Fast Mimicking Diet — DIY Cheaply

The Health-Promoting 5-Day Diet Without the Cost

If you want to skip reading the background information and just download the 5-day diet menu and recipes, click here.

The Fast Mimicking Diet (FMD) is a 5-day low-calorie diet that has been shown in scientific studies to provide the health and longevity benefits of prolonged water-only fasting or long-term calorie restriction, but it avoids many of the risks and pitfalls of fasting without any food intake.

My primary health goal is to live a long and healthy life, and in the process maintain my body at a healthy weight, and the FMD had evidence that it could help with all those objectives. I was convinced by the science that the benefits claimed by the creator of the FMD had solid evidence behind them and I wanted to try it myself.

So, after a bit of research, I realized that the easiest way to do it was to purchase the Prolon FMD kit that Dr. Longo was involved in creating (he doesn’t take any profit from it — his money goes to charity).

“Despite its potential for disease prevention and treatment, prolonged fasting is difficult to implement in human subjects and may exacerbate preexisting nutritional deficiencies, making it not feasible and/or safe for children, the elderly, frail individuals, and even most of the healthy adults.” -Wei, Min et al. (2017).

In 2019 I sent them the $249 and they sent me the Prolon FMD box containing all my food for 5 days. It wasn’t a very big box. I soon discovered that was because a lot of the food was dehydrated soups and pre-packaged snack bars which don’t take up much room. I did the 5 day fast mimicking diet, and it was nice to have convenient food to eat during that time. I lost 10 pounds in 5 days, and felt good. But the dehydrated soups and pre-packaged olives, bars, and soups were edible, but not exactly tasty. I wanted to do the FMD again, but with higher-quality food, and for less money. There had to be a better way! I’ve put together my own do-it-yourself (DIY) FMD diet based on Dr. Longo’s instructions and the commercial Prolon product that I’d like to share with you. But first, I wanted to review the basics of the science that convinced me doing the FMD on a regular basis is a good idea to promote longevity.

Science Behind the FMD

Dr. Valter Longo, Director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California — Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, Los Angeles, one of the leading centers for research on aging and age-related disease and Director of the Longevity and Cancer Program at the IFOM Institute of Molecular Oncology in Milan, Italy, has conducted studies showing that the fast-mimicking diet can extend the length of healthy life (healthspan), reduce symptoms of cancer and multiple sclerosis, reduce inflammation, improve cognitive performance and regenerate multiple body systems in mice (Brandhorst, et. al., 2015).

In humans, study results indicate that using the FMD diet for at least three cycles (once a month for three months) is effective in improving a number of metabolic markers and risk factors associated with poor health and aging and with multiple age-related diseases. Refer to the “Further Reading” section at the end of this article for more details.

“This randomized phase 2 trial indicates that three cycles of a 5-day FMD per month are feasible, safe, and effective in reducing body weight, waist circumference and BMI, absolute total body and trunk fat, systolic blood pressure, as well as IGF-1”-Wei, Min et al. (2017).

The science appears to be sound that three cycles of the FMD across three months can improve biomarkers associated with aging and disease onset, and are effective in reducing body weight, waist circumference and BMI, absolute total body and trunk fat, systolic blood pressure, as well as IGF-1.

“I wanted to do the FMD again, but with higher-quality food, and for less money. There had to be a better way!”

Based on the information in Dr. Longo’s published studies on humans and on the information in his book “The Longevity Diet” as well as the patents for Prolon filed by the company L-Nutra, I put together my own cheaper, easier FMD.

Constructing My Own FMD

Goal of the Fast-Mimicking Diet: “The FMD is a plant-based diet designed to attain fasting-like effects on the serum levels of IGF-1, IGFBP-1, glucose, and ketone bodies while providing both macro- and micronutrients to minimize the burden of fasting and adverse effects.”-Wei, Min et al. (2017). This diet is low in protein, sugar, and saturated fats as they can interfere with the protective and regenerative effects of fasting. Fat and complex carbohydrates are the major source of calories in the FMD.

