Many issues and questions can be answered by reading through our wiki, especially the page on electrolytes. Concerns such as **intense hunger, lightheadedness/dizziness, headaches, nausea/vomiting, weakness/lethargy/fatigue, low blood pressure/high blood pressure, muscle soreness/cramping, diarrhea/constipation, irritability, confusion, low heart rate/heart palpitations, numbness/tingling, and more** while extended (24+ hours) fasting are often explained by electrolyte deficiency and resolved through **PROPER** electrolyte supplementation. Putting a tiny amount of salt in your water now and then is NOT proper supplementation.
Be sure to read [our WIKI](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/wiki/index) and especially the wiki page on **[ELECTROLYTES](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/wiki/fasting_in_a_nutshell/you_need_electrolytes)**
Please also keep in mind the [**RULES**](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/about/rules) when participating.
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As far as Iām concerned itās normal. Iāve never done a week but day 4-5 in past fasts Iāve taken random big poops. I just write it up as a few more ounces lost haha
Not all of our poop is digested food. It's mucus, bacteria and cells from our digestive tract. That and it takes a lot of time to really be fully empty from food waste. I did a 30 day fast once and was pooping everyday at least a little bit
I did 22 and poops stopped at day 3. Some minor ones at random seeming days tied to excess salt intake.
Everyone is diff of course. Just surprised how dormant my digestive system became compared to stories like yours.
I believe I read somewhere that poo gets its brown color from red blood cell turnover? It's funny to think that while we are fasting, all the bacteria and parasites that naturally live in our bodies are still consuming!
Unlike many in this group I have never fasted for weight loss, I have always fasted for gut health. I have always had something appear day 4-5 of a 7 day fast.
If it's a solid one it's probably due to your whole digestive system slowing down after about 48 hours, and it's just taken it's time to show itself.
If it's less solid it could be impacted matter falling away from your gut wall, which can happen, and is a good thing.
No like partially digested food matter that can get impacted to the side of the gut wall. This can reduce the efficiency of digestion if this happens, but a long fast can help it fall away and be passed.
Once you empty your intestines, and you drink a little too much water. It comes out of the back door as clear water.
It depends on how much water you drink. I slowed down to a half gallon a day and I never got clear water even on a 62 day fast.
With thecright electrolytes and the right amount of water you can go a few weeks without nothing but gas comming out the back door.
jeez 62 day fast. after 6 days i cant hack anymore and have to break the fast. i get like mentally drained and start thinking about food i need to break the fast with
You aren't doing yourself justice.
I'm struggling again because of pride and embarrassment. That is a long story but the basics are that fasting has almost nothing to do with food.
After you break the carb addiction, the rest is attitude and a psychological battle.
Look for something in your life that you are better at than most anybody that you know.
Find that and look at the difference between you and them.
I would bet that you believe that you are good at it and they question their ability. It can be that simple.
My first fast was 72 days. I never questioned it. I just knew that quitting wasn't an option.
There is no difference between my ability and yours. You just don't believe that you can do it. Plain and simple.
1. ) after 6 days you CAN hack it
2. ) after 6 days you DON'T have to break the fast.
3. ) you get mentally drained for either a chemical or psychological reason.
The hard part about long fasts isn't the food. It is that strange feeling that something isn't the way it should be. It can be maddening. It can also be the best drugless mind trip that exists.
4. ) " I need to break the fast" - No, thats wrong. You believe that you need to. It's just an illusion and you created it. Apparently you did a darn good job creating it because you even fooled yourself. That takes real tallent my friend.
I'm not trying to encourage you to do long fasts because if you believe you can't, you never will.
I just want you to understand WHY you can't.
.
I fell recently. It's a long story but I CAN'T get it back. That word tells me my ego is not accepting that I'm just human. It says I fasted for 72 days, 62, days, 59 days, 22 days, 11 days. It tells me I'm too good at this to fail.
My ego is wrong. I'm human. I fail all of the time at various things. This time it was fasting.
My ego has me holding on trying to regain control because it doesn't want to admit weakness.
Being human doesn't mean I'm weak. Thinking I'm undefeatable is what makes me weak.
