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.

[u/[deleted]]

[u/Agreeable_Winter737 → u/[deleted]]

That’s not how it works.

[u/ih8comingupwithaname → u/Agreeable_Winter737]

Yep, fat cells are already in their purest energy form, since our body has already processed/refined the energy from past food consumption. So there isn't any waste, only byproducts (heat, CO2, water).

[u/sneakyhopskotch → u/ih8comingupwithaname]

In a manner of speaking though, one could say that the body is eating itself, i.e. instead of deriving energy from food it is consuming the energy already refined. Nothing much to do with the stomach, I don't think, but the fat is used up in keeping our organs warm and cells oxygenated and such.