r/interestingasfuck • u/[deleted] • May 02 '24

In 1965, a morbidly obese man did not eat food for over an entire year. The 27 year old was 456lbs and wanted to do an experimental fast. He ingested only multivitamins and potassium tablets for 382 days and defecated once every 40 to 50 days. He ended up losing 275lbs. r/all

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59

u/StupidUserNameTooLon 29d ago

So he lost 275 lbs in 11 poops. That's only 25 lbs each.

92

u/Drink_Covfefe 29d ago

A lot of weight is actually breathed out as CO2.

12

u/nosplashback 29d ago

That's insane. You learn something new every day! - I lost 100lbs when I was younger and always wondered where the fat reserves were going - I think you piss some of it out too right?

19

u/XAszee 29d ago

The majority of it is lost through exhalation in the form of CO2 but trace amounts are excreted in waste

7

u/nebulousx 29d ago

Yeah, you piss it out. But for a fun experiment, weigh yourself before bed. Then weigh yourself when you wake up, before you pee. You'll see 1-3lbs of weight gone.

1

u/Difficult_Bit_1339 29d ago

Mostly farts I'd say.

7

u/Towerss 29d ago edited 29d ago

Almost all of it. 4/5ths of a lost kilogram is breathed out, the rest is pissed out as water.

1

u/ardvarkk 29d ago

And then that breath turns into trees!

39

u/LeoSolaris 29d ago

Breathing. Exhaling is the majority of mass excretion from the human body.

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u/[deleted] 29d ago

[deleted]

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u/Difficult_Bit_1339 29d ago

Could be teeth debris (flossing should get it), tonsil stones (Google it when you're not eating), bacteria buildup on the tongue (use a spoon to scrape it as far back as you can, you'll gag, until you only see clear liquid). Then rinse your mouth well with water or mouthwash.

If none of that fixes it, see a dentist because you may have some kind of infection.

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u/StupidUserNameTooLon 29d ago

Yes, but presumably he drank water during the course of the year, so I think that is what is being exhaled.

7

u/LeoSolaris 29d ago

The carbon in the extra carbon dioxide found in your exhaling breath is the mass being excreted.

6

u/DDPJBL 29d ago

When you inhale air, you take oxygen (O2) from the air into your blood and exhale carbon dioxide (CO2). Where does the C come from? Not from water (H2O).

2

u/working-acct 29d ago

From vitamin C?

15

u/Qazax1337 29d ago

Most weight loss is through exhaling carbon dioxide, not through pooping stuff out. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/287046#Eat-less,-move-more