The Starvation Chronicles: Day Two

Okay, it’s about time to cross day two off of my five day Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD) calendar. Today my caloric intake was reduced from 1100 calories on day one to 800 calories, the level which will be maintained for the remainder of the diet.

For those joining this party late, you can read more details about the diet and my reasons for doing it in my introductory Starvation Chronicles post (click here). Here’s a quick Cliff Notes version (do they still make Cliff Notes?): I’m engaged in a five-day restricted calorie diet that is supposed to mimic starvation, in order to change body chemistry and kickstart my body’s natural stem cells to help regenerate damaged tissues. The diet uses products designed and marketed by a company called Prolon (click here) which has published studies (click here) that show the Fasting Mimicking Diet reduces autoimmunity and encourages cell regeneration. The diet is also used for help cancer patients protect against the side effects of chemotherapy, and many people use it in the hopes of increasing longevity.

Quite a few folks have asked if this is a ketosis diet, and after doing some investigation I can tell you that it is not. Without getting too deep in the weeds, a ketosis diet is very high in fats, and includes lots of meats and dairy products, with the intent of inducing the body into a ketogenic state in which body fats are broken down to fuel metabolic functions. The FMD I am doing uses only plant-based foods, is limited to five days, and does not induce ketosis.

My second day on the diet was a little bit more difficult than the first, which I suppose is only to be expected since my caloric intake was slashed by nearly 30% from yesterday’s already reduced intake. I was quite peckish between meals, but I’m feeling pretty good now. Since it’s good practice to live in the moment, I guess everything is just hunky-dory.

Really whets the appetite, no?

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I typically eat two meals a day because of my naturally nocturnal predilections, which generally preclude breakfast. Today’s first meal consisted of mushroom soup, a nut based nourishment bar, and six olives. This was accompanied by spearmint lemon tea. In addition, on day two the diet adds an energy drink, mixed at home, made of water, plant derived glycerol, and some hibiscus tea for flavor. This energy drink will be a staple for the rest of the diet. At the left is a photo of meal one in the packaging provided by Prolon (excluding the tea and energy drink). The mushroom soup was quite good, the nourishment bar palatable, and olives are a favorite of mine, so no complaints there.

I can't believe I ate the whole thing…

My second meal, pictured in all its glory at the right, consisted of a minestrone and quinoa blend soup, some more olives, and a small “choco crisp” nourishment bar, washed down with spearmint tea and more of the energy drink. As you can see by the photo, it was a sumptuous seven course meal, if you count each olive as a course. As I mentioned above, I was feeling hungry before eating meal two, but, surprisingly, it proved to be a satisfying nose bag (a little equine reference in honor of today’s Preakness Stakes). Maybe the people who designed this diet know something.

That’s it for now, but watch this space for another scintillating report on day three of The Starvation Chronicles. This is your intrepid Fasting Kamikaze, signing off…