My update from day 5 of the Prolon 5 day fasting mimicking diet. For each of the five days I have received a box from ProLon® with everything I can eat that day and, from Day 2 onwards, a bottle of glycerol which helps protect your lean body mass whilst keeping you in a fasting state. By the afternoon of Day 5 I was struggling with weakness, so with my son coming home for Easter I broke the fast with a lovely miso, tofu and vegetable soup shared with the family and that felt good.

I unfortunately developed mouth ulcers on day 4, which I am prone to, but this one was pretty uncomfortable so Don from Prolon advised me to stop the glycerol on day 5 as some people are sensitive to it. I will probably have to avoid the glycerol for my April fast and I wonder how I will cope without it, as it supports dropping blood sugars whilst fasting. 

Into day 6 and at 66.5kg I am nearly in the normal range for BMI so hopefully with the next fast I will land into my goals of 65kg, 86cm waist and normal BMI. I have lost a more appropriate amount of weight this time so maybe all the liver support on this fast has helped?

I now hope to maintain my weight loss and start to build on gaining muscle strength as this is such an important element in later life. I have noticed a growing reliance on my husband to open jars and heavy doors which are becoming more difficult for me, so I know it’s important to try and increase my muscle strength. Although I walk, cycle and swim each week, I struggle to maintain a regular yoga practice or lift weights which I know would be optimal in a weekly exercise regime. I have had menopausal frozen shoulder on two occasions and therefore have some ongoing restriction in my shoulders, but I am aware that I also carry stress and responsibility in my neck and shoulders so letting go and doing less is still another behaviour change I am aiming for.

I wouldn’t be without a few key homeopathic medicines including Ruta Graveolens for painful tendons and ligaments, Calendula for pulled muscles and of course Arnica for overdoing or overstretching muscles.

As ever, we are always looking for sustainable change with things we can incorporate easily and enjoy, so hail to my next herb tea – Fennel! It’s a wonderful digestif and calms the bowels and helps with digestion – plus it’s delicious.

Fennel – Herbal Reality

Good luck to any of you out there working with your metabolic health and trying to make changes. It is not always easy, but it is often worth it.

Dr Elizabeth Thompson