My week fasting with ProLon
I don’t know if anyone here listens to the Heal Thyself Podcast, but it is one of my favorites. In Episode 20, Dr. G talks about the relationship between eating less and living longer, or longevity. I was intrigued. He also mentioned a researcher by the name of Valter Longo and his findings regarding the benefits of prolonged fasts, which I will talk about in a separate article. Hence, years of research have found that periodic fasting triggers autophagy, which is the body’s natural system for renewing and replacing old worn-out cellular elements. With this Fasting Mimicking Technology, one could essentially trigger and sustain autophagy while fasting and provide essential nutrients. In other words, it activates the body’s powerful cell rejuvenating system to encourage healthy aging and reduces hunger during fasting at the same time. I immediately looked up Valter Longo and became immersed in his research and book, The Longevity Diet, which lead me to learn about ProLon® and the Fasting Mimicking Technology behind it.
What is ProLon®?
ProLon® is a 5-day dietary program that nourishes you while tricking your body into thinking it is fasting but with food. The 5-day cycle of ProLon® once a month for at least 3 months has been clinically tested to have similar weight loss, percentage of body fat reduction, and similar visceral fat reduction when compared to an everyday heart-healthy diet.
What’s included?
So I decided to try it and here is what I received. Everything you will eat for each day comes in individually marked and packaged in small boxes. All foods are plant-based, which I loved, including energy bars for mornings and dessert, soups, snacks and teas. There are also vitamins and algae oil for omegas, a drink designed to maintain lean muscle mass during the fast and a bottle. All the food that is included in the box has been studied for years and carefully designed to nourish your body and maintain healthy levels of metabolic markers, cellular rejuvenation, and healthy aging.
Let me tell you, all the food was tasty. Now I don’t know if it was because I was so hungry the first couple of days that the soups tasted so good, but I do know that I wanted the small soups to last so I ate them as slow as possible.
It’s important to keep in mind that you are to try and plan this out on an easy week where you won’t be doing any intense physical activity other than maybe some light walking and stretching. I made sure to cancel any strenuous activities and went for strolls every day with my pup, did some stretching at night and took relaxing baths before bedtime. I also went to sleep earlier, which helped to stave off hunger as I thought, “the longer I’m awake, the longer I’ll be hungry”.
Now for the rundown
Day 1 was the easiest. There is more food in the package for day one so about 1200 calories. This stage of the fast is the preparation stage. I didn’t feel hungry at all and by the end of the day I felt like “ok I can do this” kind of attitude.
Day 2 and 3 were the most difficult in my opinion. Mornings were good as the L-bar and my tea kept me in a good place until lunch, but as the day went by, I just felt hungry. You aren’t really supposed to have caffeine but now 1 cup of coffee or caffeinated tea is allowed. I am not a regular coffee drinker, so it was easy to transition to the herbal teas included in the package. By lunch, you are to start drinking the included drink with some hibiscus tea. Drinking tons of liquids also helped. After day 1, you are eating about 700 calories give or take. I’m not going to lie, I did feel cranky and had a slight headache on day 2, but by day 3 that was gone.
Day 4 was, how can I put it? Magical. By day 4, the idea of the small meals was growing on me but I generally felt the same until after lunch. Something hit me suddenly around 3 o’clock when I usually hit the afternoon slump. I had a sudden burst of clarity and lightness. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. In that moment, everything made sense and I even had energy, not the kind that makes you jump off the walls, but the kind that allows you to be productive and focus on the task at hand. It was like the veil of mental fog had lifted. I also suffer from fibromyalgia and at some point, of every day I will experience widespread body and joint pain. That didn’t happen!
By Day 5 I was liking how I was feeling and looking forward to re-introducing “regular” food on day 6. I finished the fast feeling better than when I started and that made me feel like it was worthwhile. Some of the positive side effects were also that since I was eating small meals, it was easy to continue to eat smaller portions afterwards. Although I didn’t go into this looking for weight loss, I did end up losing 4.6 pounds.
On Day 6 it was time to re-introduce foods not in the program, so I followed the directions from the program by having only light meals consisting of soups, so I made myself a minestrone and quinoa soup, which I had for lunch and dinner. I also liked drinking herbal tea all day, so I kept up with that for the days to follow.
Overall, I think this is a good program. I had always wondered what it was like to fast for multiple days and feel what everyone raves about…that mental clarity and revitalization, but I’ve been so terrified of not eating that I never had the nerve to fast for a prolonged period. This was just right, only five days and technically without starving. I’m also really impressed by all the research behind fasting mimicking and the great results with cancer, Alzheimer’s patients, and those with autoimmune disorders. I’m all for cellular cleanup, revitalization, and longevity!
With that said, I’ll be including 5-Day Group Fasting with ProLon® as a regular offering at My Way Wellness. I think it will be easier and more fun to go through it as a group and get additional support that way. I’m also throwing in a private group for all those participating, and office hour zoom calls to prep, get through, and finish off the fast.
If you have any questions about ProLon® or want to share your experience with it, feel free to leave a comment below.