, that was pretty fascinating in many aspects.

I also tend to think members of the Heaven's Gate cult fasted. I'm sure it says somewhere if they did or not, but I am going by videos of members who had unnaturally bright, white eyes (a trait noted in the starvation study...something about the blood vessels constricting and making eye whites appear bright and very white), and also because they discussed feelings of euphoria and a sense of spiritual awakening which many experience when fasting. I believe that is one reason why fasting is incorporated into just about every world religion.

 

[cupman]

I have a friend who is a fairly religious lady. She was listening to some Christian talk radio and heard one of the speakers on the channel say something about a three day fast that would be spiritual or make you look at things differently, I kind of forget the specifics. Basically it said after three days of no food and only water you would have some kind of experience. Her and I don't really believe in the same things but she brought it up to me and I agreed to give it a try with her anyways.

We both started the same day. I went into the thing weighing 191 pounds. I went for four days and the biggest difference I noticed was going to bed at 8pm rather than 11pm. I never had any spiritual experience but maybe I just didn't know what to look for. I quit craving food after the second day but I could still tell my body needed food. After the 4th day I jumped on the scale and was down to 182lbs. First thing I ate when it was over was a hamburger.. never had a more tasty burger in my whole life.

 

[Baymule]

I have to say I have always been well fed, maybe not filet mignon and cavair, but at least something to eat. I have never fasted to see how long it would take before dreams of cupcakes, steaks and cheese would dance in my fevered mind. I have been broke, poor, unemployed, but always had something to eat. Stocking up in times of plenty sure takes care of you when hard times come.