13/09/2026
✨Day two or three of an FMD cycle is when things really start shifting internally.
Your glycogen stores (basically your stored carbs) run out, so your body switches to burning fat instead — and starts producing ketones as fuel. It’s the same metabolic state people chase on keto, except here it happens as a natural result of the cycle, not from restricting carbs long-term.
✨Quick explainer on IGF-1, because it’s not talked about enough: it’s a growth hormone, mainly made in your liver, and you actually need it — it drives growth in childhood and helps repair tissue throughout life. The issue isn’t IGF-1 itself. It’s having it chronically elevated, day after day, for years. That’s the pattern researchers have linked to faster cellular ageing and increased disease risk.
✨This is actually one of the most studied effects of Valter Longo’s research on fasting-mimicking cycles — people with naturally low IGF-1 (a rare genetic condition called Laron syndrome) have been found to have dramatically lower rates of cancer and diabetes. Periodically lowering IGF-1 through a structured cycle like this is one way to get a temporary version of that same signal, without needing a genetic mutation to do it.
✨So day 2-3 isn’t just “you’re running on fat now.” It’s your body’s whole internal signalling shifting for a few days.
There is still time to join us for the next FMD, starting on 18th September. DM for more information!