How is the Fasting Diet Different?

While fasting and calorie restriction have been practiced since ancient times, the incredible health benefits of fasting have gained recent widespread attention. More and more people are incorporating fasting into their lifestyle due to the amazing health benefits of fasting.

It follows the same general principles as regular fasting by depriving the body of food to experience health benefits. The fasting mimicking diet is different from fasting in that you are restricting calories for five days out of a month rather than eliminating all food for a set period. The fasting diet has been studied in both animals and humans. The diet was shown to be safe and produced no serious side effects in these studies. This is an advantage over extended fasting which can result in nutrient deficiencies when done for prolonged periods.

Behavioral Sciences show that small but significant wins are the key to lifestyle transformation and success in life. The FMD is key to your success in improving your life and providing you a peace of mind for getting back on track (when you feel like you need to correct your diet) in a fast and effective way. We all know that a poor diet and excess calories are key factors causing aging and disease. Restricting calories with fasting promotes metabolic and cellular changes, including reducing oxidative damage and inflammation, optimizing energy metabolism, and enhancing cellular protection.

Studies show that the fasting mimicking diet reduces markers and risk factors for aging and several diseases. In a human study, the FMD was found to reduced abdominal fat and cholesterol, lower triglycerides, reduce blood pressure and fasting glucose, and a decrease in C-reactive protein, an inflammatory risk factor.

The benefits you can experience with fasting are:

• Reduces inflammation
• Improves genetic repair mechanisms
• Reduces the risk of chronic disease
• Stimulates cellular autophagy
• Stimulates fat burning
• Boosts energy levels
• Improves insulin sensitivity
• Enhanced mental health
• Fast way to fat loss
• Support metabolic balance
• Cellular based clean-up and rejuvenation
• Empowered and in control of your health and diet
• A sense of achievement and success
• A trimmer waistline from targeted visceral fat loss
• Lifestyle improvements and a change in your relationship with food

How Often Should You Do the Fasting

If you have at least two risk factors for diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, or neurodegenerative disease, you should do the fast once a month if you are obese or overweight people or once every two months if you are average-weight. People who are average weight with one risk factor for diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, or neurodegenerative disease.

Healthy people with a normal diet who are not physically active should do the fast once every four months. Healthy people with an ideal diet and who perform regular physical activity should do the fast once every six months.

Fasting Diet vs Intermittent Fasting vs Ketogenic Diet:

How Often Should You Do the Fasting

If you have at least two risk factors for diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, or neurodegenerative disease, you should do the fast once a month if you are obese or overweight people or once every two months if you are average-weight. People who are average weight with one risk factor for diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, or neurodegenerative disease.

Healthy people with a normal diet who are not physically active should do the fast once every four months. Healthy people with an ideal diet and who perform regular physical activity should do the fast once every six months.

Fasting Diet vs Intermittent Fasting vs Ketogenic Diet:

Intermittent Fasting

Is a practice of water-based fasting or eating less than 500-600 calories for a 24-hour period. Benefits can include weight loss and some metabolic balance. Its limitation is its need for frequency, and it does not extend long enough to stress the cells to restructure and rejuvenate.

The Ketogenic Diet

Is rich in fat, low in carbs and normal or low in proteins. Some of its benefits include blood sugar balance, certain brain conditions, and more. Its limitation is that it needs to be observed every day for weeks. Also, because of the protein levels, the cells recognize food, so they do not enter deep fasting stress in order to regenerate.

The Fasting Diet

Is carefully designed to closely mimic fasting, providing weight, metabolic and cellular benefits for healthy aging. Its limitation is that it should not be done for long periods of time but can be done in cycles from two to six times a year, with normal food intake after each five-day cycle.

Tips for Fasting

• Drink plenty of filtered water during the fasting period.
• Avoid alcohol and reduce caffeinated beverages.
• Keep exercise gentle with light walks. Do not exercise vigorously during the five-day fasting period.
• Get plenty of sleep on a consistent schedule.
• Add Himalayan salt to water to increase electrolytes.
• Work with a health practitioner who can guide you on the proper macronutrient ratios.
• Consider starting the FMD on a Sunday night and ending the following Friday night.
• Do not take hot and lengthy showers, especially during hot weather, while doing the FMD. This can increase your risk of fainting.
• Drive with caution, or not at all, until you know how the FMD affects you.
• Do the fasting mimicking diet in the presence of another person.

Who should not Fast?

• Pregnant women
• Anyone who is fragile
• People with liver or kidney disease
• Athletes during training or competition.
• People over 70 years old unless in superior health
• People who are underweight, have anorexia, or have very low body mass index
• People with rare genetic mutations that block the organism’s capacity to produce glucose from glycerol and amino acids (gluconeogenesis)