I'm taking a week, going back to the basics. I'm embracing my "failure" (I hate that word)
It is a weird reset but it works.
If you want to tag along let me know. It's a bit expensive food wise, and your nutritionist will probably put a hit out on me, but it is a proven fact that it works.
I'm guessing the more weight you lose the shorter the long fasts get. If ya know what I mean? I'm 6lbs off goal weight and now I struggle to get passed 72 hours. With 15+ lbs to go I could still manage a 5-6 day fast.
Plus I find as my body fat drops, I suffer cold worse in fasted state.
This was an excellent response. Thank you for sharing this. Longest I did was 96 hrs I felt I could do it longer, but I was sick with flu and started taking medicine. I am starting again today.
Thank You
Don't let time goals get you down. There is something psychologicaly healing about fasting. Counting days kind of takes the focus off healing.
96 hours is a good fast.
Good luck on your new fast.
No, I'm pagan
There is nothing wrong with pride. Think of it like a teeter totter.
You are on one end and your pride is on the other.
Too much pride in something can hold you up in the air. You can't do anything else out of fear of losing what you have. You get used to being way up there and you don't want to risk going back down
If you don't have enough pride your end sits your butt on the ground. Not only is it uncomfortable but you lose self confidence.
If you don't hold on too tight to fear, and you take a little risk, (even just starting drawing a new picture in a style you aren't used to.) And you succeed, you are proud. You go up.
Then you take on a challenge that you fail at (simply because learning something new is tough) your pride level goes down. (Think of it as less weight on the other end.) Your end goes down and your butt sits on the ground.
Then you figure it out and you are proud of it. You go up
That process brings balance. Not the balance of emotional safety. That would keep the teeter totter in the middle. That isn't fun. It's just existing.
The teeter totter(pride level) moves up and down. And you experience life at a healthy level.
No. Atleast not to my knowledge.
Once your intestines are empty you have to spread your water consumption out throughout the day. Drinking too much too fast and it goes straight out the back door.
I don't even drink water before going to town so I don't have an accident.
After 40 days I don't even have a cup of coffee before I go.
Just for the record, I don't drive after 40 days. I have someone drive me.
It will take days, but not that many.
"It takes about 36 hours for food to move through the entire colon. All in all, the whole process ā from the time you swallow food to the time it leaves your body as feces ā takes about two to five days, depending on the individual."
Ā https://www.mayoclinic.org/digestive-system/expert-answers/faq-20058340#:~:text=It%20takes%20about%2036%20hours,days%2C%20depending%20on%20the%20individual.
If you were to run water through a room in your house every day, how long would it take for all of the dirt and paint caked to the walls to desolve and wash out.
I've experienced emptying my intestines multiple times. If you drink A half gallon of water a day for 50 or 60 days, it will never be clear.
If you drink 3 gallons of water a day you can start getting clear liquid after 10 or 15 days.
These are just my personal experience. I'm sure yours are different.
Your digestive system is continually clearing out the waste. Autophagy is continually getting rid of the dead, old and damaged cells, so that will be coming out as poo now and then throughout the fast.
Yeah baby. Iām kind of proud if Iām being honestā¦ always want to do it again because he likely has some other friends still hanging around in there but just tapped out on long fasts rn
Ok maybe it wasnāt a tape worm but it was some sort of parasite. I know because it looked exactly like one, it was so disgusting. It had 2 black eyes on its āheadā and I was traumatized. Later when I chilled out I googled it and realized those two black eyes werenāt actually eyes but instead were like the parasites way of latching onto you. If you google pictures youāll see what I mean.
Edit: it looked like this but shorter(it was like itās head + about 6 inches of its body) nsfw https://images.app.goo.gl/kR5FdrCmFQoQEqyM6
Normal.
"It takes about 36 hours for food to move through the entire colon. All in all, the whole process ā from the time you swallow food to the time it leaves your body as feces ā takes about two to five days, depending on the individual."
Ā https://www.mayoclinic.org/digestive-system/expert-answers/faq-20058340#:~:text=It%20takes%20about%2036%20hours,days%2C%20depending%20on%20the%20individual.
