Estimated reading time: 15 minutes
The ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet is a 5-day fast where you body goes into ketosis. It’s scientifically backed to help with autophagy (cell regeneration) and can have other positive effects, such as lowering inflammation. Here is my ProLon review–read on to see if I’m a fan of it!
This article has been reviewed by Dr. Carlos Jorge
Before we dive in, let me preface with the purpose of this piece. If you’re a long-time reader, you know that my purpose is to help you find the root cause of your problems, and to also provide you with tips, tricks and recipes to help you feel your best. The ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet is a tool that can be helpful in many ways to support you on your way to feeling your best. Along with Dr. Jorge, who I work with at Companion Health, we have recommended this to many of our clients. I’ve also personally had a few friends outside of the practice do this with success. And spoiler alert – all of them have lost weight and lost their sugar cravings, too! If this sounds like something that can benefit you, read on.
What is ProLon/the ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet?
ProLon® is a 5-day dietary program carefully designed to nourish and rejuvenate your body while supporting your metabolism. It was developed by Dr. Valter Longo, an Italian-American biogerontologist and cell biologist known for his studies on the role of fasting. He’s a Professor of Gerontology and Biological Sciences and Director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California –Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, Los Angeles, one of the leading centers for research on aging and age-related disease. He’s also the author of The Longevity Diet.
The ProLon® Diet consists of 5 days of everything you need to eat in that day. It is based on 20 years of research. When you purchase the kit, you get a big box with 5 smaller boxes within. Each one includes your food for each day. Everything is broken down for you and makes it very simple to do a scientifically backed fasting-mimicking diet, which gets you into ketosis.
ProLon® is intended for healthy individuals who want to enhance their health & wellbeing, and for individuals who want to proactively manage their weight in an easy and healthy way. Daily food includes plant-based energy bars, soups, a variety of snacks, drinks, and supplements, all studied and carefully designed to nourish your body, support cellular rejuvenation, and support metabolic and overall health for healthy aging. For those who are wondering, it’s all plant-based, gluten-free and non-GMO.
ProLon Review
As you may or may not know, as mentioned above, in addition to running this blog, I also am a health coach and lead up content/strategy at Companion Health, a Charlotte-based functional medicine clinic. It was there, under the guise of Dr. Jorge, that I was introduced to Dr. Longo (though I’d heard him on some podcasts in the past), the fasting mimicking diet, etc. Not only did I try the 5 day fast, but it’s something that we recommend to many of our clients. Why? Because it can be suitable for many individuals and can benefit:
- It promotes cell-based self-repair and rejuvenation—a cellular clean-up, if you will
- Promotes cognitive function
- Can assist with weight loss and reduced BMI
- Helps lower C-Reactive Protein, a marker of inflammation
Now my honest opinion: this is not entirely easy. I will be straightforward—the food is .. okay. I loved the bars and was grateful to have them each day. But the soups—they can get quite tiresome. Especially since you have them for lunch and dinner each day. All this said, this is my opinion. My friends who have done this said they loved the soups. So to each their own! This IS doable—so if you want to try it, I have complete faith that you can do it. The only time I’ve seen someone bow out is if they had stomach issues that arose from doing the 5 day fast. The feeling of success after completion is something in itself!
ProLon Tips
Before committing to doing these 5 days, consider these tips:
- Decide on which days will work best for you. I personally started on a Sunday so that I’d be done on a Thursday, and have the weekend free. I didn’t want to run into social conflicts where I’d have to announce to everyone why I could not eat/drink what they were enjoying. Figure out what works best for you, based on your week. If you want to knock most of it out over the weekend so that you’re not at work as much, go with that.
- Read through everything. I think you will agree that it’s very user-friendly and simple to use, but familiarize yourself with what each day will look like. Funny enough, I found myself looking at the little card (graph) every day trying to see what was the plan for that day.
- Mentally prepare yourself. This is the biggest thing I suggest. I honestly feel like this is more of a mental challenge than anything. And trust me—you CAN do this!!
- If you’re fearful of missing caffeine, you are in luck: one cup of black coffee is allowed each day. No sweetener or creamer of any sort, though!
- Meal prep for your family if you’ll have to cook for them ahead of time. It’s totally permissible to get take-out for them on these days. Or make some meals that you can have ready and on hand in the fridge/freezer.
- Continue movement if that’s your jam, but perhaps scale it down. Instead of my typical workouts, I went for easy walks to make sure I wasn’t completely missing out, but to also get a small sense of endorphins and fresh air.
- Ensure that your immediate family is on board, knows what you are doing, and will support you.
- Have a focus. Whether it’s getting into a good book, or even a good series on Netflix—having something to take up some time isn’t a bad idea.
- Plan for your transition meal—this is just as important as the 5 days. You will feel the reset. You will feel like eating clean. Honor this with your body and feed it good, clean foods that it’s craving. (I suggest this cauliflower soup or carrot soup to start. A simple breakfast like chia pudding or a smoothie is also a good idea.).
ProLon Bars
I honestly love these Fast Bars (previously called L-Nutra Bars). They are scientifically formed to support a healthy intermittent fasting state and are full of healthy fats and fiber since they are made with all real foods. I always have a box on hand so that I can snack on them or use them for a meal replacement, even if I’m not doing the ProLon Fast. They come in 3 different flavors: Nuts and Honey, Cocoa Nuts, and Nuts and Nibs that are perfect for intermittent fasters.
ProLon Discount Codes
If you are looking for a discount on ProLon, I have just the thing for you—you can save 10% off with the code EASYREALFOOD10 – make sure to click this link!
Questions about ProLon Fasting:
How often should you do ProLon? It is recommended to do ProLon once a month for 3 consecutive months for maximum benefits. It is also recommended to do this under the supervision of a doctor.
Can you drink coffee on the ProLon Diet? Yes. You are allowed to drink one black cup of coffee (no sweetener or creamer) per day. You will also receive caffeine-free teas along with supplements for each of the 5 days.
Is there anyone whom this would not be suitable for? Yes. If you have dealt with an eating disorder in the past, this is definitely not recommended. It is also recommended that you follow the guidance of your doctor when doing this, or any fast.
How much weight can I lose by doing ProLon? I saved the best for last—because I know this is what you want to know. So here you go: In a published human trial, one 5-day ProLon cycle resulted in an average of 5 pounds of weight loss and a 1-inch loss of fat around the waistline. BUT, not only are the benefits losing weight, but the reduced cravings and mental clarity and focus are just as important in my book.
So there you go! Everything that I can share (for now) on ProLon—I hope you are convinced to try it, and if you do, I’d love to hear more about it in the comments below. And if you’ve tried it yourself already, I’d love to hear about this, too!
