Can David Blaine survive without food for 44 days?

[12noon]

You know how David Blaine is doing this stunt where he's not going to eat for the next 44 days. Well, how do you think his body will cope ?
BTW i take it that this isn't a trick.
http://www.channel4.com/davidblaine
BBC News - David Blaine

 

[FZ+]

It's not a trick.
He isn't a god.
And he's probably not especially insane.

It just sounds harder to do than it really is.

 

[meteor]

David Blaine, being jewish, it's obsessed with the holocaust and he does this attempt to remember the hunger that the jewish suffered in the concentration camps
Personally I think that the man is nuts (he says that he will do astral projections during his stance in the box)

 

[BoulderHead]

No BS; I once went exactly 30 days without eating food. I did, of course, drink water. The results;

1) After 2 or 3 days my appetite decreased to a manageable level.
2) I got weaker and weaker after the first week.
3) Lost over 30 pounds.
4) By the end of a month my will was much stronger than my body.

 

[drag]

Originally posted by BoulderHead
No BS; I once went exactly 30 days without eating food. I did, of course, drink water. The results;

1) After 2 or 3 days my appetite decreased to a manageable level.
2) I got weaker and weaker after the first week.
3) Lost over 30 pounds.
4) By the end of a month my will was much stronger than my body.

Wow ! Was this a willfull action ?

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Wasn't there some indian man a few months ago claiming he hadn't eaten for 7 years. He said he got all his nutrients from the sun and water.

 

[BoulderHead]

Yes, very willful, but I found the longer I went without eating the less willpower it took to continue.

It would kill me to try such a thing these days, but if you are in good physical health and hopefully have some extra fat for your body to deplete, I don't see why it can't be done. David Blaine is no doubt in good shape as well as very willful, and his hunger strike for 45 days is 50% longer than I went, but by no means is it 'magic'. What it is, is being callously brutal to your physical body through a test of your will power.

I think the stunt where he stood on top of a pole would have been more difficult. I think my back would have screamed so loudly that the people on the ground would have heard it!

 

[BoulderHead]

Originally posted by Greg Bernhardt
Wasn't there some indian man a few months ago claiming he hadn't eaten for 7 years. He said he got all his nutrients from the sun and water.

I don't know, Greg. Seems like a nurse once told me, though I have forgotten exactly what she said, that 90-120 days is about it. Your body will simply die.

Maybe someone 'in the know' can enlighten us??

 

[12noon]

I wouldn't have thought you could go that long without food. 90 - 120 days is a very long time.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Most Americans would be healthier
eating less than they do, and a
short fast of two or three days
can be good for some people in
some cases but intentionally
starving yourself beyond that is
a bad idea.

 

[Zantra]

blaine is crazy, and I think it is a trick- I'm not buying it.

I once went 4 days without food and became very weak. Of course I was all of 85 pounds back then, so I didn't have any fat to loose. I finally ate when I came close to passing out. Don't try this at home kids!

 

[Kerrie]

there will be many days i will skip eating mostly because i am too busy to bother, but then there are days when i eat three full meals plus snacks...

the thing with the human appetite is, one should eat when they feel like it, not necessarily follow a strict plan - whether that be fasting or feasting...

 

[phoenixthoth]

"Personally I think that the man is nuts (he says that he will do astral projections during his stance in the box)"

to me, string theory sounds equally nuts. just because a bunch of scientists believe in this pet theory doesn't pursuade me to think otherwise for many scientists (like feynman) thought it was pointless. of course, no judgement is being placed on my part on those who are nuts; after all columbus was nuts, wasn't he?

i'm currently superficially investigating astral projection for the possible rewards seem endless. i wonder if the cia really does use remote viewers who do something like astral projection.

i've gone on very little food for a long time and had no adverse reaction. i lost twenty pounds, which was great!

cheers,
phoenix

 

[meteor]

Scientifically astral projection has no validity, since all our experiences are computed through the brain. In the case that you see an image, the brain captures the electric impulses that the photons let in the retina. Now,if you say that you can do an astral projection and see what's happening in planet X of galaxy Z, this is impossible , since the photons that left planet X have been widely dispersed in its route to the earth, then it's impossible to have a clear image of what's happening

 

[phoenixthoth]

"Scientifically astral projection has no validity, since all our experiences are computed through the brain. "

indeed. but what you're neglecting to consider is that science is not the end of wisdom. not by a longshot. just one of many tools. a tool meant to refine perception and observation thus leading one to prediction and control.

to speak your language, i haven't seen how scientifically astral projection has INvalidity, either. to me, it is NOT a resolved question one way or the other. i have briefly been out of my body, according to my observations, and i wonder what makes my observations any less "valid" than that of a scientist with a phd? i have a phd in my own awareness, indeed. just because there weren't "conrol groups" doesn't lead me to think that my observation was a hallucination. who is to say not ALL observations are hallucinations, just mass hallucinations...

cheers,
phoenix

 

[hypnagogue]

Originally posted by BoulderHead
No BS; I once went exactly 30 days without eating food. I did, of course, drink water. The results;

1) After 2 or 3 days my appetite decreased to a manageable level.
2) I got weaker and weaker after the first week.
3) Lost over 30 pounds.
4) By the end of a month my will was much stronger than my body.

Damn. How much of those 30 were muscle vs fat?

 

[phoenixthoth]

i've had a similar experience. there have been severe side effects.

phoenix