Nourish your body, support your health, and experience many of the benefits of prolonged fasting—weight loss, cellular rejuvenation, and increased energy—with ProLon's five-day, plant-based meal program.
It came up during a 60 minute Feel Better Massage:
"We're doing a 5 day fast."
"Oh yeah? What kind of fast? Like a water fast?"
"Oh, you'll find out. You're doing it with us."
"Oh. Okay."
Every year, mid-February to April, I hoard bags of Easter Speckled M&Ms like a crazy person. I attempt to talk myself out of it as soon as Valentine's Day is over, but I know what this 'limited time only' pull has over me. By the time Easter is over, my supply will carry me several weeks, if not months, beyond the holiday. A fast in the midst of a hefty remaining stash could prove quite challenging. Count me in!
My kit was hand delivered and we chose a start date of May 10th. I should have done the math, because day 5 was Mother's Day. The start date was the first day back home for my 18 & 20 year old children. "Surprise! I'm not cooking you dinner this week! And I'm probably going to be really grumpy!" Good thing they are both great cooks.
Here's my Prolon Review:
Day 1 was a piece of cake. I had the L-bar and then taught a 60min yoga class. Snack time: ewww...olives. Green olives, at that. They were palatable with the Almond & Kale crackers. I decided they actually paired nicely with the dense crackers. The minestrone soup was decent. The quinoa soup was very similar to the minestrone. The Choco Crisp was a much welcomed evening treat! An after-work Costco trip proved challenging. My daughter had opened the fridge upon arrival home and noted I must being eating eggs, and only eggs. I needed to stock the house with food but I asked to hold off on certain items until Monday or Tuesday- after the fast.
Day 2 was torture when we went to the grocery store after work to fill in the rest of the groceries. I had been doing fine with the fasting foods until it was my 4pm snacking hour and alarms were going off in my head: "it's time to snack!" "what sounds good to eat?!" "but this is how you unwind!" Unfortunately, this day did not bring crackers with the olives, but rather, two packages of olives. Gulp. I was about to consume the mushroom soup in a rush before a quantum biofeedback session with participant #1. The flavor was fine, but the clumps of powered mushroom...not so much. Participant #1 mentioned cleaning out closets and finding other tasks to distract her focus on food. Good idea. I did a 20 minute Peloton ride before bedtime because it was only 8pm and I had nothing else to do.
Day 3: Started the day teaching Mobility and Strength but passed on the strength training for myself. Participant #2 approaches my desk and mentions: "Did you know, I just found out that day 5 there is no Choco Crisp??" I said, "Prepare yourself. There's no Choco Crisp tonight, either." His head fell into his hands, "Noooooooo! I've been looking forward to that ALL day!" At least the crackers returned this day, but I was kind of thinking they were better with the olives. I was motivated to fill my extra time with productivity so I cleaned out the entire garage when I got home from work. I was feeling quite accomplished. I also did another 20 minute Peloton ride to fill the time. Day 3 was the easiest day for me.
Day 4, late in the day, is when the wheels started falling off. I was mad. This wasn't my idea. I was plotting that I'd break fast a day short on Mother's Day. No one would know. I started researching the benefits of going beyond a 3 day fast. I couldn't find much, so I thought I had a pretty solid case for myself. Then I read a 5 day fast promotes stem cell production. I was also down another 1.6lbs. "Ok, I can do one more day." I started that day off teaching yoga again and gave a massage in the afternoon. A nutritional therapist in my yoga class suggested breaking fast with half an avocado first, and then avocado toast at least 30 minutes later. The olives...I couldn't. I skipped both packs. I like most vegetables, except peas. I really disliked the dehydrated, slightly crunchy peas, in the soups. I decided I'd save the last tomato soup as a treat for the final day.
Day 5: Mother's Day and my kids were off the hook for breakfast in bed or making me dinner. I was annoyed there was no change to my weight on day 5. I was home by myself for the day so I made two loaves of sourdough in anticipation for that avocado toast. Not a very good idea. Torture, in fact. I spaced taking the Algal Oil in the morning and NR-1 at lunch, so I took both later in the day and then felt super bloated. Take when recommended. I rode the Peloton for 30 minutes and went to bed early.
Day 6: I was not very hungry this day and could have easily continued fasting. I had half of the avocado and the other half on my homemade sourdough 30 minutes later. I had some vegetable soup in the freezer that I took to work and finally ate it sometime in the afternoon.
To sum it up: Day 7, down 4.4lbs and 3". My sugar cravings were gone. My snacking desires subsided. What do I eat from here? That was probably my biggest struggle. I realized how much of my time is spent thinking about what I am going to snack on next and planning the next workout and the next. Participant 2 was down 6.5lbs and participant 1 was down 5lbs. We all agreed it sucked, but we'd probably do it again...now that it was over.
It is recommended by Prolon to do another 5 day fasting mimicking program in 25 days. Repeat for 3 months and then quarterly, or as desired. My fasting buddies completed their second round a couple of weeks ago and reported it was much easier the second time around because they knew what to expect. Day 4 of my fast, I downloaded the book Fast Like a Girl by Dr. Mindy Pelz. She discusses the importance of timing a fast with a woman's cycle with tips for pre and post-menopausal women. Another 5 day fast is not in my future until about November. My schedule stays pretty stacked with vigorous physical activity and rigorous massages through October. I can't calorie restrict when I have 3-5 hour hikes to lead and back-to-back hours of massaging some days.
I have 4 clients who took on the fast together and the men reported losing 8-9lbs and the women 4-6lbs. I think it is a great plan to jump start a little weight loss, but a better plan for the health benefits of fasting.
If you're interested in Prolon's 5 Day Fasting Mimicking Program, click my professional link and use the code Geddes50 for the best pricing. BTW, the chocolate spread is really good and I use it now in place of Nutella.
To answer the question of what to eat from here...I ordered a Gut Intelligence Kit from Viome and learn exactly which foods I need to enjoy, avoid and minimize. Save $110 off any Viome testing kit with code Embody110.