The FMD must meet the following criteria:

All plant-based
About 500 calories from complex carbohydrates (vegetables such as broccoli, tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms, etc.) on day 1 of the diet (transitional day); 400 calories on days 2–5.
About 500 calories from healthy fats (nuts, avocado, olives, olive oil) on day 1 of the diet; 400 calories on days 2–5.
About 1100 calories on day 1 of the diet; 800 calories on days 2–5.
About 25 g of plant-based protein (mostly from nuts) on day 1 of the diet. Less than 18g of plant-based protein on days 2–5.
Less than 30g of sugar on day 1; less than 20 grams on days 2–5.
Include a multivitamin/multimineral supplement and an omega 3/6 supplement

In addition, these were other goals I tried to hit with the diet:

High fiber — fiber is important to reduce hunger.
Include an inulin powder supplement at optional. Dr. Longo’s book doesn’t require it, but the Prolon kit includes inulin in some of the foods. Inulin is a prebiotic fiber that increases fullness.
Include a glycerol drink as optional. The commercial FMD product contains a 25 calorie drink (more of it for those with more body mass.) Per their website: “The L-Drink contains glycerol and it is intended to preserve lean body mass and support hydration.” The drink is made of vegetable glycerin and flavorings. Glycerin is a sweetener that doesn’t affect blood sugar. You can purchase food-grade vegetable glycerin at many nutritional supplement stores or online.
Make the diet easy by mostly including easily available foods, and repeating a menu through most days. When I’m fasting, variety isn’t my main concern.

“This diet is low in protein, sugar, and saturated fats as they can interfere with the protective and regenerative effects of fasting.”

Here’s some information about the ingredients in the commercial Prolon product. I tried to use this as a starting place in designing my own FMD, but I used natural whole foods, rather than bars and dehydrated soups.

Approximate Nutrition Info for Commercial Fast-Mimicking Diet; Image source: Robin Murphy; Data source: Prolon

The commercial FMD program for $249 contains the following:

Day 1 — Breakfast Omega 3 DHA supplement L-Bar Nut-based Snack Bar Day 1 — Lunch 5 olives Kale Crackers, 1 packet (33 g) Tomato Soup, 1 packet (33g) Day 1 — Dinner Choco Crisp Bar Minestrone & Quinoa Blend Soup Omega 3 DHA supplement Day 1 — Snack L-Bar Nut-based Snack Bar Day 2 — Breakfast L-Bar Nut-based Snack Bar Day 2 — Lunch 5 olives Mushroom soup Day 2 — Dinner Choco Crisp Bar Minestrone & Quinoa Blend Soup Day 2 — Snacks 5 olives L-Drink 17ml Day 3 — Breakfast L-Bar Nut-based Snack Bar Day 3 — Lunch Kale Crackers, 1 packet Tomato Soup, 1 packet Day 3 — Dinner Minestrone & Quinoa Blend Soup Day 3 — Snacks L-Drink 17ml Day 4 — Breakfast L-Bar Nut-based Snack Bar Day 4 — Lunch Veg Soup Blend 5 olives Day 4 — Dinner Minestrone & Quinoa Blend Soup Choco Crisp Bar Day 4 — Snacks 5 olives L-Drink 17ml Day 5 — Breakfast L-Bar Nut-based Snack Bar Algae Oil Day 5 — Lunch Kale Crackers, 1 packet Tomato Soup, 1 packet Day 5 — Dinner Minestrone & Quinoa Blend Soup Day 5 — Snack L-Drink 17ml

How Often Should I Do the FMD?

Dr. Longo recommends the following guidelines for how frequently one should do the FMD:

Once a Month: Overweight or obese patients with two risk factors for diabetes, cancer or cardiovascular or neurodegenerative disease.
Once Every Two Months: Healthy weight patients with at least two risk factors for the diseases above.
Once Every Three Months: Healthy weight patients with one risk factor for the disease above.
Once Every Four Months: Healthy patients with the standard diet who are not physically active.
Once Every Six Months: Healthy weight patients with an ideal diet who engage in regular physical activity.

Download Robin’s DIY FMD

Download a PDF with the 5-day menu, recipes, and nutrition information here!

Note for Readers: Look for future stories on the following topics…

Reviews of other DIY FMD diet plans that other dedicated self-experimentation, health, and fasting aficionados have put together.
My experience day-by-day following this FMD and others.

Additional Notes: Dr. Longo recommends you not do the FMD without your doctor’s approval, guidance, and oversight if you are <18 or >70 years old; suffering from pathologies or serious illness such as cancer, diabetes, or cardio vascular disease; pregnant, underweight, anorexic, people with liver or kidney disease, on medication (especially insulin), have low blood pressure, athletes during training. The Prolon kit can be an excellent option, especially for those who with serious illness, or working with a doctor.