Never have I ever entertained prolonged fasting. For starters, I enjoy food too much. Only recently have I started implementing a 14 hour fast about half the month for the documented health benefits. And this is where ProLon comes in.
ProLon was developed by Valter Longo, Director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California – Leonard Davis School of Gerontology as well as a professor of Gerontology and Biological Sciences. He has spent many years perfecting the formulation destined to become ProLon after recognizing the downside to historic prolonged fasts: most people find fasting physically and emotionally difficult (and potentially unsafe) despite the health benefits.
Prolonged fasting is associated with a host of benefits including improved metabolic health, energy and focus, weight loss, and cellular repair and Autophagy (the housekeeping function of the body). This is change that you see on the inside and outside. Unfortunately, severe hunger, electrolyte abnormalities, severe fatigue and other significant effects keep most people from participating.
ProLon was specifically designed to bypass the nutrient sensing cells of our body. The formulations and products included are designed to essentially trick our body into thinking we are fasting, while still providing enough nutrients to starve off the negative effects. This allows a significantly higher percentage of the population to safely participate in and receive the health benefits of a prolonged fast.
What you get with ProLon:
My ProLon kit arrived boxed in 5 individual day kits which contained everything I needed for that day. This part was great – it made packing lunch and dinner for work a snap! The kit included breakfast bars, soups, olives, crackers, and dessert bars. The soup and breakfast bar are standard per day, with the others varying daily. There was also a QR code directing me to sign up for daily email tips which I appreciated. A small guide was provided to give an overview of what each day would contain as well as the benefits. Overall it was a very visually appealing set up and I liked that I didn’t have to worry about sorting anything.
My experience:
Day 1: Fasting State Transition: This is the highest calorie day (1100), and I really never experienced intense hunger. The moment I started feeling uncomfortable, it was time for my next meal or snack. I did feel incredibly fatigued and had a hard time staying awake. I use a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) and noticed pretty sharp increases and decreases after the soups which may have led to such tiredness. ProLon states that this spike is an expected effect, so I went on my sleepy way. Huge bonus that I was completely knackered by the time bed rolled around and I slept like a baby.
Day 2: Fat Burning and Ketogenesis: I felt so much better today! My energy was back and I’ve noticed myself focusing a little better on tasks. I was nervous about the sharp drop in calories for the rest of the cycle (700-800/day), but I never felt that uncomfortable. I officially entered keto today as confirmed by a urine keto-stick, so the real magic should start soon.
Day 3: Ketosis and Autophagy: I felt amazing today! I woke up in a great mood feeling very well rested. My energy levels stayed high through the day and my hunger was manageable. Except I missed the little Chocolate snack bar that has been included on the other days! Towards the end of the day, I did begin to develop aches and pains in my back and legs – the so called “keto-flu”. I took some magnesium before going to bed which helped.
Day 4: Cellular Rejuvenation: Now things are moving. I had tons of energy today and without any caffeine to boot. I also feel lighter, and not just by the scale. My whole body feels light, whimsical even. It’s hard to describe. I did add some concentrated electrolyte drops to my water today which helped immensely with the body aches. I think the increased amount of water through the soups and tea have thrown my electrolytes out of whack. From a physical perspective, about midway through the day I noticed that my eyes looked brighter. By the end of the day it seemed that the fine lines around my mouth and eyes were improved. Nothing drastic, but something was different. Perhaps again because of all the fluids? I don’t know but I’ll take it!
Day 5: Renewal: Phew. The final day has arrived! Today was probably the hardest psychologically, aside from day 1. I knew going in that the snacks were lower this day and again, no Choco bar. I could also taste the delicious food coming my way once the fast was over. The skin improvements from yesterday seemed more so today – the fine lines were even more faint and my skin was brighter. My energy levels have done a complete 180 from day 1. I feel absolutely giddy.
Day 6: Transition day: Today’s the day I broke my fast and got to eat real food again! I woke up feeling very well rested, although I didn’t sleep terribly well. I forgot to take magnesium and the electrolytes yesterday, so the aches were back. Thankfully, they went away quickly once I was up and moving and got some food in my system. I started slow having a glass of bone broth along with some almonds and cashews. I have definitely been craving salt, and these did the trick. I kept my meals small throughout the day, and kept the focus mostly on fresh and cooked vegetables with a small amount of brown rice and salmon. My skin is still glowing, as is my review of this product (no, this isn’t a sponsored post). I am looking forward to doing this again next month.
