FTBM Podcast Ep295: Lifestyle Shifts Supporting Longevity and Wellbeing

FTBM Podcast Ep295: Lifestyle Shifts Supporting Longevity and Wellbeing

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V: If you just think it before you go to bed, or as soon as you wake up, what are you grateful for? Or even as your coffee is brewing or on your way to work, like how do you wanna show up? How is it that you're going to show up with that person who like challenges you every day. Or when you have something big on your plate. Those small, small shifts really do change the way that you see life. And what we ultimately do is we train our brain to think differently so that we can see more good, we can be more good. And that all plays into the longevity of life. 

You are listening to the Free to Be Mindful podcast, where busy moms get practical tips and real talk conversations to find calm joy in a little more breathing room in everyday life. I'm Vanessa Licensed therapist, mom, coach, and a mom to a tween and toddler. Each week we get honest about motherhood and mindset helping you live with more presence, less pressure without losing your well, you know.

Here we [00:01:00] go.

and welcome to episode 295 of the Free To Be Mindful Podcast. I hope that you're feeling good, looking good and doing better in this world than you were yesterday.

So it is the new year if you're listening to this in real time. And what happens in the new year? People have a lot of goals and studies show that most of the goals always have to do with fitness. And the thing that breaks my heart is that then these fitness goals die off before the month of January is even over with.

So today I have an amazing guest who is going to share probably something I'm gonna go out on a limb and say, is something brand new to you? As it was brand new to me. And perhaps this can be something that can help you in your fitness goals.

And she was so generous that she gave us a great percentage off on the product that she's talking about, which I for sure will be trying and I'll let you know when I do.

So I hope that that wet your appetite, pun [00:02:00] intended, because today we are talking to Renee Fitton and she is a longevity dietician and the Vice President of Growth and B2B Sales at lra, who are the makers of ProLon and LRA Health. With a master's in longevity nutrition she has guided thousands of individuals through fasting mimicking protocols and leads the educational strategy for a network of nearly 20,000 healthcare practitioners sharing these programs with their patients.

Renee is the host of the Longevity Lab podcast and a frequent contributor to health media with appearances on dozens of podcasts and panels. Known for translating cutting edge science into practical strategies, and I can speak to that- it is super duper practical- renee is passionate about helping people live better and longer.

And what I truly appreciate about Renee, not only does she keep it practical, she takes this sciencey stuff and makes [00:03:00] it very simple in a way for anyone to understand. But she also knows the importance of our mental wellness going right along hand in hand with our physical health and our physical wellness.

So I am so grateful for the time that we spent together in this really awesome, short, but informative interview. And again, I hope that you take advantage of the services- everything is down in the show notes, and I hope that you enjoy the episode as much as I did recording it. Here we go. 

Renee, thank you for joining us on the Free To Be Mindful podcast. I really appreciate you being with us today. 

Renee: Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to dig into some, hopefully new and interesting topics for your audience. 

V: It was definitely new to me. I can't wait to dip into it because I personally wanna learn more, which is one of the benefits of having your own podcast is that you get to record with awesome guests and ask them all the questions that you want, and hopefully our listeners and viewers, if you're watching this on YouTube, hopefully you find it interesting too, which I know that you will.

But [00:04:00] before we get into the juicy stuff, we heard a little bit about you. Why don't you introduce yourself in your own words and anything that you'd like us to know about you? Absolutely. 

Renee: Well, my name is Renee. I am the Vice President of Growth at Elra. I am also a longevity dietician, and people sometimes ask, what the heck is a longevity dietician?

I got my master's degree in health span longevity nutrition, meaning that all of the nutrition science that I was learning was specifically focused on not just how to make people live longer, but how to make them live healthier longer. It's one of the only nutrition programs in the world that really has this type of longevity focus. And it was founded by somebody by the name of Dr. Volter Longo. And Dr. Vaulter Longo is recognized today as one of the leading experts in longevity science. And so my mentor and somebody that I very much look up to and was very lucky to study under, as part of that program out of USC, I spent, I've been now, [00:05:00] gosh, over a decade in the field of nutrition. And helping people find the right solutions for them for whatever their goals might be through food. But now also focusing a lot on just lifestyle changes. So how we can leverage things that we can modify, that we can change, that are in our everyday life, that have a really big impact on our health, our wellness, our mind, our our souls, really at the end of the day.

