One Patient Fasted 183 Days and Did Not Need Skin Surgery, His Doctor Says
He went from 400 pounds to 210 pounds, and his doctor says fasting let his skin retract.
The Diary Of A CEO Clips · THIS Is #1 FASTEST Way To BURN Dangerous FatA patient who had weighed 400 pounds walked into his doctor's office weighing 210 pounds, after fasting for 183 days under supervision, and you would not have recognized that he had just lost all that weight.
That is the doctor's account of one patient, and the reason he tells it is what happened to the man's skin. After losing 190 pounds, the patient did not have the draped, empty skin that often follows extreme weight loss. The doctor said he "did not look like skin on top of bones," and therefore did not face what the doctor described as the usual next step for such patients, surgery to remove excess skin.
The point of the story, as the doctor tells it, is that losing weight by fasting is different from losing weight by cutting calories. When people lose a great deal of weight by eating less, he said, they are often left with loose skin that has to be cut away. In a fasting program, he said, the skin retracts.
"Fasting is a totally different physiology," the doctor said.
That claim rests on his account of this one patient's case, with no study offered. He offered it as an example of what he sees as a broader difference between fasting and cutting calories.
The doctor described modern eating as constant feasting without the fasting periods that human bodies evolved to expect. Fasting, in his view, restores that older cycle. The patient who walked into his office 190 pounds lighter, with no skin surgery needed, was how he illustrated the point.
Questions people ask
Is it safe for anyone to try a months-long fast?
No. A fast lasting months can cause dangerous shifts in electrolytes, heart rhythm, and blood pressure, and it requires blood tests, vitamin and mineral management, and a carefully supervised refeeding period. Doctors reserve it for rare, severe cases, and the doctor in this case stressed that medical supervision was critical.
Why do most people get loose skin after losing a lot of weight?
With large weight loss from dieting or surgery, stretched skin often cannot shrink back on its own, especially after age, sun damage, or many years of obesity. Surgeons then remove the excess. The doctor argues that prolonged fasting is different because the body actively retracts skin, though that claim here comes from one patient.
What do people consume during a medically supervised water fast?
Typically only water, plus electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, and magnesium, and sometimes black coffee or tea. Even with no calories, the body still needs salt and minerals to keep nerves and the heart working, which is one reason unsupervised long fasts are dangerous.