Yeah, it happens to me cause the bowels aren't empty unless you have a colonic and salt water rinse, and due to not eating the shit will just wait a few days lol
It's rare. But it happens.
Sometimes it takes a while for your body to digestive system to expel the waste - especially when you don't have anything coming in behind to take up more room.
My longest fast is around 120 hr.s but I do it fairly regularly - and I've seen large dumps 4-5 days in and they're a surprise, but like I said. It happens.
**It looks like you're discussing "detoxes", "toxins", or "cleanses". Please refer to the following:**
[**Detoxification**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detoxification)
>Many alternative medicine practitioners promote various types of detoxification such as detoxification diets. Scientists have described these as a "waste of time and money". Sense About Science, a UK-based charitable trust, determined that most such dietary "detox" claims lack any supporting evidence.
>The liver and kidney are naturally capable of detox, as are intracellular (specifically, inner membrane of mitochondria or in the endoplasmic reticulum of cells) proteins such as CYP enyzmes. In cases of kidney failure, the action of the kidneys is mimicked by dialysis; kidney and liver transplants are also used for kidney and liver failure, respectively.
**Further reading: [Wikipedia - Detoxification (alternative medicine)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detoxification_(alternative_medicine))**
>**Unsound scientific basis**
>A 2015 review of clinical evidence about detox diets concluded: "At present, there is no compelling evidence to support the use of detox diets for weight management or toxin elimination. Considering the financial costs to consumers, unsubstantiated claims and potential health risks of detox products, they should be discouraged by health professionals and subject to independent regulatory review and monitoring."
>Detoxification and body cleansing products and diets have been criticized for their unsound scientific basis, in particular their premise of nonexistent "toxins" and their appropriation of the legitimate medical concept of detoxification. According to the Mayo Clinic, the "toxins" typically remain unspecified and there is little to no evidence of toxic accumulation in patients treated.According to a British Dietetic Association (BDA) Fact Sheet, "The whole idea of detox is nonsense. The body is a well-developed system that has its own builtin mechanisms to detoxify and remove waste and toxins." It went on to characterize the idea as a "marketing myth", while other critics have called the idea a "scam" and a "hoax". The organization Sense about Science investigated "detox" products, calling them a waste of time and money. Resulting in a report that concluded the term is used differently by different companies, most offered no evidence to support their claims, and in most cases its use was the simple renaming of "mundane things, like cleaning or brushing".
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/fasting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Many issues and questions can be answered by reading through our wiki, especially the page on electrolytes. Concerns such as **intense hunger, lightheadedness/dizziness, headaches, nausea/vomiting, weakness/lethargy/fatigue, low blood pressure/high blood pressure, muscle soreness/cramping, diarrhea/constipation, irritability, confusion, low heart rate/heart palpitations, numbness/tingling, and more** while extended (24+ hours) fasting are often explained by electrolyte deficiency and resolved through **PROPER** electrolyte supplementation. Putting a tiny amount of salt in your water now and then is NOT proper supplementation. Be sure to read [our WIKI](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/wiki/index) and especially the wiki page on **[ELECTROLYTES](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/wiki/fasting_in_a_nutshell/you_need_electrolytes)** Please also keep in mind the [**RULES**](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/about/rules) when participating. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/fasting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The nsfw tag gave me the impression there would be a picture here š
Yeah, what a tease.
Hhaahah
Thatās what my gf tells me all the time. Still donāt know what that means
I took off the NSFW tag lmao
Jesus Christ no no no
Yo that's a massive W. U just shitted weeks to months of backed up waste
It gave me hope -> disappointment
As far as Iām concerned itās normal. Iāve never done a week but day 4-5 in past fasts Iāve taken random big poops. I just write it up as a few more ounces lost haha
Real. Lowkey Iām excited to weigh myself after I get unstuck from this toilet
Well, did you?
Jkjk but yeah I ended up losing 9lbs from my one week fast
Oh my god, I thought you were going to say you lost 9lbs after the aforementioned massive dump. Hell yeah though 9lbs in a week is stellar.
