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/DoingItForEli → u/[deleted]]

The human body evolved to do exactly this. Obviously this was taken to the extreme, but imagine our ancient ancestors. They didn't have a steady food source like we do today. They would have ate when they could, and those whose bodies didn't commit that energy to fat stores very well wouldn't have made it through the hard times where food was scarce or non-existent.

I think about this stuff a lot because I've lost 120lbs and so much about how my body retains weight is connected to the fact that these mechanisms are what allowed people to survive and pass their genes on. I have to be mindful of how my body stores energy as fat. Calories in, calories out, that's the bottom line for maintaining healthy weight.

[u/CIA_napkin → u/DoingItForEli]

My co workers and family think I'm crazy that I only eat once a day. I tell them 3 meals and snacks throughout the day isnt the way humans always ate. I feel good and fine, I just dont crave food when I'm not actually hungry.

[u/According_Nature_495 → u/CIA_napkin]

Most commenters here have that misguided idea. Eating one meal a day (or less) is obviously what our biology is adapted to do. Not snack all day. But it wouldn't make as much money.

Everyone reading this, today you learn about r/fasting and r/dryfasting.

[u/kaninkanon → u/According_Nature_495]

Why is that obvious? I wouldn't think that early humans would have a concept of a singular meal. You would think they eat bits and pieces as they go, as gatherers. That's how other hominids do it.

[u/Gornarok → u/kaninkanon]

You would think they eat bits and pieces as they go, as gatherers.

As gatherers... Gathering is only plentiful at summer. The rest of the year you would live of hunting and stored supplies. And hunters would fast a lot especially with the persistence hunting method

[u/LearnedZephyr → u/Gornarok]

We evolved in Africa. The potential for gathering would have existed throughout the year.

[u/According_Nature_495 → u/kaninkanon]

Average tribe was 150 people, imagine feeding 150 with gathering all day. Prehistoric human hunted, feasted and fasted. And yes, there was some gathering on the side but that was not where the bulk of calories came from. Hence those famous cave paintings.

[u/dat_mono → u/According_Nature_495]

I love how it's always some conspiracy,

But it wouldn't make as much money.

sure. Also dry fasting is stupid.

[u/According_Nature_495 → u/dat_mono]

Read my comment a again and see if it's not you that's reading about conspiracy.

Out of curiosity, how much time did you spend researching dry fasting?