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168: My Raw 5-Day ProLon Fast: The Good, The Bad, and The Hungry · Harder Than Life

• 0:07
  I'm Kelly Siegel and this is Harder Than Life, a podcast about self-love, self-awareness, business and health. We tell outrageous stories and boil everything down to simple, practical advice you can start using today. Let's get living. Welcome to Harder Than Life. I'm Kelly Siegel, your host. This one's raw. My five-day prolon fasting journey. I dropped 10 pounds.
• 0:33
  leaned up, felt an odd, beautiful calmness. Even a week later, fasting's got a science behind it. I recorded videos, snapped photos. It wasn't that bad, I promise. Today, we're gonna dive deep, start to finish, plus my story, pain to power, check my book, Harder Than Life, or our latest, Happier Than Life. Let's roll.
• 1:00
  I'm gonna start off from day zero to day one, the prep and the first step. I didn't even mean to rhyme that one. And that was kind of funny, the prep and the first step. So let's jump right into it. First question, why fasting? What does it really do for your body? Let's talk real science, autophagy.
• 1:21
  It's spelled A-U-T-O-P-H-A-G-Y. I hope I'm saying it right, but it is your body's natural recycling program. Cells literally eat themselves. Damaging cells get broken down and converted into fresh energy. According to a study in cell metabolism, fasting can boost autophagy by up to fivefold. Right?
• 1:49
  reaching its peak around days two and three during the fast. What does this mean for you? Sharper mental clarity, enhanced metabolism, reduced inflammation, and even potential protection from chronic diseases. I was fascinated and honestly a little skeptical. Could I? Kelly Siegel, really commit to minimal calories for five days.
• 2:15
  I knew discipline, but that was a different kind of test. The timing had to be just right. Ideally, a calm, manageable five-day stretch.
• 2:26
  So what I do in classic harder than life fashion, I sandwich my fast between two intense travel experiences. I ended up breaking my fast in an airport and on a plane. Definitely not recommended. But no one said I was smart. I just get results. So again, I'm going to be a little bit more.
• 2:48
  Let's talk about what I did before and after. I had Prolon Renee Fitton on the podcast that was just absolutely intrigued. They sent me the five-day fasting kit. So day zero, the day before the fast, was all about prep. I hydrated like a champion, cleared out my fridge, no cheat meals, 100 Life Nation,
• 3:14
  you know how I do things. The Prolong Kit arrived, soups, bars, teas, supplements. I set it up meticulously, treating it like CEO prepping for a major acquisition. I must have literally read the directions three, four, five, six times. I then went online and deep dove through it. I pulled out the kits and I separated everything. I asked Renee a bunch of questions. I was a little nervous.
• 3:42
  And so day one begins. I got a nut bar and tea for breakfast. No sweat.
• 3:49
  Then lunch, tomato soup. For me, tomato soup isn't just food, it's a memory. It brought me straight back to my childhood, hungry, isolated, unloved. Now here I was, willingly sipping the exact thing I once dreaded, laughing at the irony, filming myself confronting old demons head on. Please understand, if you don't understand what I'm talking about,
• 4:15
  When I was younger and poor and my family was on welfare, the only thing to eat was tomato soup. So when starving, extraordinary hunger pains, I would force myself to eat tomato soup. And I said, I would never eat it again.
• 4:34
  So when I do this hard fast, what are three of the five days? Tomato soup. So back to day one. Around 3 p.m., reality kicked in hard. My stomach started growling. The fridge began calling my name. The real test that officially started. Could I do four more days of this?
• 4:57
  You guys know the answer to that. Impossible says I'm possible, so. The transformation. Surprisingly, by the first evening, I noticed the hunger felt manageable. The structure of the Prolon plan helped tremendously. Autophagy was already working. I felt tighter, clearer, more mentally sharp. Day one wrapped up, on video, exhausted yet proud. Just like life itself,
• 5:27
  Hard starts, strong finishes. Discipline beats doubt every time. Day one proved yet again, I've got this.
