“A 2015 study by the Longevity Institute… conducted with mice, found four days of a diet that mimicked fasting extended lifespans, lowered visceral fat, reduced cancer incidence and rejuvenated the immune system. The study later saw similar reductions in disease risk factors in humans.” Dr. Valter Longo

 

An Invitation…

 

Until recently the idea of fasting was simply not on my radar.

Food is plentiful today. Why give up something we all love so much – and, frankly, we need?

 

You don’t know what you don’t know

 

What I didn’t know at that time was the profound effect fasting has not just on our ability to control our weight, but on our deepest cellular health and ultimately our longevity. 

Once I learned that fasting literally triggers healing and regeneration at the very cellular level, I was all in.

 

A Rookie’s Failed Attempt

 

I started with a 24-hour water fast. Didn’t make it though one day. So I tried another approach – expanding the time from dinner to breakfast from 12 to 14 and sometimes 16 hours. Dinner by 7:00. Morning’s first meal around 11:00 or 12:00. That I could do.

What I later learned was that these shorter overnight fasts, while they help control our blood sugar and insulin levels, are not enough to trigger the deeper cellular cleansing and rebuilding that I was looking for.

Finally, I landed on the research of Dr. Valter Longo, director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California, and considered by many to be the global leader in nutrition and aging.

In his 20 years of research on aging and longevity, he and his team set out to identify an intervention to slow or even reverse biological aging and delay (and prevent) the onset of age-related chronic diseases – a natural defense against cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and a host of other chronic illnesses.

 

An Easier Way for the Faint of Heart

 

The answer they found was periodic fasting done for several consecutive days.

This powerful intervention is one our bodies learned to naturally cope with by protecting and rejuvenating itself – literally making the body functionally stronger and biologically younger.   

Because it’s difficult and risky to fast on water only, Longo, under the sponsorship of the National Institute of Health, National Cancer Institute, and National Institute on Aging, developed a natural plant-based meal program named Prolon – Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD) which imitates fasting while feeding the body. 

Nice compromise.  Sounded like something I could do. 

So in October of last year, I began my first successful fast with Prolon.

 

Five days – three consecutive months

 

Five days for three consecutive months was the prescribed “start” to the program.

This, according to Longo’s research, locks in the benefits and delivers the greatest long-term results. After that, depending on one’s health and weight goals, the program can be repeated two or three times a year – or even more.

 

More muscle – less fat!

 

Full disclosure… Vanity played a role in my decision to engage in this program.

Time and wine put fat exactly where we don’t want it. On the belly, around our middle, and in the unwanted and growing muffins that sit just above the hips. You might relate. 

One of my interests was to shift my body composition: reduce the unwanted fat and – very importantly – retain muscle. Since muscle is crucial to keep as we get older. It keeps us strong… and mobile… and from falling down and breaking bones!

 

Tracking My Results

 

In order for me to measure the change in both fat and muscle percentage, I used an Omron scale. Although it’s not a perfect indicator, it’s an affordable alternative that you can use to chart your progress over time. 

After three rounds my weight was down seven pounds from the start. Body fat – down 4%. Muscle up ever so slightly. And – the best part – muffins all but disappeared and belly fat was noticeably less.

 

The followup

 

Since completing my 3 rounds in early January, my weight has stabilized at about seven pounds less than when I started with no creeping up. It appears my set weight has decreased. Both fat and muscle mass have held at the levels they were at the end of the third round.

 

(Side note – should you think I’m taking extraordinary measures to keep my muscle percentage up, that’s not the case – especially with COVID lockdown.  My typical workouts include daily brisk walks of 20 to 40 minutes (more like sled pulls with Mosley, our strong yellow lab). Occasional yoga online with my daughter, Dana, whose classes I love (I’m biased) and are offered free here on her Instagram page – look for her “45 Min Power Flow”. And 1 to 3 rounds of the 7-minute workout. I also make sure that I get about 50% of my weight in grams of protein per day – with 30 grams taken at one meal. This prescribed by Dr. Longo.)

 

Prolon FMD Program

 

The Prolon Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD) is a 5-day meal program that provides important nutrients in precise quantities and combinations for nourishment but – interestingly – are not recognized as food by your body and therefore mimics a fasting state. 

You fast on soups, snacks, fasting bars (made of nuts, honey, flaxseed, and all ingredients you’ll recognize),  and a vegetable-based energy drink that helps to preserve lean muscle while you fast. For details on the ingredients, go here. For information on the science, go here.

 

Curing Chronic Illness

 

Prolon is now being used by thousands of physicians and medical practitioners because it does what no other “diet” plan has been able to do… help people effectively and naturally lose weight without gimmicks or fancy food plans.

And to be clear, Prolon is not a diet program. It’s a total and natural body reset.

The development of this plan came out of Longo’s larger vision to find cures for cancer, autoimmune disease, diabetes, and other illness that affect the majority of our population today. Driven with that foremost in his mind, he established the Create Cures Foundation with the goal of helping people to live long and healthy lives free of disease.

 

“Promoting creative educational and scientific programs aimed at ensuring healthy lives, improving well-being at all ages, and reducing mortality due to noncommunicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as obesity so that everyone – even patients without financial means – can benefit from new knowledge and reach a healthy longevity.” Create Cures Foundation mission.

 

A randomized controlled trial of 100 people after three rounds of Prolon showed improvements in blood pressure, insulin levels, inflammatory markers, cholesterol levels, abdominal fat, waist circumference, and increased stem cell production.

 

What’s Your Vision?

 

I’ve always believed that knowing what you want and holding that vision is the magical ingredient that allows us to be creators of our lives.  My vision is to remain strong and vital – indefinitely. So when I “get old” – whatever that means, I’m not feeble and physically handicapped.

While I know we can’t control it all, I have a vision of me at 90 or maybe even older doing all the things I do now. It’s clear and always held in my mind and it directs the choices I make in my life.

This program will definitely play a role for me – long term.

 

Join me…

 

If you’re like me and interested in beginning your healing journey, join me May 18-22 for a five-day fast with the Prolon Fasting Mimicking Diet. Go here to register and order your Prolon kit. Each kit includes five days of food and all you will need for the fast. Get a special price of $210 on packages purchased by May 14th with a rebate of $50. After the 14th packages will sell for $225. Please be sure to email the address where you want your package shipped. To be sure you receive your package in time, place your order by Monday or Tuesday, May 11, 12. 

Then, mark your calendar for a short Zoom meeting on Thursday, May 14 @ 5:30 p.m. I’ll provide a brief overview and answer your questions. Login info follows:

_________________________

 

Elaine Pauly is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Prolon Fasting Mimicking Diet – Zoom Meeting
Time: May 14, 2020 05:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/71907632733?pwd=b2J5Z3gydWp1S0ZmWHJZT3NjZkp3UT09

Meeting ID: 719 0763 2733
Password: 9xuu3w

_________________________

 

PS – Prolon is not for everyone… It should not be used if you are under 18, pregnant or nursing, or have a history of diabetes, heart disease, or other serious medical condition. Prolon should not be combined with glucose-lowering drugs such as metformin or insulin. When in doubt, always check with your licensed physician. 

 

 

Looking forward to seeing you on the 14th

With Love, ♥

 

Questions? Concerns? Feel free to email me elaine@elainepauly.com