Day-by-day breakdown of what happens to your body when you stop eating for a week after man shared impact it had on him
A video has given a day-by-day breakdown of what would happen to your body if you gave up food for an entire week, and as you'd expect, it takes a pretty grim turn.
Unfortunately, we live in a society where people are willing to try desperate and sometimes dangerous methods in order to lose weight.
You only need to look at the sheer number of people online, who can often be encouraged by influencers, to take weight loss drugs off-label despite being nowhere near the strict criteria to qualify for a legal prescription.
Another method which some people have tried out is fasting, and done correctly, this can have some huge benefits on the body.
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But anything more than 36 hours and you're probably going to run into trouble, especially if your body simply isn't used to doing something like it.
However, one lad decided to try giving up food for a week to see how it impacted his body, and he suggested that it was a real rollercoaster from feeling like a zombie to feeling like a god.
'I woke up feeling hollow, like someone scooped out my insides'
Justin Dorff said that after a few days of the challenge, things were 'fantastically rough', explaining: “I woke up feeling hollow, like someone scooped out my insides, and I'm just withering away. Also, my hands and feet were cold and white.”
The creator was feeling nauseated and had brain fog after just two days of no food, with nothing but pills and water to keep him going, but by day five, things were looking up.
“On day five, for the first time, I cared more about how I felt than how I looked. I wasn't white knuckling it through hunger and cravings. I had tons of energy and crushed my workouts,” Justin revealed to his subscribers.
So, it shows that it can be done, so long as it is done safely, but a YouTube video has now taken viewers through exactly what happens to the body each day you give up food, and why going longer than a week can be incredibly dangerous and sometimes deadly.
Six hours after last meal
Around six hours after your last meal, the body has digested all the food and turned it into glucose or energy for the body and brain. This is where your brain starts telling the body that you are hungry, because it is low on energy.
You will probably become irritable or 'hangry' at this point if you continue not to eat.
24 hours no food
A full 24 hours after you stop eating, you might feel better if you've had a good night's sleep.
The body is now surviving on any conserved energy, so you will probably start to feel tired and potentially a little crazy at this point.
Indeed, according to Healthline: "During the first 24 hours without food, as your glucose storage is depleted, your body will begin to convert glycogen from your liver and muscles into glucose."
Two days no food
Two days after you stop eating, there is no glucose left, and the body starts to survive on ketosis, a metabolic state where your body uses fat for fuel instead of glucose due to a lack of carbohydrates.
But once the ketone bodies are gone, the body will start to destroy itself to keep you alive.
Three days no food
After three days with no food, the body will start to eat itself, breaking down carbohydrates and fats from the body, which might make you lose weight quickly.
There are downsides to this, as you'll start to feel tired all the time, and the body's organs will also shrink in an attempt to conserve energy.
The body is now in full starvation mode at this point, with your blood pressure dropping and heart slowing in an attempt to keep you going.
Five days no food
After five days, the video suggests that you will start to behave more like a cornered, aggressive animal, with non-essential organs also shutting down to try and keep the brain going.
The digestive system will be one of the first to shut down, and you'll likely have diarrhoea, which means you lose even more vital nutrients.
One week no food
The brain could be permanently damaged at this point, and by seven days, the body is starting to break down its own proteins, which can have horrible consequences on all the organs in the body, including the heart.
At this point, the video suggests that death is only a few days away.
So, as much as you might want to try fasting for a little while, be wary that going a week without food can put you at risk of serious long-term damage.
James Moorhouse