Today I’m excited to share a little wellness update with you all. I’m sure like many of you, looking back two years ago with the start of Covid led us down a downward spiral with our eating habits and perhaps our fitness routines too. You might remember me making bread (lots of it!), spending many hours at home, and fully out of my health and wellness routine. That lasted about a year. I remember feeling so off beat after Christmas and desperately wanting to feel less sluggish and more like my regular self. I love eating well, regularly exercising, and truly feeling my best. At that time my youngest, Blake, was two years old so I already felt run down with having a toddler and ready to escape my mom fog and get going to feeling healthy again.

On that note, I’m always up for a health reset or healthy cleanse. Which led me to discovering ProLon! A friend of mine asked me if I’d ever heard of the fast and if I’d like to join her. At that time I hadn’t heard of ProLon, so before committing to this five-day fast that tricks your body into thinking it is in complete fasting mode, I wanted to do some research for myself first. But I was definitely intrigued and trusted her wellness opinion to begin with.

I did some reading and quickly realized that even though it might be challenging it sounded amazing! The ProLon fast is made up of primarily plant-based meals, teas, and supplements provided in one box, divided into five smaller boxes to set you up for a five-day fast. The ratio, amount, and food design are the key to keeping your body in a fasted state and unleashing the many benefits of fasting — while still eating food. But why you may ask? And what kind of health benefits are there? Seems so simple yet I quickly realized there was so much behind the development which interested me and I wanted to learn more. I was led to listen to some podcasts with Dr. Longo, the Director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California and founder of the fast. He promoted and studied the longevity and health span of humans… which pretty much means how we age and how we can age healthier, better, and SLOWER! He first discovered how cells sense food, then devised foods with specific levels of nutrients to support fasting. Pretty cool, right?

I then ended up listening to his book The Longevity Diet: Discover the New Science Behind Stem Cell Activation and Regeneration to Slow Aging, Fight Disease, and Optimize Weight. I loved learning about his perspective on health and how our culture has spiraled into a sludge of health problems simply because of how and what we eat! I could go on and on and on talking about his research, it’s fascinating. I won’t get into that here, but I encourage you to read or listen to his book–you’ll love it!

After a week of reading and listening to Dr. Longo and the benefits of ProLon I was ready to purchase my box and give it a shot. I even had Troy do it with me! Now, over a year later, I’ve completed two boxes and am here on my third round sharing my experience with you! It’s suggested to complete a ProLon fast once or twice a year for full benefits. I love the idea of getting my health kick started every six months, so here I am again! 

If you’re interested yet completely intimidated at the same time, I promise if I (and Troy) can do it then truly you can too! I’ve shared stories on my Instagram page and saved them in a highlight so you can refer back to them.

Below I’m going to share very briefly here how I felt during the five days, but I suggest you refer to my Instagram stories for more of an in-depth view.

When you open your box you’ll see five smaller boxes (one for each day) and a water bottle. Make sure to open each box to confirm you have everything you need for each day and nothing is missing. It might seem a little underwhelming with how little is in each box, but now you can do it, and I’ll share some tips and tricks I’ve found to help get you through each day!

Here are some things you’ll want to keep in mind:

1. You can only eat what is in each box for that day. However, you can switch up the order of what you eat and how you divide your portion for that day.
2. When you make your soups make sure to cook them on a stove top, not a microwave. They will taste so much better that way!
3. I divided the crackers in half for the two meals I had my soups (instead of eating them all with one meal.) I also liked to break the crackers up and sprinkle them onto the soup for added crunch, and to switch things up. 
4. When making my soups, I added twice the amount of water to make the soup seem like it was a bigger portion. I also added extra salt and seasoning like chili pepper flakes (you are allowed to add seasoning/ spices to enhance the flavors).
5. I always made sure I had sparkling water on hand. It seemed like a little treat when poured into a wine glass with ice… cocktail like!
6. I would save my “dessert” for after dinner, almost like a snack after the kids were in bed in case I was having any cravings.
7. During the five days I also tried to go to bed early, which really helped with any late night cravings and hunger. Especially on the first three days.
8. I tried to not pack a lot into my days; however, if I was going out for meetings or appointments I made one of the soups and transferred it into a to-go coffee mug to sip on later. Easy and convenient!
9. I made sure not to make any lunch/ dinner plans with friends. For obvious reasons.
10. Lastly, I kept reminding myself why I was doing the fast. I wanted the full results of cell rejuvenation and to feel my best at the end. That really helped with getting through each day. Once I was on day four, it was smooth sailing into day five. The first three days are the toughest. I also did not do any high intensity workouts. A yoga session or walk was perfect if I needed to distract myself and continue my fitness routine.

What I felt after the five days:

1. GREAT! The best possible feeling. And initially surprised about it too.
2. I felt alert, awake, and a sense of total mind clarity.
3. I felt lighter with absolutely no bloating.
4. In terms of weight loss, I lost about five pounds, but wasn’t too focused on the scale aspect because I also recognized how fasts and cleanses work for the body. I wanted to focus on the overall well-being I was feeling once I was done.
5. I have to add that I slept amazingly while on the fast. I had no muscle or joint pains which makes sense with the result of decreased inflammation.

Since this was my third round, I don’t need to stress how much I love ProLon! I find the entire fast to be challenging yet doable with noticeable results. Which is so important to me when investing my time, money, and energy into a wellness system. I loved it!

If you’d like to try your own ProLon fast use my code: MONIKAHIBBS for 15% off your box!

Thank you to ProLon for sponsoring this post, all opinions and views are my own.