16 Tips Before You Start the Prolon Diet

If you are thinking of doing Prolon as well, here are some tips and tricks that helped me survive four rounds of the 5 day Prolon fast. (I also wrote Prolon FAQs (with official Prolon answers)

Before You Start Prolon

1. Join the Facebook Group

Prolon runs an official Facebook group called FASTINATION that you can join for support. The group has over 12K members (as of May 2021) and many people share their experiences with Prolon in there. You can search for answers to any questions you might have, or post them in the group if you can’t find answers.

 

2. Clear your calendars and block out all meals. Make sure you have three full weeks clear to eat clean

Dr Valter Longo recommends that the week before the diet, one should follow a healthy, low protein, preferably vegan diet with limited saturated fat and sugar. Eat two meals a day within a 12 hour window. The week after the FMD is also critical – this is known as the transition week and one needs to eat nutrient dense food to refeed your cells and regenerate your organs (which may shrink during the fast).

At a minimum, keep a clear two week block so you can do a week of Prolon and a week of refeeding (almost as important as the five day diet itself!).

 

Prepping for the week of Prolon

3. Take pictures and measurements 

You don’t have to show these to anyone, but I always find it motivating to take before and after pictures. Take before pictures, ideally in a sports bra and shorts and I always take weight and waist circumference measurements as well. If you have access to a gym that has a weighing scale that gives body fat and muscle mass measurements, you should take those too.

 

4. Go into the diet in ketosis

You’ll be less hungry.

 

5. Prepare your L Drink and Hibiscus Tea

• Refrigerate the hibiscus tea in the Prolon water bottle overnight. Add the L-Drink in it!
• You can also drink the L-Drink with hot tea.
• The L Drink comprises of Glycerin. If you don’t need it, you’ll excrete it in your urine
• If you need glucose, the body secretes glucagon for gluconeogenesis (when the body breaks down fat or protein for glucose). Glycerol is a natural product when fat is broken down. By giving the body extra glycerol, it spares the body from breaking down lean body mass, so the diet is muscle sparing.
• This is a key difference between FMD and water only fasts (which tends to result in loss of lean muscle mass)

 

6. Soak the soups

Many people in the Prolon Fastination Facebook group recommend soaking their soup mix in water in the morning. This can help to prevent bloating if you are inulin sensitive (inulin is a fibre that is added to the soups and bars that can cause bloating for some people).

 

7. Prep one teaspoon of herbs and spices to add in the soup. Chop up the olives and throw them into the soup

Prolon says you can also add one teaspoon of unprocessed spices into your soups a day. I add chilli padi and slices of raw garlic. It gives the soups some texture and gives your teeth something to munch on. I also like to chop up the olives and throw them into the soups.

 

8. Freeze the Nut Bars and cut them up into cubes

if you need snacks throughout the day, this is a good way to spread the nut bars out.

 

During the Week of Prolon

9. Weigh yourself first thing in the morning

I like to weigh myself every day, just to track progress, but at a minimum, you should weigh yourself first thing in the morning of Day 1 (after going to the toilet, without any clothes on).

 

10. Skip breakfast and shorten your eating window

You’ll only be slightly hungry in the mornings.  If you shorten your eating window, (I eat between 12-5pm when I’m doing Prolon), this means more food in that 5 hour window.

 

11. Be careful when microwaving your soups

If it spills over, you’ll have to lick it up. Do the 2 minutes in 1 minute rounds with 30 seconds rest in between.

 

12. Do low intensity exercise first thing in the morning

A long walk or a slow yoga practice in the morning will help burn more fat. Exercise also makes me less hungry.

 

13. Fuel up with the Nut Bar / Glycerin L-Drink before or immediately after more intense workouts

The official Prolon recommendation is not to do moderate or intense exercise but I would always lift weights in the afternoon. I would fuel up with the Nut Bar and L Drink before my workouts to maintain lean muscle mass and I’ve always seen an increase in muscle mass when I’ve done rounds of Prolon!

 

The Week After Prolon

14. Take pictures and measurements

On the morning of Day 6, take final pictures (in the same sports bra / shorts as you did on Day 1) and weight and waist circumference measurements. Congratulate yourself in completing the 5 day fast!

 

15. Do one final session of low / moderate exercise on the morning of Day 6 for that final fat blast!

On Day 6, any exercise you do will be tapping on your fat reserves so I always do a 30-45 min Zone 2 run before breaking my fast.

 

16. Don’t overeat and don’t binge on unhealthy food

Have a healthy refeed meal (soft boiled eggs and avocado are my go to fast breaking meal) that’s easy on the stomach. You may be tempted to binge eat after 5 days of the FMD but your stomach cannot take oily, fried food and you will get a tummy ache. Trust me, it’s happened to a number of friends.

 

The information here is for informational purposes only. This website does not provide medical, professional, or licensed advice and is not a substitute for consultation with a health care professional. The use of any information on this website is solely at your own risk.

 

Read next: Prolon FAQs (with official Prolon answers)