I recently completed my 6th fast, I have been doing them quarterly for the past year and a half and overall I feel great. For previous fasts I have done water only but this time around I wanted to try ProLon, a fasting mimicking diet (FMD). There is some decent research that shows many benefits of fasting – weight loss, increased stem cell production, decreased inflammation, cellular regeneration, and the one that I’m most interested in, longevity. For anyone interested in reading more, feel free to borrow a copy of the book “The Longevity Diet” from either of our clinics’ lending libraries. I’m also happy to chat with anyone that is thinking about trying a fast, it can be helpful to have all your questions answered beforehand.
Here is a brief recap of my 5 day fast:
Day 1: Wooooo, let’s get to work!! I wake up excited for another fast week, I always do them M-F and then slowly transition back to eating over the weekend. I’m very excited for my breakfast nut bar and it actually tastes really good, this will be easy I think to myself. By the end of the day my stomach is rumbling a bit but I feel fine overall. I allowed myself one cup of black coffee per day so no headaches this time.
Day 2: I feel tired in the morning – then again this is common for me. I try to keep busy during the day to keep my mind occupied. The soups are not my favorite but it’s that or nothing so I eat my “lunch”. I feel a bit off tonight, maybe a slight fatigued feeling. I go to bed early and fall right asleep.
Day 3: I wake up feeling better and the workday is a breeze. Zach brought a homemade quiche to work today, it looks delicious but surprisingly I’m easily able to watch everyone else enjoy. The hardest part of the day for me is at night when I’m home. I think I’m more bored than anything. Usually I would spend time cooking, cleaning, etc. I guess I’ll watch another episode to keep my mind on something other than food.
Day 4: Body still feels good, energy is surprisingly high during the day but as I head home I just want to sleep. I have also decided that I do not like tonight’s soup “dinner”, I only eat half and just drink tons of tea instead. I’m very much looking forward to tomorrow, the last day is generally my favorite.
Day 5: LAST DAY! At this point I’m not hungry at all and skip my soup at lunch, I’m so excited that I made it through another fast.I spend most of the day trying to decide what I want to eat first. Fruit sounds amazing, carrots with hummus, I’m craving healthy foods this is great!
In Summary: Each fast is different for me but some things remain constant. I always feel better after- more energy, less fatigue, mental clarity, better sleep, I can smell better, foods taste better, I’m reminded that I don’t need to eat as much (food as fuel), and I lose a few lbs. For me, it’s just a mental challenge but if you do it once you know you can do it again. It’s not nearly as difficult as it sounds; you just need to mentally prepare and then go for it. I’m here to help if you have any questions, but meantime, check out this podcast with Dr. Valter Longo for a quick introduction to ProLon below: