Why I’m fasting (again)
It’s so much more than a “low calorie diet”
Good evening, sunshine! Thanks for taking a moment to open this message. I hope you find it interesting!
I’m on my 5th day of a 5 day fasting diet.
Many of you are aware that this is something I do regularly (thanks to my open-book policy on sharing from my life 📖😂)
The program that I do is called Prolon 💥
I’m going to tell you a little bit about it and share my experience because I have found it so incredibly helpful and life-changing. And there are a lot of different ways to approach fasting, and many misperceptions it.
(I searched back on my blog and see that I have only mentioned Prolon in one message to you before).
The first time I did a Prolon fast was about 6 years ago. Up until that time I had not been interested in fasting at all whatsoever.
I love eating, I love eating healthy food for AT LEAST 80 percent of my diet, and I LOVE working out. None of those things seem to go with fasting, and hence my lack of interest!
7 years ago I was only peripherally aware of fasting, and just somewhat more aware of “intermittent fasting,” which was becoming popular at that time.
My perception was that these were some sort of short cut for losing weight, which I was also not interested in (and felt disapproving of 😎).
That all changed for me when I saw a Netflix special called The Goop Lab. If this sounds familiar, it is because this same series featured Network Spinal and was responsible for the first wave of a lot of people at once finding out about Network Spinal (the more recent wave, of course, is from Dr. Scherina’s Instagram) .
On the Netflix special, they discussed a so-called “Biological Age Test” which looked at many markers of a person’s health and wellness and judged how “old” the person seemed to be based on these markers.
Obviously having a “biological age” younger than one’s actual age would be ideal and mean that you are taking good care of yourself (and the opposite would be true if the blood work indicated that you were older than your actual age!)
Valter Longo, creator of Prolon FMD (Fast Mimicking Diet), discussed the research about fasting and anti-aging, and specifically the research on his product Prolon.
Fasting, it turns out, is SO MUCH more than just a glorified low calorie diet or a way to lose weight quickly (for people who would rather not just eat healthy and work out).
Fasting initiates a process in our bodies known as autophagy. Autophagy is an amazingly healing state that only occurs when a person has been fasting for DAYS (intermittent fasting WON’T do it) 💥✨💥🌀
⬆️⬆️ This is the helpful info that Google provided to help us understand autophagy ⬆️⬆️
Autophagy is a state that slows down and even reverses the aging process as the cells of your body “clean house”, getting rid of anything that’s not helpful or needed 💥
Fasting is being used to help people with cancer, with autoimmnue diseases, and with neurodegenerative diseases, digestive challnges, and even chronic pain.
Once I heard about that, I realized that fasting was not something I could afford to miss out on! My FOMO lead me to fasting, and I’m so glad it did 😂🙌💗
I do not want you to miss out on this either, so this is why I am writing about it right now! 👯♀️✨💕
For the last 6 years I have made fasting, and specifically Valter Longo’s Prolon program, a regular part of my life.
And more and more so the older I have gotten!
I want to pause here and address some FAQs that I often get about my use of Prolon that you might also be wondering about.
🙋♀️ Why is Prolon a “Fast-Mimicking Diet,” and why would you choose this instead of a water fast?
The first time I did Prolon back in 2020, I had never fasted before and was VERY intimidated by the idea that there would be no food.
Would I be nourished enough? Would I feel depleted? Would I go crazy because I have nothing to look forward to?? What about kale salads and fermented vegetables?? 😱🙏🥒🥗😂
Prolon is a kit. It arrives as a large box with 5 small boxes within it. Each box contains that small amounts of food and vitamins that can be consumed on each day ✨
So with Prolon, you are eating food. But you’re only eating the food that they give you, and only at the times of day when you are supposed to have it.
One of the reasons I recommend Prolon, besides my personal experience of now having done it over 25 times (I’ve lost count!), is that it has been heavily researched.
Each of the items in each Prolon box, and the timing of it all, keeps your body below a certain threshold so that autophagy can take hold ✨✨✨
In other words, your body “thinks” it’s fasting. Even though you are having the prolon food (which is about 800 calories per day).
The small amounts of food (it’s vegetable soups, special bars, olives, vegetable glycerin), besides keeping you from going crazy by giving your day a structure and something to look forward to, also has been shown to help prevent the muscle-wasting that can occur with water fasting.
🙋♀️ How do you have enough energy for the demands of modern life when you’re on a 5-day fast?
Most of us lived our whole lives believing that food is what gives us energy.
“Without incoming calories to burn, won’t I feel depleted and just want to stay in bed watching tv?” According to this line of thought, you need a steady stream of food at all times.
And, if you’re super into health (like I am!), you’ll need a steady stream of organic fruits and vegetables, pastured raised meats, fish oil supplementation, probiotics, etc each and every day.
And all those things are great and are things that you should be having!
But the mistake is to think that you need all these, all the time, for your body to function ✨
In fact, when we look at human history, and specifically our pre-historic Paleolithic ancestors with whom we share DNA, they often went for periods of days or weeks without eating when food was unavailable 😮
This is something our bodies not only are adapted to do, but, I would argue, actually require periodically for optimal health.
What tends to jump out at most people when they are fasting is that they often find themselves completely energized and not at all hungry 💥💃✨
🙋♀️ How has this helped you personally, Dr. Katie?
Fasting has benefits that are physiological, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Here are some that I have experienced:
- Fasting has been a major help for my gut-health, giving the digestive organs a break and starving opportunistic microorganisms to restore the microbiome 🌀
- Fasting helps me “get back on track” after periods of time when life and social activities have me getting further and further away from ideal diet and exercise routines 🏃♀️
- Fasting gives me a time to slow down and focus on taking care of myself and attending to my physical and spiritual needs, giving me a reason to take a (much needed) time out from the eating and drinking that can come with a busy social life 😊
- Fasting will have you lose weight. I’ve lost 5+ pounds after 5 days of Prolon and so have others I know who have done it 💯
- Fasting helps reset my relationship to my body and experience myself as Energy Rich– my body is producing energy, not just taking it in
- Fasting helps me feel more focused and creative. I can feel when I’m in autophagy and the clear mental and emotional state that goes along with it 🤓
- Fasting re-sensitizes me. Rarely, if ever, do I end up going back to eating like I was before the fast on day 6 when I finish. Suddenly EVERYTHING (an apple, an egg, a carrot) is a treat to be savored 🍎🥚🥕✨
- The benefits go beyond the duration of the fast because of the effects described above, especially the re-sensitization aspect. I’m always able to bring new motivation into my non-fasting health and fitness routines 💥💥💥
🙋♀️ But isn’t Prolon expensive? And for that reason alone why do Prolon and not just a water fast (or some work-around “fast-mimicking diet” I could figure out myself?)
Prolon does cost money. Anywhere from $165-over $200 (depending on which “generation”/version and if there is a sale or not).
I think, similar to what I think about Network Spinal care which is also transformational and there’s tremendous value because it helps in sooo many ways, Prolon actually saves you money.
First of all, you’re not buying food, going to restaurants, buying alcohol, or doing much socializing for the 5 days. So you’re saving money there 💥
In addition, you’re not planning meals, shopping for food, cooking food, eating food, or doing very many dishes. Which is saving you soooo much time. Which also does save money, in a bigger picture sense 💥💥💥
Last– spending money will ensure that you actually DO IT.
Think about it. What are the chances that you might bail out of a water fast at the slightest difficulty. There would probably be a lot of failed attempts 😂🙏
I have NEVER quit mid-prolon. If there are challenging moments, I can just remember that it cost money that I don’t want to waste 😊
I hope this is helpful information, sunshines. And maybe even exciting and inspiring!
And if you think you might want to give this a try, talk to me this week when I see you for care. I’d love to give you some encouragement, if you need it 💖
