Fitness

I would love to do a water fast but it sounds treacherous. Kudos to any of you that have moved through one successfully. As I am “maturing” I am so much more aware of my body – – of course, not drinking or using drugs helps, too. When I was younger I could give blood and go out dancing, now, at 51, when I give blood I have to rest immediately for 30-60 minutes or I will get faint and dizzy. No more riding my Harley to Blood Drives!!!

So. I tried the ProLon fast mimicking diet after hearing about in in the documentary, “Fasting”. My menopausal body was finally allowing me to loose weight (after getting on hormones, mind you) and I wanted to detox to start anew. ProLon to the rescue! As with any fast, you have to be in the right state of mind. Investigation and taking advantage of all the perks (a lovely call with Faith, a counselor/ProLon mentor) are important. I know I am one of those, “I’ll do it my way”, but really, how often has that worked out for me? Ha! Anyhow, I reviewed it, learned about it and decided to bite the bullet.

I ordered the fancier kit #2 with more exotic soup choices. Day one went well. I even ran almost four miles that morning. I knew that running/exercising through a fast is not advisable, perhaps unless it is light yoga or stretching. The soups are a bit gritty and some are better than others but they were doable. I wasn’t expecting a whole lot, it was a fast mimicking diet, after all. The bars and kale crackers were delicious. Day one had the most food, which makes sense.

I enjoyed the plain Butternut Squash soup the most. My least favorite was the Black Bean. I added extra water and some spices, too, which is allowed. I love a little kick so enjoyed cayenne pepper. The guideline from the website is no more that 1 teaspoon max per day (not per serving as you will eat soup 2x a day). You can add “pinches” and then don’t have to stress about getting over the max daily amount. Enjoy the following: oregano, basil, lemon juice, chili powder, paprika, turmeric, cumin, curry, lime juice, cilantro, garlic, Tabasco, cayenne, sage, thyme, ginger, parsley, and I used Redmond real salt and it was fine.

I would strongly suggest drinking the “L-Drink” in the Hibiscus tea. It makes it much more enjoyable. The L-Drink “is formulated to provide vegetable-based nutritional support during the diet. It provides you with glycerol, which in the fasting mode helps to protect amino acids (to preserve lean body mass) and promote hydration.”

I would suggest on those days you don’t get a crunch bar for dessert to save half of your Lbar from the morning or some of your kale chips. It helps beat that craving. On the days I had only Kale Chips I had one for lunch, one for dinner, and one for snack. Review your entire menu each morning and plan it out if you want to stretch any of those items. Evenings are more difficult for me than throughout the day so I knew I had to have something then.

Physically I felt pretty good through most of my fast. On day two I was a little more fatigued but on day three and four my energy was renewed. I did too much. On day four I decided to mow (3.5 miles) and on day five I suffered a terrible headache. It was definitely a result of pushing myself too much and perhaps some dehydration, too. Oh yes, and you can enjoy one cup of black coffee each morning! Thank goodness that is how I drink my coffee anyhow!

Overall I was tickled with this fast. I will most definitely be doing it again. I lost 7 pounds over the five days. I would recommend it to most healthy folks. Of course, you should always discuss with your doctor first. Isn’t that what everyone says? No one wants responsibility. Of course, we are all responsible for ourselves so educate yourself!

Here is where you can find out more about ProLon: https://prolonfast.com/products

Let me know about your fasting experience(s). I would love to hear about them!