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Trigger Warning : This post discusses health, diet and weight loss.
Hello friends! I know a few people have been waiting on my thoughts of this after I shared a few teasers over on Instagram about doing the Prolon 5-day Meal programme. I’m going to chat through the 5 days, give my honest thoughts, explain a bit about the science behind the programme and hopefully answer any questions you may have.
(ALSO I have a 15% discount code which is laura15 if you are interested in purchasing the 5 day programme and giving it a go! Do read on though before you commit!)
Why I chose to do it.
Firstly, I want to make clear I’m not doing this primarily for losing weight. Yes it will of course help that if that’s your target but for me, this is about kick-starting healthier habits and a healthier lifestyle. I, like many other women, am feeling sluggish, unhealthy and just totally un-energetic with low motivation. I have found lockdown had been a huge strain on both my mental and physical health, I’m 40 this year (!) and I REALLY want to change my lifestyle. I NEED and want to make changes to myself and I know I need to make better food, exercise and lifestyle choices to get me feeling back on track.
Becoming a mum has made me feel differently about ‘me’ : I want to be as healthy as I can for both myself and my family. I’m starting to wheeze up the stairs and I’m the un-healthiest I have been in my entire life. I don’t feel good and I haven’t for ages.
I have tried ALL the fad diets over the years. I have fluctuated up and down with my weight and from my past experiences with meal plans etc I KNOW I need something pretty strict and routine. If I get free reign and too many options I start making wrong choices and I end up self-sabotaging! The thing that really interested me about Prolon is the fact it’s a 5-day programme and EVERYTHING you ingest comes in that big box in the post. Job done.
Prolon : The Fasting Mimicking Diet.
I’m going to quickly chat about the Prolon diet and what a ‘fasting mimicking diet’ (FMD) is and how it works. ProLon is a 5-day dietary program carefully designed to nourish and rejuvenate your body while supporting metabolic balance. It is the first and only clinically tested, doctor recommended fasting meal program.
It is an entire 5-day meal plan that has been expertly combined to give you results, make you feel nourished and keep energy levels up as much as possible. You get 5 boxes and within each box are your entire foods and drinks for that day. You need to make sure everything is consumed that day and cannot be swapped with another box. It contains things such as soup sachets, oat bars, crackers, olives, supplements and drinks. Also inside you get a rough guide of the order in which you have the contents, to make the best out of it, although you can swap the order you eat things just not roll it over to the next day etc.
This 5-day meal program provides scientifically researched micro- and macro-nutrients in precise quantities and combinations that nourish you, but are not recognised as food by your body and therefore mimics a fasting state.
I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the boxes as it seemed there was quite a sufficient amount of ‘things’ within’ to keep me snacking throughout the day. The instructions were simple and straight forward and everything made sense. You also get a large water bottle to drink from and in some of the days you get a liquid concentrate to drink which can go in here too. If anything it’s just good to keep filling up and drinking though-out the day.
A Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD) can be really beneficial as it can enhance cellular renewal, support metabolic health, enhance clarity and performance AND kickstart weight loss.
My 5-day Prolon FMD Diary:
I had had a zoom call prior to this with a lovely man called Don, the Prolon nutritionist and health coach to answer any questions and queries. He give me some great tips & tricks to make it a successful 5 days so I’ll share a few tips with you to help you on your journey too!
1.) Girls, plan this around your cycle! This was perhaps one of the most helpful tips and actually part of the reason I think I completed it. You don’t want to d it the week of or after your period ; try and do it the week AFTER so your body is recovered and in it’s best ‘state’ to fast.
2.) Clear your diary. Don’t do a fasting diet in a week when you have loads going on. you will have times when you feel tired, lower energy and you don’t want to over-exert yourself.
3.) Limit exercise. I’m glad they suggested this as to be honest, reducing your calorie-intake and trying to work out will just make it very hard and eat away at your energy levels. Put the feet up and watch netflix my huns!
4.) If you are a caffeine drinker, try and start reducing this the week before so you are weaned off it as much as possible.
5.) If you start reducing your calorie-intake a few days before this will kind of get you hitting the ground running. My calories intake was well over 3000-3500 /day before this so I reduced it down to maybe 2000 in the days running up. Just to help a little!
Day 1
When I open the box to see what is on store for me today I’m actually pleasantly surprised and there is more than I expected. The Honey nut bar for breakfast tastes good. I’m not a fan of Herbal tea but I went for the Spearmint infusion anyway. I think I will struggle with the herbal teas and maybe opt for water & lemon instead!
Tomato soup for lunch with olives AND crackers which is all very filling and I actually really love these crackers! Another honey nut for the afternoon actually makes Day 1 kinda ‘easy’. I think they ease you in gently so your body gets used to the diet.
Minestrone/bean soup for dinner : the flavour isn’t like a gourmet restaurant let’s be real but it tastes fine and I feel quite full after. I was REALLY looking forward to the Cocoa bar which looked small but I needed a little hit (and always do in the PM after my meal!) It was a little disappointing in taste and for me it tasted quite bitter but I feel that’s because I’m not so used to dark chocolate. It still was a nice thing to have and It satisfied my sweet tooth.
I feel pretty good and definitely not as hungry as expected.
Day 2
I thought I would wake up hungry and I didn’t. I try and leave my breakfast nut bar to as late as possible so it’s closer until lunch and the day will be a little easier I think. I swerved herbal tea – I’m just not a fan!