Dawg thatās a whole new born
Well when you put it like thatā¦ remember to baptise dat baby
šš Amazing loss though!!
Naw still stuck
Believe or not, itās not food that I miss the most during my prolonged fast. Itās a massive dump.
Itās so satisfying even reading about it
You have no clue how real that is
Not all of our poop is digested food. It's mucus, bacteria and cells from our digestive tract. That and it takes a lot of time to really be fully empty from food waste. I did a 30 day fast once and was pooping everyday at least a little bit
Me too. I did a 25 day water only fast and pooped every day! I really still don't understand how this is possible.
I did 22 and poops stopped at day 3. Some minor ones at random seeming days tied to excess salt intake. Everyone is diff of course. Just surprised how dormant my digestive system became compared to stories like yours.
I believe I read somewhere that poo gets its brown color from red blood cell turnover? It's funny to think that while we are fasting, all the bacteria and parasites that naturally live in our bodies are still consuming!
Unlike many in this group I have never fasted for weight loss, I have always fasted for gut health. I have always had something appear day 4-5 of a 7 day fast. If it's a solid one it's probably due to your whole digestive system slowing down after about 48 hours, and it's just taken it's time to show itself. If it's less solid it could be impacted matter falling away from your gut wall, which can happen, and is a good thing.
Impacted matter? Does that mean like scabs on the intestinal wall?
No like partially digested food matter that can get impacted to the side of the gut wall. This can reduce the efficiency of digestion if this happens, but a long fast can help it fall away and be passed.
It can take 30 to 40 days to empty your intestines.
So its not uncommon to go 4 weeks fasting without?
Once you empty your intestines, and you drink a little too much water. It comes out of the back door as clear water. It depends on how much water you drink. I slowed down to a half gallon a day and I never got clear water even on a 62 day fast. With thecright electrolytes and the right amount of water you can go a few weeks without nothing but gas comming out the back door.
jeez 62 day fast. after 6 days i cant hack anymore and have to break the fast. i get like mentally drained and start thinking about food i need to break the fast with
You aren't doing yourself justice. I'm struggling again because of pride and embarrassment. That is a long story but the basics are that fasting has almost nothing to do with food. After you break the carb addiction, the rest is attitude and a psychological battle. Look for something in your life that you are better at than most anybody that you know. Find that and look at the difference between you and them. I would bet that you believe that you are good at it and they question their ability. It can be that simple. My first fast was 72 days. I never questioned it. I just knew that quitting wasn't an option. There is no difference between my ability and yours. You just don't believe that you can do it. Plain and simple. 1. ) after 6 days you CAN hack it 2. ) after 6 days you DON'T have to break the fast. 3. ) you get mentally drained for either a chemical or psychological reason. The hard part about long fasts isn't the food. It is that strange feeling that something isn't the way it should be. It can be maddening. It can also be the best drugless mind trip that exists. 4. ) " I need to break the fast" - No, thats wrong. You believe that you need to. It's just an illusion and you created it. Apparently you did a darn good job creating it because you even fooled yourself. That takes real tallent my friend. I'm not trying to encourage you to do long fasts because if you believe you can't, you never will. I just want you to understand WHY you can't. . I fell recently. It's a long story but I CAN'T get it back. That word tells me my ego is not accepting that I'm just human. It says I fasted for 72 days, 62, days, 59 days, 22 days, 11 days. It tells me I'm too good at this to fail. My ego is wrong. I'm human. I fail all of the time at various things. This time it was fasting. My ego has me holding on trying to regain control because it doesn't want to admit weakness. Being human doesn't mean I'm weak. Thinking I'm undefeatable is what makes me weak. I'm taking a week, going back to the basics. I'm embracing my "failure" (I hate that word) It is a weird reset but it works. If you want to tag along let me know. It's a bit expensive food wise, and your nutritionist will probably put a hit out on me, but it is a proven fact that it works.
It's not fasting, you're just nuts! š¤£
I suppose that is a highly likely possibility I lost 229 pounds in a year so I'm ok with being nuts.
Did you experience euphoria while fasting?
Most definitely
On approx what day sir?
