Copycat Fasting Mimicking Diet Plan

Copycat Fasting Mimicking Diet Plan is the ultimate way to enjoy all the benefits of the ProLon® Fasting Mimicking Diet—without the high price tag. This DIY ProLon alternative uses simple, store-bought and homemade substitutions to replicate the exact nutrition profile of the original plan at a fraction of the cost. By following a homemade fasting mimicking diet, you can support weight loss, boost energy, promote cellular repair, and reset your metabolism—all while saving hundreds of dollars compared to the boxed program.

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Fasting Diet Plan

If you’ve ever researched ways to reset your metabolism, improve energy, and support longevity, chances are you’ve heard of the ProLon® Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD).

The idea is simple but powerful: provide the body with nutrients while keeping calories, protein, and carbs low enough that your body still thinks it’s fasting. This state helps trigger cellular repair, fat loss, and metabolic benefits—without requiring you to completely give up food.

The only downside? Cost.

The official ProLon® kit costs about $200–$250 per 5-day cycle, which can add up quickly if you want to do multiple rounds a year.

The good news is you can create a Copycat Fasting Mimicking Diet Plan at home using high-quality, whole-food ingredients that closely match the ProLon nutrition—and save a significant amount of money.

With a few homemade recipes, including this Homemade Keto Fasting Bars - Copycat Honey Nut Bar and this Copycat Prolon Cocoa Crisp Bars along with some organic store-bought ingredients, your DIY Prolon alternative will be ready in no time!

This post will break down how to replicate the diet, why the substitutions work nutritionally, and provide a full 5-day copycat fasting mimicking diet meal plan.

Why Make a Copycat Fasting Mimicking Diet Plan?

The fasting diet plan is designed to mimic fasting while still supplying key nutrients.

Studies show it can:

• Support weight loss, especially belly fat
• Improve metabolic health (blood sugar and cholesterol)
• Reduce inflammation
• Promote autophagy (cellular cleanup and repair)
• Support longevity markers

But as effective as it is, the cost keeps many people from trying it. At $200+ per box, even doing 3–4 cycles a year could mean spending $1,000 or more.

By swapping the ProLon products for simple store-bought or homemade options, you can do a round of the diet for about $40–$50 total—a savings of around 80%!!!

Why Try the Original ProLon Fasting Diet Plan First

While the Copycat Fasting Mimicking Diet Plan is an affordable and effective alternative, it’s often best to start with the original ProLon kit for your very first round. Here’s why:

1. Structure & Guidance – The ProLon box is pre-measured, pre-packaged, and comes with a detailed day-by-day guide. This helps you learn the rhythm of the diet and eliminates guesswork.
2. Understanding How You Feel – Everyone responds differently to fasting. By doing an official round first, you’ll get a clear sense of what to expect—such as when you might feel low energy, when hunger tends to strike, or when you actually feel surprisingly good.
3. Baseline Experience – Once you’ve completed the original plan, you’ll have a reference point. This makes it easier to confidently follow a copycat version later, because you already know what’s “normal” to feel during each stage.
4. Convenience for First-Time Users – The original kit requires no prep, so you can fully focus on your body’s response instead of worrying about measuring or swapping foods.

After you’ve done the official ProLon cycle once or twice, switching to this copycat fasting mimicking plan makes perfect sense. You’ll know how to stay on track, you’ll feel comfortable with the process, and you’ll save hundreds of dollars on future fasts.

What Does the Original Diet Look Like

Here is the actual Prolon Diet meal plan. As you can see, you start off with higher calories and taper the calories as the days go on.

There are only a handful of products needed to perform the diet: nut bars, soup, olives, crackers, crisp bars, tea, supplements and a special drink.

Not too complicated, right?!

DIY Prolon Alternative Ingredient List

Here’s how you can recreate the FMD box using affordable, healthy alternatives:

• Fasting Bars - ProLon includes two types of bars: a nut-based bar and a cocoa crisp bar. These bars are low in protein, moderate in healthy fats, and contain the right amount of carbs to mimic fasting. Swap with these homemade recipes:
  • Nut Bar: Homemade Keto Fasting Nut Bar (Copycat Honey Nut)
  • Cocoa Crisp Bar: Copycat ProLon Cocoa Crisp Bar

• L-Drink - ProLon provides a glycerol-based L-Drink for energy during fasting. I looked into recreating this drink and found this copycat recipe but decided to swap it with Naked Nutrition Orange Energy Drink. This easy swap delivers antioxidants along with caffeine, while supporting optimal absorption through pH balance in the stomach. The result? A clean, sustained energy boost that helps you get through this copycat fasting mimicking diet.

