Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD): Comprehensive Plan And Food List For Effective Results

The benefits of fasting have become a great topic of interest in the present day. Fasting, or simply abstaining from eating for a certain period of time has shown significant health benefits. Fasting helps with weight management and provides significant health benefits. A diet high in unsaturated fats and low in calories, carbohydrates, and protein, while also providing the body with the necessary nutrients, a fast mimicking diet allows the body to experience the health benefits of fasting. FMD aims towards putting forth the effects of a water-only fast, in the form of a 5-day plant-based diet. Here’s a guide to a fasting-mimicking diet food list to help you with your FMD diet.

What is a fast-mimicking diet plan?

Fasting mimicking diet, simply put is a diet plan that aims towards mimicking fasting without actually fasting. It is a five-day plan towards a low-calorie diet. The fasting-mimicking diet is an approach towards weight loss that effectively promotes the benefits of fasting, while you continue to consume certain foods. The mimic fasting diet plan is a plant-based diet that helps in specific micro and macronutrient breakdown. A diet plan that can be repeated once per month for the first three consecutive months, the FMD diet has been shown to achieve optimal results.

How is a fast-mimicking diet different from intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting is based on such an approach that allows you to eat during a certain period of time, followed by a rest period where you don't consume any food. In intermittent fasting, one does not follow a particular diet which dictates what the person can eat and not. In FMD, on the other hand, a person is prescribed a particular diet plan. Moreover, a fast-mimicking diet allows you to intake calories only from specific food items, and you would not be fasting completely.

Health benefits of fast mimicking diet plan

Fast mimicking diet is not only effective for your weight loss journey but also has a number of health benefits. 

1. Improved metabolic health- The fast mimicking diet plan helps in a metabolic reset of the body. It focuses on long-term metabolic health improvements. 
2. Cell recycling- The mimic fasting diet plan helps to activate autophagy, which is a process wherein the cells break down and damaged cells in the body are recycled. 
3. Reduces risk of diabetes- Fasting mimicking diet plan potentially reduces the risk of diabetes among individuals, especially the risk of diabetes type 2. 
4. Detoxification- FMD diet helps to enhance the natural detoxification process of the body.

Basic rules for fasting-mimicking diet plan food list

While designing your FMD diet, you have to keep in mind some basic rules for a mimic fasting diet plan.

1. Calorie restricted- In an FMD diet, the daily intake of calories needs to be reduced to 900 calories or fewer. 
2. Vegan diet- FMD is an entirely plant-based diet, which excludes all animal and dairy products.
3. Sugar-free- Fast mimicking diet is based on the exclusion of sugar, including most fruits. Only a limited amount of honey and berries is accepted. 
4. Whole foods- Ultra-processed foods are a big no in the FMD diet plan. 
5. Light in lectin- Fast mimicking diet avoids intake of plants that are high in lectin content. Beans and legumes in an FMD diet need to be soaked first in order to reduce their lectin content. 
6. Nutrient high- FMD focuses on a kind of diet that is high in nutrition and low in calories.

Here’s a general guideline for your fasting-mimicking diet food list

Day 1

Snacks- Healthy fats in the form of nuts such as walnuts and almonds.
Meal- The intake of brown rice and quinoa helps to provide the body with the necessary carbohydrate content. Protein intake can be done by consuming legumes, along with leafy vegetables such as cauliflower, asparagus and broccoli.

Day 2

Snacks- Nuts such as walnuts and almonds. 
Meal- Steamed vegetables along with hummus, roasted cabbage, green salad and sweet potatoes, help in providing the body with necessary nutrients while being low in calories.

Day 3

Snacks- Nuts, seeds, avocados or berries. 
Meals- Clear vegetable soup or lentil stew, salad prepared from beetroot and brussel sprouts. You can also prepare yourself a meal bowl consisting of chickpeas and green, leafy vegetables.

Day 4

Snacks- Herbal tea, along with nuts and seeds.
Meal- Salad bowl with lentils and leafy vegetables, or hummus and sweet potato along with cabbage salad. Adjust the hummus and sweet potato quantities in order to meet the required amount of calories.

Day 5

Snacks- Berries, avocados or nuts and seeds. 
Meal- Salad bowl prepared from leafy vegetables and cabbage, or roasted sweet potatoes and cabbage, along with lentils or hemp seeds. These food items can be pressure-cooked as per preference.

Disclaimer: Before incorporating any aforementioned food suggestions into your diet, consult with your family physician or a diet specialist. Individual reactions to different foods can vary significantly, and what may be beneficial for one person could potentially cause adverse effects in another. The information provided above is a compilation of general benefits associated with consumption of particular food and may not apply universally to every body type. Always prioritise personalised medical advice to ensure your specific health needs and dietary restrictions.