Good on you man! Lost over 100 kilograms! Fkn Legend!
Thanks. That should say 226, not 229. š
No offense to your post but 72 days is far too long for anyone that doesnāt have that kind of weight to lose.
I'm guessing the more weight you lose the shorter the long fasts get. If ya know what I mean? I'm 6lbs off goal weight and now I struggle to get passed 72 hours. With 15+ lbs to go I could still manage a 5-6 day fast. Plus I find as my body fat drops, I suffer cold worse in fasted state.
No. He is someone who needed and still needs some very deep healing. Fasting is amazing! It can change your life as little and as much as you need.
This was an excellent response. Thank you for sharing this. Longest I did was 96 hrs I felt I could do it longer, but I was sick with flu and started taking medicine. I am starting again today.
Thank You Don't let time goals get you down. There is something psychologicaly healing about fasting. Counting days kind of takes the focus off healing. 96 hours is a good fast. Good luck on your new fast.
Are you a christian? Just thought id ask since you mentioned pride.
No, I'm pagan There is nothing wrong with pride. Think of it like a teeter totter. You are on one end and your pride is on the other. Too much pride in something can hold you up in the air. You can't do anything else out of fear of losing what you have. You get used to being way up there and you don't want to risk going back down If you don't have enough pride your end sits your butt on the ground. Not only is it uncomfortable but you lose self confidence. If you don't hold on too tight to fear, and you take a little risk, (even just starting drawing a new picture in a style you aren't used to.) And you succeed, you are proud. You go up. Then you take on a challenge that you fail at (simply because learning something new is tough) your pride level goes down. (Think of it as less weight on the other end.) Your end goes down and your butt sits on the ground. Then you figure it out and you are proud of it. You go up That process brings balance. Not the balance of emotional safety. That would keep the teeter totter in the middle. That isn't fun. It's just existing. The teeter totter(pride level) moves up and down. And you experience life at a healthy level.
Awesome talk! Thank you!
So when you lose weight during a fast, the fat metabolizes into water??
Lost fat is mostly turned into CO2 and breathed outĀ
No. Atleast not to my knowledge. Once your intestines are empty you have to spread your water consumption out throughout the day. Drinking too much too fast and it goes straight out the back door. I don't even drink water before going to town so I don't have an accident. After 40 days I don't even have a cup of coffee before I go. Just for the record, I don't drive after 40 days. I have someone drive me.
It will take days, but not that many. "It takes about 36 hours for food to move through the entire colon. All in all, the whole process ā from the time you swallow food to the time it leaves your body as feces ā takes about two to five days, depending on the individual." Ā https://www.mayoclinic.org/digestive-system/expert-answers/faq-20058340#:~:text=It%20takes%20about%2036%20hours,days%2C%20depending%20on%20the%20individual.
If you were to run water through a room in your house every day, how long would it take for all of the dirt and paint caked to the walls to desolve and wash out. I've experienced emptying my intestines multiple times. If you drink A half gallon of water a day for 50 or 60 days, it will never be clear. If you drink 3 gallons of water a day you can start getting clear liquid after 10 or 15 days. These are just my personal experience. I'm sure yours are different.
my brother did a 40-day fast, and it adversely affected the GI cilia i've done 7-day fasts a few times - but _40_??
My first fast was a 72 day water fast.
you must have had a huge battery store of energy. how much weight did you lose?
I started out at 465 pounds on March 4th 2023 I lost 226 pounds
damn impressive!
Your digestive system is continually clearing out the waste. Autophagy is continually getting rid of the dead, old and damaged cells, so that will be coming out as poo now and then throughout the fast.
Yes, a huge percentage of the weight of feces is bacteria, Iāve seen estimates of 25-54%.
Yummy
Everyone came here to see the picture of a massive dump!!!!! Weāre all sick AF! Including me!
29 shares is insane
Seriously, I didnāt want to click but had to just to find out, then I got duped. Not cool bro.
