Fasting is one of the most powerful modalities you can do for health, longevity and wellbeing.

But let’s be honest, it’s hard!

If only there were a way to get the benefits of fasting with food still being a part of your life..

Well, there is.

Yes, you can get the benefits of fasting without having to give up food. Sounds like an oxymoron, as fasting means to go without. But I speak the truth.

In this article I am going to break down 7 ways to fast with food – because food it awesome.

How to Achieve Successful Fasting With Food – The Complete Guide

Okay guys and gals – let’s break down how to achieve successful fasting with food.

There are 7 ways to do this, and we’re going to go through each of them 1 by 1 – so you can choose what’s right for you.

Fasting With Food Option #1: Use Fasting Mimetics

Fasting mimetics are supplements or nutrients that mimic the effects of fasting without having to actually give up food.

This is a relatively new class of supplements that is very popular in the anti-aging community – because one of the main benefits of fasting is the triggering of autophagy.

Autophagy is essentially the recycling & rejuvenation of cells, and has been shown to prolong lifespan. The main way to induce autophagy in the body is through fasting. But you need to fast for 24 hours to really trigger deep autophagy, and that’s not easy.

But there are many supplements that mimic the effects of fasting by inducing autophagy without having to stop eating. I’m going to break down the top 3.

1: Spermidine

Spermidine is one of the newest and most popular supplements for anti-aging, and for good reason. Spermidine is found in every cell, and and taking it orally has been shown to have enormous benefits – including increasing lifespan (in animal studies), increasing energy, inducing autophagy, enhancing memory & cognition, and even triggering hair regrowth.

Spermidine is such a good supplement for fasting because of how it triggers autophagy.

Spermidine triggers autophagy by inhibiting MTORC 1 and activating AMPK. It does this without having to fast at all, which is awesome.

The Science:

– Dietary spermidine improves cognitive function

This study showed how autophagy lead to enhanced mitochondrial activity in the brain. This lead to an increased amount of ATP production (more energy) in the brain which lead to enhanced cognitive function, and could even slow down or reverse cognitive decline.

This autophagy was triggered by spermidine.

– Spermidine Delays Aging in Humans

An analysis of 2 population based studies that shows how consumption of spermidine correlates directly with living longer and a lower risk of mortality from cancer or cardiovascular disease.

Spermidine is an incredible compound, especially if you want to get the benefits of fasting with food. Or maybe you just want to live longer and have more mental energy.

Either way –  if you want to try it, I recommend this brand. The owner is the foremost expert on spermidine and her company is one of the only brands to have a gluten free version, as spermidine is usually grown on wheat germ.

I think combining spermidine with steps #2 & #3 is the ultimate way to use foods for fasting and to get the benefits of fasting without having to stop eating food.

There are other fasting mimetics, but honestly I think I’ll just leave my suggestions at spermidine because it’s all you need.

Fasting With Food Option #2: Use a Pre-Prepared Fasting Program

Another way to do fasting with food is by utilizing a fully prepared fasting kit.

These kits are specifically designed to give you the benefits of fasting while supplying you the nutrients and supplements you need to enhance the fasting effects.

One of these programs is the ProLon 5-Day Fasting Nutrition Plan.

I am a big fan of ProLon.

Healthy aging and rejuvenation begin with healthy cells. With each 5 day cycle of ProLon you can support your body into cellular rejuvenation (aka: autophagy), support longevity, and achieve an improved sense of well-being.

This is a great way to give your body and your cells the rejuvenation they need.

They recommend doing three of their 5-Day fasts per year as a part of your wellness & longevity routine.

What’s in a kit like this?

You get everything you need pre-packaged and ready to go. Each kit comes with five boxes which are labeled by day so you know what to eat each day. It includes a variety of foods for fasting, including soups, nut bars & snacks made to promote longevity. It also contains herbal teas, drinks & supplements that amplify the beneficial effects of fasting with food.

The Science Behind ProLon:

– In clinical studies conducted by Longo and colleagues, individuals lost on average 5.7 pounds and 1.6 inches from their waist circumference after doing ProLon.

Fasting With Food Option #3: Try Intermittent Fasting

Fasting doesn’t always have to be so intense.

Yes, long fasts have huge benefits. But just fasting for 16 hours is beneficial as well. This means that you can fast while having an 8 hour window every single day to eat.

This is called intermittent fasting & is one of the most popular ways to fast with food.

How to do intermittent fasting:

Intermittent fasting is easy. Consume all of your food (as much as you want) in a maximum 8 hour window each day and fast for the rest of the day. This is the 16/8 method.

Courtesy of Baptist Health.

You can also do 18/6, 20/4 or any combination of fasting to eating windows for your intermittent fasting schedule. To take it to the highest level, just eat 1 meal a day. A lot of people do this and rave about how they feel.

Learn more about this fasting with food strategy:

– Intermittent Fasting 101: A Quick Start Guide to a Dietary Gamechanger

– Glen Sycamores Intermittent Fasting Routine For Unlimited Energy

Science behind intermittent fasting:

Study 1: Intermittent fasting has demonstrated a host of benefits in animal models, including stress reduction, cellular repair and regeneration, improved cognitive function, improved memory, and even reduced risk of disease.

Study 2: Preliminary research suggests similar benefits may extend to humans.

Fasting With Food Option #4: Do a Bone Broth Fast

Utilizing bone broth is one of the best ways to use foods for fasting.

Bone broth is one of the healthiest things you can consume. I drink it on a regular basis and often brew my own for 24 hours in my crockpot.

This is one of the best foods for fasting because bone broth contains protein, healthy fat, collagen & all the nutrients from the vegetables you brew it with without it being a solid food.

It’s a liquid (duh) – so it does not require the digestive system to consume energy, a key aspect of fasting. But it still nourishes you, so it’s like fasting with food.

How to do a bone broth fast:

Pick up some bone broth (my favorite brand is Kettle & Fire), enough to consume 1-2 cups 3X per day. For 3 days, consume only bone broth.

Fasting with bone broth links & resources:

– Scientific Proof of Bone Broth Health Benefits

Fasting With Food Option #5: Enjoy a Juice Fast

Another way to fast with food is to blend your food in a blender or squeeze the juice out of it and drink it. This is what is called a juice fast.

With a juice fast, you get all the nutrients from fruits and vegetables without the fiber, so there is very little digestive impact.

Science behind juice fasts:

Study 1: A 2017 study found that after 20 participants consumed only 6 bottle of different juices ( containing various ingredients, such as greens, apples, cucumbers, lemon, cayenne pepper, and vanilla bean) over the course of 3 days, they lost an average of 3.75 lbs. However, they did not report a sense of wellbeing.

Study 2: A 2017 review found that while these cleanses may cause initial weight loss, they lead to overall weight gain after resuming a whole food diet.

After examining these studies, I am not a fan of juice fasting.

I personally recommend something like ProLon if you want to utilize foods for fasting.

Fasting With Foods vs Fasting Without Foods

As demonstrated above, using foods for fasting can be great and has many benefits.

But does it stand up to a traditional water fast which does not include food during your fast?

With my years of fasting experience, I would say no.

Nothing can quite match up to the pure spiritual and physical benefits of a water fast. A water fast means you just consume water and you you take in zero calories for 24 hours or more.

Frequently Asked Question Regarding Using Foods For Fasting

Here are some commonly asked question when it comes to fasting with food.

1: Are there any foods that you can eat on a water fast?

No, you should not consume any food or calories while on a strict water fast.

2: What foods can you eat while intermittent fasting?

You can eat any food you want while intermittent fasting as long as it is during your feeding window.

3: If I eat a little food will it ruin my fast?

If you eat a little food while on your fast, it will not negate all of your effort, but will slow down the positive effects of fasting.

4: Are there any fasts that allow you to eat food?

Yes, fasting with food is allowed on a juice fast, bone broth fast, an intermittent fast and a pre-made fasting kit.

5: What foods can you eat on a fast?

Whats foods you can eat on a fast depends 100% on what type of fast you are on.

– Water fast: No food or calories are allowed.

– Juice fast: You can eat as many fruits and vegetables as you want as long as they are processed in a juicer into liquid form.

– Bone broth fast: You can consume bone broth only

– Intermittent fast: You can eat anything you want as long as it is in your 8 hour feeding window. Food is not advised outside of your feeding window.

– ProLon Fast: You can eat only the food that is included in the fasting kit. This includes soups, crackers, bars, shakes & olives.

Fasting With Food – Summary

So guys – fasting with food is certainly possible!

You can use specific foods for fasting or utilize strategic fasting techniques like intermittent fasting.

Let’s recap them all..

You can achieve fasting with foods using the following techniques:

1: Use Fasting Mimetics Like Spermidine

2: Use a Pre-Prepared Fasting Program

3: Do Intermittent Fasting

4: Try a Bone Broth Fast

5: Enjoy a Juice Fast

With these techniques, you can enjoy the benefits of fasting while still eating food.

I hope you enjoyed this article! Read more about the science below and let us know in the comments how your fasting experience goes or how you have fasted while still eating food in the past. Enjoy!

Article Sources:

Menprovement takes every opportunity to use high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts & science within our articles to keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.

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2. Longo VD, Mattson MP. Fasting: molecular mechanisms and clinical applications. Cell Metab. 2014;19(2):181-192. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2013.12.008

3. Stockman MC, Thomas D, Burke J, Apovian CM. Intermittent fasting: Is the wait worth the weight? Curr Obes Rep. 2018;7(2):172-185. doi:10.1007/s13679-018-0308-9

4: Susanne M. Henning, corresponding author Jieping Yang, Paul Shao, Ru-Po Lee, Jianjun Huang, Austin Ly, Mark Hsu, Qing-Yi Lu, Gail Thames, David Heber, and Zhaoping Li. Benefits of vegetable/fruit juice-based diet: Role of microbiome. Sci Rep. 2017; 7: 2167. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-02200-6

5: Obert, J., Pearlman, M., Obert, L. et al. Popular Weight Loss Strategies: a Review of Four Weight Loss Techniques. Curr Gastroenterol Rep 19, 61 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11894-017-0603-8