• Soups- Instead of ProLon’s powdered soups, I used Pacific Foods Organic Soups (widely available at grocery stores). Flavours like Tomato, Butternut Squash, or Mushroom are closest nutritionally to the soups in the Prolon diet plan
• Olives - ProLon includes pouches of olives. You can buy organic jarred or canned olives at any store and use them instead.
• Crackers - Now this was a tough one! Not wanting to buy dried kale powder and try to make my own copycat ProLon kale crackers, I discovered that cashews have nearly identical calories, carbs, protein, and fat per serving compared to the kale crackers. Cashews are also rich in magnesium and healthy fats, making them an easy 1:1 replacement. Plus, since they are readily available EVERYWHERE, using cashews helps make this DIY Prolon alternative much less time consuming than having to make homemade crackers!
• NR-3 Supplement - You can swap this out with any good supplement. I am currently in love with EBM which is one of the only FDA regulated supplement line. You have to get it via prescription so feel free to contact me if you would like me to order it for you as I can easily do so!

DIY Prolon Alternative Cost Breakdown

• Homemade bars (5 of each): $10 in ingredients
• Pacific soups (10 servings): $15
• Olives (5 servings): $5
• Cashews (5 servings): $5
• Naked Nutrition L-drink (5 servings): $10

Total for 5 days: ~$45
Compared to the $200–$250 retail cost, you save about $150–$200 per round. Do this 3x a year, and you’ll save over $600 annually.

5-Day Copycat Fasting Mimicking Diet Plan

Ready to try our homemade fasting mimicking diet? Below is a simple day-by-day outline using the homemade and store-bought substitutions.

Day 1 (1,100 calories)

• Breakfast: Nut Bar
• Lunch: Pacific Organic Tomato Soup + handful of olives + cashews
• Snack: Nut Bar + Tea
• Dinner: Pacific Butternut Squash Soup + Cocoa Crisp Bar
• Drink: Naked Energy L-drink throughout the day

Day 2 (750–800 calories)

• Breakfast: Nut Bar
• Lunch: Pacific Mushroom Soup + olives
• Snack: Olives + Tea
• Dinner: Pacific Tomato Soup + Cocoa Crisp Bar
• Drink: Naked Energy L-drink throughout the day

Day 3 (600-700calories)

• Breakfast: Nut Bar
• Lunch: Pacific Butternut Squash Soup + Cashews
• Snack: Tea
• Dinner: Pacific Mushroom Soup
• Drink: Naked Energy L-drink throughout the day

Day 4 (650–750 calories)

• Breakfast: Nut Bar
• Lunch: Pacific Tomato Soup + olives
• Snack: Olives + Tea
• Dinner: Pacific Butternut Squash Soup + Cocoa Crips Bar
• Drink: Naked Energy L-drink throughout the day

Day 5 (600–700 calories)

• Breakfast: Nut Bar
• Lunch: Pacific Mushroom Soup + cashews
• Snack: Tea
• Dinner: Pacific Tomato Soup
• Drink: Naked Energy L-drink throughout the day

Tips for Success on the Fasting Diet Plan

1. Measure portions carefully – The key is calorie restriction, so weigh or measure your servings to stay within the plan.
2. Stay hydrated – Drink plenty of water, tea, or black coffee throughout the day.
3. Avoid extra snacks – The plan works because it keeps you in a semi-fasted state. Stick to the set items.
4. Ease back into eating – After Day 5, start with light meals (soups, smoothies, vegetables) before diving back into heavier foods.
5. Repeat cycles – Research suggests doing the plan 3–4 times per year for best results.

Final Thoughts

The Copycat Fasting Mimicking Diet Plan offers all the benefits of the ProLon program—metabolic reset, fat loss, longevity support—at a fraction of the price. By using homemade fasting bars, Pacific soups, olives, cashews, and Naked Nutrition drinks, you can replicate the nutrition profile and structure of the original plan while saving up to 80% in cost.

If you’ve been curious about fasting but hesitant to spend hundreds on a boxed kit, this DIY version is the perfect solution. It’s affordable, effective, and easy to put together at home.

Your body—and your wallet—will thank you.

Fat Fasting Recipes

Here are some fat fasting recipes (over 80-90% fat):

Protein-Sparing Modified Fasting Recipe

Looking for protein-sparing modified (PSMF) recipes instead? Check these out: