• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Man who fasted for 392 days set record after losing huge amount of weight

Home> Community> Life

Published 12:49 21 Dec 2023 GMT

Man who fasted for 392 days set record after losing huge amount of weight

Angus Barbieri was determined to keep going until he reached his goal weight

Emily Brown

Emily Brown

Featured Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Topics: Health, Food and Drink, Science

Emily Brown
Emily Brown

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.

Advert

Advert

Advert

A man who fasted for almost 400 days managed to set a new record as he sought to reach his goal weight.

I get grumpy if I go more than a few hours without eating, so I've got absolutely no idea how 27-year-old Angus Barbieri managed to do it for more than a year in the 1960s.

Barbieri, from Scotland, weighed 456lbs (207kg) when he checked into the University Department of Medicine at the Royal Infirmary of Dundee in June 1965.

According to Diabetes.co.uk, Barbieri told hospital staff he wanted to stop eating altogether to try and lose weight, and doctors agreed to monitor his progress.

Advert

Anticipating the fast to last a few days, doctor prescribed multivitamins and yeast to make up for his lack of nutrients.

Days soon turned into weeks, however, with Barbieri persisting as he wanted to reach his 'ideal weight' of 180lbs.

He lived off tea, coffee, soda water, and the vitamins, and as the fast went on his body began to make up for the lack of food by burning its own fat stores for energy.

Angus was fed up with being obese and wanted to do something about it.
Wikimedia Commons

Advert

Barbieri's blood glucose levels were low as a result of his fast, but he didn't suffer any adverse effects as a result.

However, the Scotsman did only 'go to the toilet' every 40-50 days.

In the final few months of his fast, Barbieri began to have a pinch of sugar or milk in his tea and coffee, until he ultimately decided to end the fast in July 1966.

After a total of 382 days, Barbieri's hard work paid off as he managed to reach his goal weight of 180 pounds.

Advert

A Chicago Tribune report revealed that Barbieri had forgotten the taste of food after so many days, but he eased himself back in with his first breakfast of a boiled egg with a slice of bread and butter.

Barbieri fasted for 392 days.
Wikimedia Commons

Afterwards, he told reporters: “I thoroughly enjoyed my egg and I feel very full.”

Barbieri's fast continued to benefit him years later, as after half a decade he still only weighed 196lbs.

Advert

His fast was even recognized by Guinness World Records as the longest fast ever recorded.

However, while Barbieri was successful in his fast, it's not recommended that you try such a diet at home.

Diabetes.co.uk warns Barbieri's case is 'incredibly unusual', and 'one of the most extreme examples of a starvation diet ever recorded'.

The site adds that fasting for long periods can cause health complications, including increased strain on the heart, for people of a normal weight.

Choose your content:

12 hours ago
2 days ago
  • 12 hours ago

    Autopsy technician shares most unusual ways her patients have died and the common act that many die from

    The expert has insisted she has seen a whole lot of weird deaths

    Community
  • 2 days ago

    Thousands of dollars fall from the sky for one reason as man’s dying wish is granted

    Drivers were filmed jumping out of their cars to grab a piece of the pie

    Community
  • 2 days ago

    People are burning their Labubus after learning of disturbing conspiracy theory

    Labubu dolls are all the rage, but could there be something sinister beneath their toothy grins?

    Community
  • 2 days ago

    Experts issue urgent warning to anyone buying fake Labubus after discovering hidden danger

    Labubu's became a number 1 seller after its release in 2019

    Community
  • Man, 50, diagnosed with deadly cancer after noticing bizarre symptom from one glass of wine
  • First ever study of obesity drugs reveals the best jab for weight loss
  • Man who ate only red meat for 60 days reveals the impact it had on his body
  • Diners left speechless after common menu abbreviation mistake left them with huge bill