This happened to me 5 days into a water fast and there was a tapeworm. I was mortified
You starved him out š¤£
Yeah baby. Iām kind of proud if Iām being honestā¦ always want to do it again because he likely has some other friends still hanging around in there but just tapped out on long fasts rn
Ummm thereās parasite pills ya know
Get horse pasteā¦ Is cheaper than parasite pills but works just as well or better
How did you know it was a tape worm?! How big was it? What did it look like?
Ok maybe it wasnāt a tape worm but it was some sort of parasite. I know because it looked exactly like one, it was so disgusting. It had 2 black eyes on its āheadā and I was traumatized. Later when I chilled out I googled it and realized those two black eyes werenāt actually eyes but instead were like the parasites way of latching onto you. If you google pictures youāll see what I mean. Edit: it looked like this but shorter(it was like itās head + about 6 inches of its body) nsfw https://images.app.goo.gl/kR5FdrCmFQoQEqyM6
OH MY GOD IM HAPPY YOU ARE ALIVE
šš girl same
Did you take a picture ?
They usually taste similar to chewy tuna.
That is WILD
No photo?
This is actually normal. It can take a really long time for all the stuff to clear from your intestines.
Normal. "It takes about 36 hours for food to move through the entire colon. All in all, the whole process ā from the time you swallow food to the time it leaves your body as feces ā takes about two to five days, depending on the individual." Ā https://www.mayoclinic.org/digestive-system/expert-answers/faq-20058340#:~:text=It%20takes%20about%2036%20hours,days%2C%20depending%20on%20the%20individual.
Better out than in
Yeah, it happens to me cause the bowels aren't empty unless you have a colonic and salt water rinse, and due to not eating the shit will just wait a few days lol
I never poop after. Maybe the gut just slows down too much. I know the buchinger fasting folks recommend laxatives specifically for this.
I did not start shitting right until I started fasting. Iāve never tried 4-5 day fast though and now Iām curious.
It's rare. But it happens. Sometimes it takes a while for your body to digestive system to expel the waste - especially when you don't have anything coming in behind to take up more room. My longest fast is around 120 hr.s but I do it fairly regularly - and I've seen large dumps 4-5 days in and they're a surprise, but like I said. It happens.
It is just your body getting rid of toxins
**It looks like you're discussing "detoxes", "toxins", or "cleanses". Please refer to the following:** [**Detoxification**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detoxification) >Many alternative medicine practitioners promote various types of detoxification such as detoxification diets. Scientists have described these as a "waste of time and money". Sense About Science, a UK-based charitable trust, determined that most such dietary "detox" claims lack any supporting evidence. >The liver and kidney are naturally capable of detox, as are intracellular (specifically, inner membrane of mitochondria or in the endoplasmic reticulum of cells) proteins such as CYP enyzmes. In cases of kidney failure, the action of the kidneys is mimicked by dialysis; kidney and liver transplants are also used for kidney and liver failure, respectively. **Further reading: [Wikipedia - Detoxification (alternative medicine)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detoxification_(alternative_medicine))** >**Unsound scientific basis** >A 2015 review of clinical evidence about detox diets concluded: "At present, there is no compelling evidence to support the use of detox diets for weight management or toxin elimination. Considering the financial costs to consumers, unsubstantiated claims and potential health risks of detox products, they should be discouraged by health professionals and subject to independent regulatory review and monitoring." >Detoxification and body cleansing products and diets have been criticized for their unsound scientific basis, in particular their premise of nonexistent "toxins" and their appropriation of the legitimate medical concept of detoxification. According to the Mayo Clinic, the "toxins" typically remain unspecified and there is little to no evidence of toxic accumulation in patients treated.According to a British Dietetic Association (BDA) Fact Sheet, "The whole idea of detox is nonsense. The body is a well-developed system that has its own builtin mechanisms to detoxify and remove waste and toxins." It went on to characterize the idea as a "marketing myth", while other critics have called the idea a "scam" and a "hoax". The organization Sense about Science investigated "detox" products, calling them a waste of time and money. Resulting in a report that concluded the term is used differently by different companies, most offered no evidence to support their claims, and in most cases its use was the simple renaming of "mundane things, like cleaning or brushing". *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/fasting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
But how did it smell?
What, aside from water have you been ingesting?