I missed the crackers for lunch as they were really filling yesterday.
PM I’m a little grouchy and lethargic. Tom cooking his gourmet ready meals doesn’t help but part of my method was for me to NOT cook at all so I’m not tempted or feeling left out. I ate my soup a little later than normal so I didn’t have a huge gap in between dinner and bedtime as that’s when I know I like to snack.
Day 3
Again, and surprisingly I didn’t wake up hungry. Maybe a little more-so than yesterday but nothing horrendous at all. I’m pleased to see crackers in today’s box which I will split between lunch and dinner. Today is the first day I don’t have a PM chocolate snack OR any olives either so I think I’ll need a little extra with my PM soup. There’s also less snacks so I think today may be the hardest day but I feel like I can do it, albeit being a little grouchy.
We had to go to a hospital appointment around lunchtime so today I made my soup before we left the house and took it in a thermos to have en route/when we were out. Also had a drive-thru McDonalds for Margot and I VERY much wanted some chips but I resisted. I am definitely getting some cravings today.
5pm : I’m feeling very tired and pretty hungry right now. I saved half my crackers for my PM soup but I had them now to ‘see me through’ : definitely the toughest day so far but feeling determined to get through! I have tucked into one herbal tea just now and will have my soup as late as possible so I don’t raid the cupboard before bed. I have a feeling tomorrow may be the first morning I wake up quite hungry.
Day 4
WOW I am actually nearly there! Woke up this morning feeling pretty good surprisingly not hungry. I have a little more energy and I feel motivated as today is the last day so I know I can get through this. I always really enjoy the honey oat bar for breakfast, it’s probably my favourite thing to eat alongside the crackers!
Today I went to Longleat so temptations were there but I just made sure to take a pack of olives with me and my L-Drink in my water bottle to keep hydrated and ‘going’. I do have times I feel low energy and a bit grizzly for sure and today was one of those – it’s going to happen but you can get through. It’s not that I’m feeling necessarily very hungry it’s just a lot of changes my body is dealing with.
I’m getting used to the ‘Choco Crisp Bar’ and it tastes a lot better now than it did on day 1! I think it’s also getting used to dark chocolate for my taste as I’ve always been into milk chocolate.
Day 5
As always, I’m not waking up hungry, but I am pleased this is the last day! I’m also pleased to see crackers in today’s box. I don’t know why but I really enjoy these and find them filling. I save two for an afternoon snack as there are 4 within the pack and have 2 with my lunch soup. This is the day where there is the least amount of snacks and extras, like day 3.
I am not loving the herbal teas still and have tried all the flavours but I just don’t like them! Spearmint is the best and that’s always been one herbal tea I can tolerate but I honestly just prefer water and lemon over herbal teas! At the end of the week I am left with a big pile of Herbal teas, but all the foods and snacks are all eaten.
The 5 days have flown by and I’m feeling like I’ve really accomplished something. I’m looking forward to tomorrow morning which is a Sunday and have planned a few healthy meals to ease me back in.
As the weather was quite humid and warm there were definitely times (mainly lunch) when I didn’t really fancy soup, I probably would have opted for a shake if that was an option and maybe this is something they can offer in the future. The soups all tasted fine, I think my favourite was the Minestrone and Quinoa and I would definitely recommend cooking them on the hob as opposed to microwave as the powdery flavour goes and they taste much better this way. Prolon have just launched a new combination of soup flavours so you can choose the box you prefer.
Results.
I felt SO good when I had finished the 5 days : I think it was a combination of actually doing the 5 days and getting through (hey it’s not easy, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!) AND the fact that I felt surprisingly energetic and just super positive. I lost 4.5 kg in the 5 days. I’m not sure if that’s god/ bad but going from a very high calorie diet to this, of course I was expecting to lose weight.
After/now.
So Don did recommend gently easing back into a simple and healthy diet and to be honest, this was easy. Going from soups and very basic snacks and food into even 1 ‘proper’ healthy meal was a real treat and I made a conscious decision to go straight from the Prolon 5-day programme into a low-carb and healthier diet which is what I have been doing. I didn’t WANT to go grab a maccy D’s the first day after, I just wanted to nourish and be good to myself.
I am now 2 weeks post-Prolon and I still feel really motivated and focused to keep up the healthy eating and lifestyle. I’m slowly incorporating more exercise into my daily routine too with my trusty fit-bit and simple goal of 10,000 steps per day. I don’t want to go OTT or give myself unobtainable goals so this is me at the moment and then maybe in a couple of months I’ll start running and doing more adventurous exercise. I don’t have any big ‘goals’ or dates I want to look or feel a certain way. I simply want to be as healthy and as happy as I can be and I honestly feel like I am on the right path and I haven’t felt like this for YEARS. Prolon for me, was the perfect ‘kick-start’ and I’m 100% going to do it again.
I think you can do maybe x3 in a row (over 3 months, not consequently!) so you do 5 days Prolon then normal the rest of the month. It’s not cheap, coming in at £225 (it’s currently on offer for £199) and my discount gets you a further 15% off by the way – but I do think it’s effective and would recommend it to anyone who feels as I have explained above. I have failed pretty much any ‘diet’, regime or programme over the years but honestly if I managed to do this, then I really think most people can!