Physical effects
As I mentioned, my energy after completing the 5 days of ProLon has been out of this world. I have been alert, focused and feel like I can do anything. I like this feeling. I also noticed that my skin and eyes are much brighter and the fine lines seem less prominent. This may be due to the crazy amount of hydration I’ve had this week, but hopefully it will stay and improve more so next month!
Although I didn’t start ProLon for weight loss, I was excited to see that I showed some big improvement in my body composition. I use a body fat composition scale that I’ve had for a few years. Now, in terms of 100% accuracy, these scales don’t come anywhere close but they do provide you with good information on trends and I’ve seen a correlation on myself with this one.
- Body fat: Down 2.6%
- Skeletal muscle: Neutral (yay!)
- Subcutaneous fat (under the skin): down 1.9%
- Visceral fat (around your organs): down 1 point
A brief word about visceral fat – this is the one you really want to focus on. This isn’t fat you can see. It surrounds your organs and plays a role in protecting your organs. Too much however is a significant contributor to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke and even some cancers through its ability to produce the hormone estrogen. You can improve your visceral fat through the normal recommendations of diet and exercise. However a lack of sleep and high stress levels can directly increase visceral fat through the production of cortisol, which triggers your body to store more visceral fat. Don’t forget: rest is medicine as much as exercise is.
My story
I want to be clear about my reasons for trying ProLon. Weight loss is not something I am trying to do. Improving my metabolic health is. I’ve struggled with inflammation related issues for years in the form of arthritis to my hands since age 5, hip joints requiring steroid injections at 18, numbness and tingling in my hands since who knows when. I just assumed this was my normal and that because I was “healthy” there was nothing else to be done.
It wasn’t until I switched to a night shift position that I realized change needed to happen. About 6 months after starting night shift, I developed Reynaud’s phenomenon. Reynaud’s is a condition where spasms cut off blood flow to the fingers and can lead to tissue loss if severe. I was also called back into my providers office for high blood glucose. My A1C was 5.6 – not quite pre-diabetes, but why? I was in good shape, a healthy weight, I was active and ate well. When I was being evaluated for the Reynaud’s, they assessed my inflammation level via a hsCRP as part of an overall autoimmune panel. My level came back at 12.1. Over 3 is high and puts me at increased risk for cardiovascular disease and means there was significant inflammation happening somewhere. The icing on the cake was when I participated in a clinical trial a few months later for Lipoprotein (a). This is a cholesterol marker associated with significant cardiovascular risk and found out I had a high positive result. Better yet, there is no medication or known way to lower this number. So I’m going all in on improving my health in any way that I can.
Since that lovely period of time, I completed an elimination diet which gave me entirely new insight on my body’s response to food. During the 3 week elimination period, I discovered that I have a reaction to dairy that was contributing to the inflammation. If I eat it now, I wake up with severely swollen joints and sandpaper in my eye. Just my right one go figure. Since largely eliminating dairy (I splurge on occasion) and focusing an improved diet and gut health, I’ve shed 15 lbs I didn’t realize I needed to lose and my body fat is now squarely in the healthy range.
I made the decision to try ProLon after doing research in the data surrounding fasting. As a pharmacist who loves science, I struggle with fads or the newest thing, because they often end up wrong or outdated. Quality, randomized clinical trials surrounding nutrition and supplements are generally scant because there is no money in it. ProLon was different. There are clinical trials in both animals and humans showing this system works. There is also an ongoing trial with ProLon in conjunction with chemotherapy because of the powerful boost ProLon gives our immune system.
The information above is obtained from my own experience. Please use the links below to explore this program in more detail. As a functional medicine pharmacist, I am passionate about taking care of our bodies on the front end. I spent too many years watching patients return to my pharmacy needing more and stronger medications without ever really getting better. We are living longer now, and to ensure that we are also living healthier, we have to give our body what it needs. Please visit my website canopy-wellness.com for more information or my FullScript page for pharmaceutical grade supplements. I’d love to hear your comments below.
Anytime that you are experiencing a health concern, please contact a healthcare professional for guidance. In the meantime, ensuring that you are providing your body with the movement and nutrients it needs and supporting it through sleep and stress reduction will always provide benefit. The content on this site is for informational or educational purposes only and does not substitute professional medical advice or consultations with healthcare professionals.