What Happens When You Stop Eating?

Your body starts to use up its saved energy when you stop eating.

Imagine your body is like a toy car that needs fuel to keep moving, if you don’t give it any more fuel (food), it has to use what’s already in the tank. First, it uses the food still sitting in your stomach, then it starts using up the energy stored in your liver and muscles, kind of like a backpack full of snacks.

After that, if you keep not eating, your body gets creative. It starts using the energy stored in your fat, just like how you might use your savings when you run out of allowance money. This is why sometimes people lose weight when they stop eating, their body is burning through its fuel reserves to keep going.

If this keeps up for a long time, your body might slow down a little, like a sleepy turtle, because it doesn’t have enough energy to be super active. But don’t worry, once you start eating again, the toy car will zoom back into action!