• 5:38
  And here's a tip from my experience, accountability matters. Do this with a family member or a friend. You'll encourage each other, keep each other accountable, and you won't feel so alone. Trust me, strength comes in numbers. Day two, this was the deep end, man.
• 5:58
  I got curious. By day two and three, I wondered, how does the body hold up? The science says fasting can reset insulin sensitivity, cut visceral fat, and even boost brain health by promoting neuron growth. Would I actually feel this? Again, me deep diving before the fast, I read all of these things I would start to feel, or I'm supposed to feel.
• 6:25
  Would I actually feel it? To be continued. Social interactions became tricky. No coffee runs. Dinner's out. I filmed myself throughout, noticeably tired but determined. You know my story, Heart of Life Nation. Lost my mom young. Faced homelessness. Built a successful IT firm. Fasting. Just another challenge. Would it prove to break me? Hmm...
• 6:51
  So day two was brutal, I'm not gonna lie, man. Mental fog, irritability. I literally filled myself joking, give me a burger. Tomato soup again felt like a bad joke. Childhood memories hit again, but I laughed them off. Barely. Day three, now I will say this.
• 7:13
  Day zero, I didn't sleep very well. I had a little bit more caffeine than I normally had. So by day three, headaches kicked in. Soup tasted like cardboard. Then came the barbecue invite, pure torture. I sat there sipping my prolonged tea, pretending it was steak. The mental battle was intense. Quitting seemed easy. But
• 7:38
  That's not what I do. I don't do easy at Harder Than Life. Day three, I felt the transformation, the magic. My energy surged. Clarity was undeniable. Fasting boosted brain-derived nootropic factor.
• 7:56
  BDNF for short, which promotes brain growth. I genuinely felt it. Scales showed pounds dropping. I felt stronger, leaner, more focused, just like building NTM discipline over doubt. Prolon made it achievable. Remember, if you don't know what Prolon is, look it up. I'll put the links in the show notes.
• 8:18
  It is fasting mimicking diets. Believe me, this stuff works. Okay, now we're on to day three. I know, please stay with me guys. In the end, I'm gonna wrap this all up, but this is so worth it. Remember, I'm not getting paid for this. I just had her on the show.
• 8:36
  And it was so good. And I just want to share all the effects with you and all the day-to-day so you know what you're getting into. I wish somebody would have done this for me. In fact, I wish somebody would have done all the harder-than-life things that I do for all of you guys. So I take a lot of abuse from people that don't want to do the work, keep bringing it. But I keep paying it forward and doing the right thing. And hopefully more of you, which I can already tell, listen than the naysayer. So.
• 9:06
  Day four and five were the final push. Fasting science suggests it can extend lifespan, reduce aging markers, and boost cell regeneration. Would I feel invincible or would I crash? These days there were a lot of highs and lows on day four and even into day five. Energize one minute, exhausted the next.
• 9:28
  Tomato soup, again, was a tough mental test. Now, guys, tomato soup was three of the days, not five. I don't want to make it seem like that. They had other stuff that was okay. I don't want to spoil it, but, guys, the five-day kit works. Prolon, there's going to be a link in here. You'll see it later. But this thing...
• 9:47
  If you're looking to lose weight, which is what I learned after the fact, that's what a lot of these people do it for, is losing weight. This is the thing for you. 10 pounds out of my muscular frame. So, again, fasting science suggests it can extend lifespan, reduce aging markers, and boost cell regeneration. I felt invincible. I really did. I didn't crash, but it was hard. The hardest moment, though.
• 10:15
  was cooking for my teenage daughter. I know you guys are thinking I'm crazy, but you know my why is my daughter. So I was cooking for her, looking down, smelling, preparing, plating delicious food while you're deep in fasting mode. Real discipline, man.
• 10:30
  Definitely not recommended. So the next time I do it, I'm gonna do it when my daughter's out of town or I'm out of town and I don't have to cook, but I love that for her. I love doing that. Make sure you minimize kitchen duty during your fast or get ready to truly test your grit. This is not supposed to be torture, but of course I torture myself and everything I do.
