Dear Kosterina Family,
Last week, I tried the 5-day Fast-Mimicking Diet and it’s easier to follow than you would think.
A few weeks back, I read Dr. Valter Longo’s The Longevity Diet. Dr. Longo is the expert on longevity and has studied longevity in yeast, animals and humans over the last 30 years. As many may already know, the studies of extended water-only fasts are really compelling. Some more about that here (and also all over the internet). But these fasts are hard to complete and they can be risky. Dr. Longo’s FMD is marketed as a way to get all the benefits of a 5-day fast…while enjoying food. My best description of it is that it essentially tricks your body into thinking that it’s fasting.
My husband, Kosta, decided to try it and ended up ordering a box for me too. I’ve never done more than a 1-day fast and didn’t think I’d make it past day 2. I told him that I would try it with him but that I was pretty sure I’d likely quit midway through. In addition to the potential weight loss effects, the benefit that was most appealing to me was the cellular function optimization – apparently fasting stimulates autophagy – which is the process of cleaning up aging and damaged cells.
Ok, so how does it work? You spend $225 on the Prolon FMD and they send you a box of food for each of the 5 days. (Btw - Dr. Longo does not benefit from it financially). And what do you actually eat? It’s a nut bar for breakfast, soup for lunch, soup for dinner and some snacks (either olives or kale crackers) throughout the day. And you can basically have unlimited herbal teas. It ends up being 1,100 calories on day 1 and 800 calories for days 2 through 5. What about coffee you ask? Great question. They say not to drink caffeine but that “if you must” you can have up to one caffeinated beverage each day. I took them up on that.
Guys, I am surprised to report that I was NOT hungry. I did it on a Monday through Friday when I was very busy at work and kept myself occupied with my coffee, teas and all the required foods. The downsides: I did have a terrible headache on the morning of day 3 and I had one moment of weakness when I really wanted chocolate on the evening of day 4. Besides that, easy peasy.
The results? I lost 5 pounds. This is actually a lot for me. I’ve had 2 babies in a row over the past two years and had been struggling to get back to my pre-baby weight. I was close, but despite trying ketosis, intermittent fasting and really reducing sugar and refined carbs over the past 6 months, the scale wasn’t really moving. I’ve gained back 2 of those 5 pounds but still -- net 3 pounds down in 5 days is a huge success in my book. I will definitely be doing this again. I’ll also note that my husband lost 15(!) pounds, which is super impressive. (But note – he’s much bigger than me and he fluctuates about 8 pounds a day on just a normal day).
Some disclaimers: 1) I have no financial interest in promoting Prolon. 2) I am of course not a doctor – I am simply just sharing my own experience with the meal plan. But if anyone’s interested in trying it out, please feel free to email me for more details about my experience!
In other news, for those who have been asking, we’re now selling our adorable Kosterina Minis in boxes of 24. They are perfect for your salads and lunches at work or on-the-go. Don’t compromise on your EVOO and don’t miss an opportunity to get your power polyphenols.