• 10:52
  Got to make it hard or it's not fun or I don't pay attention. I don't recommend that, guys. I make things harder than it needs to be and I apologize. So day five, the craving for salmon salad hit intensely. I filmed the hunger, shared it with my community, laughed through the fatigue. Five days on minimal calories. No joke.
• 11:17
  But day five ended in victory. Ten pounds lighter, leaner, clothes fitting better, and a strange beautiful calmness that lasted. I'm a couple weeks after and I still have it. The science behind fasting shows it balances cortisol, the stress hormone. I felt and still feel pure peace. Peace.
• 11:38
  My final video, me smiling, empty Prolon box in hand, proof of turning pain into power. I even giggled when I went to the airport. They gave you all these recommendations of things to ease your way into the fast. They technically call it a six day fast because they want you the six day to ease into food. I did for about a half a day.
• 12:01
  I had a long, long flight. So I had protein drink, protein bar to ease in, then a little bit of eggs, and then the wheels fell off. I went full-blown chicken breast, and I just, I needed meat.
• 12:19
  But I felt great. And I was out on a plane when I landed. I was up for 22 straight hours and it was fantastic. So I highly recommend this. What did the fasting teach me? I want to make sure that I dive into them. Autophagy is transformative. Cell recycling, fat loss, mental clarity. Prolon made the entire experience doable. Prolon made the entire experience doable.
• 12:39
  Was it worth it? Absolutely. I'm going to do it again and again and again. This is going to be a regular routine. I'm just going to plan for it a little bit better. The hardest part was cooking and doing it alone. I realized that I have a whole group of people supporting me. Success has helped.
• 12:58
  I have a lot of people that love me and want to help. So the doubt was real. The tomato soup triggered old pains, memories of childhood hunger and isolation, which really triggered other isolations. That's why I want to do it with somebody.
• 13:13
  Questioning if I could do this alone, prolonged structure and accountability from sharing the journey publicly kept me honest and strong. They also have an amazing Facebook group that I would go in and ask questions. Turns out I could have even had one cup of coffee every day. Here's the final transformation, the biggest win.
• 13:32
  10 pounds down, leaner body, clearer mind, calmness was genuinely life-changing, it's still going on, fasting rewired my mind, similar to how I transformed my difficult childhood into personal and professional power.
• 13:46
  Do I recommend the Prolong? Yes, absolutely. But choose your five days wisely. Do it with accountability. Bring a friend or family member along and definitely don't do what I did, breaking a fast in an airport or cooking full meals for family. That's a Kelly Siegel special, but hey, it works.
• 14:07
  Hopefully you enjoy this. The link, again, I'm not getting paid for this. The link for a discount will be in the show notes. I'm going to keep recording these the next time I do it, and I'll keep you up to date. So Heart of Life Nation, that's my real, raw, honest review of the Prolon story. Fasting's tough.
• 14:27
  but were harder than life. I survived tomato soup. Check my videos, the links will be below. And if you fasted or want to, tell me about it, and please share this episode with someone who could benefit from the reset. Don't miss the Prolon interview with Renee Fitton. The YouTube link is below. Grab my books, Harder Than Life, Happier Than Life. This is Kelly Siegel. Keep pushing, keep transforming.
• 14:52
  and see you next time. Again, all show notes are below. Enjoy. I'm not doing this for other than to just share my journey and how I keep this 49-year-old mind and body in shape and sharpened to keep pouring into y'all. Again, love you all. Be awesome. Be kind. Be harder than life.
• 15:12
  Please rate and share this podcast. I'm active on all social platforms and love to hear from my Segal supporters. Each and every episode is sponsored by my company, National Technology Management, the easiest and best IT company to do business with, delivering peace of mind with technology every day, even simplifying cybersecurity. Visit TrustNTM.com for more info. Until next week, be harder than life.