Today, I lead growth for a longevity nutrition company, L Nutra. And, uh, and, and funny enough, it was founded by Dr. Volter Longo, so it really does come, come wow. You're cool. 

V: That's awesome. I feel like when people are going through their intros, they're like, wait, how many things have I done? But that all sounds phenomenal. , And I mean, who doesn't want to live longer? We all hear. Have a healthy lifestyle and get to an old age and, and really feel younger even while you are older. And we hear [00:06:00] more and more of that, that we're living until a much later age than generations decades before. However, sometimes people just wanna take like a magic pill, like it sounds like an infomercial that you'd hear at three o'clock in the morning, like live longer by just taking this pill. And that's it. And I'm sure it's not that simple, so I can't wait to learn more. Where do we even start? 

Renee: Oh man. Well, I think first, let me just say that, yes, living longer. I think actually what I've started to hear more and more is people don't even want to anymore. Oh. 'cause of the fear that their last years are gonna be miserable. That they're not gonna have any friends or family left around them. They're gonna be uncomfortable bedridden. And so, so many people now are like, well, nah, I'm okay. I'll just, you know. You know, live, fast, die young. And that's really not what we're trying to achieve here.

What we wanna do is, yes, live longer, but make sure that [00:07:00] those last years are just as amazing and incredible and lived as the ones that we lived today, man. And ideally even better because maybe you're working less, you're really able to enjoy, you know, life as it is. And so importantly, how to do that is to make sure that we have a really strong base for our health and our wellness.

I'm a dietician, so obviously I spend a lot of time on nutrition, but that also is, you know, our mind. It also is our relationships, so there's a lot of pieces that kind of fall into that. But. As, as a dietician and because we only have 30 minutes, I wanna focus on something that I think is really impactful, that makes a really big difference with very little effort. And, and short, short bursts. It's not something you have to do every single day. Awesome. And that is the fasting mimicking diet.

So the fasting mimicking diet is the ability to [00:08:00] get all of the incredible benefits of water only fasting. But with food, you do it for five days, maybe three to four times a year, and that's it. So it's about 20 days of your year and you get a plan that you follow kind of to the, to the letter. And you do this for five days and your body goes through an incredible transformation. And this is now backed by over 47 clinical trials. There is so much science and research behind this. About over 30 years, there's now like 50 million. Investment and research, including a lot of money from the government and from the European government because of the huge potential here.

So we'll go into it, but that's just kind of high level and hopefully peak some curiosity. 

V: I am definitely curious. I'm all ears and my eyes are wide open as you're chatting, and I'm bobble heading away. So is it, is it by plan as far as everybody does a little bit [00:09:00] differently depending on what their goals or age or gender? Or is it kind of a blanket that people can follow?

Renee: So, okay, the five day fasting mimicking protocol is relatively similar across. Most people with one small exception. Inside these, these generally are designed as kits. The kits come with each individual day box with everything that you need in it. And then one of the days you'll get something called the L drink. So from starting day two and then through day five, that is adjusted based off of your weight. So it does give you a little bit more nutrition throughout those, those four days at the end, once you're really deeply in a fasted state.

But you have to remember that this is trying to mimic water only fasting. And do we change water? Only fasting on the individual. No, it really is, you know, our, our fasting pathways, what we're trying to kind of hack the system of, they're [00:10:00] relatively similar across most people. So we don't have to make a lot of changes from person to person.

But let me just make one final note. There's now a company that is layering fasting mimicking with additional nutrition support with doctor's visits, with labs, to see kind of where you are at. And they're highly personalizing the experience both during and after the fast to the individual. Which I think is really especially important for people that are doing this maybe because they are dealing with high blood sugar, high blood pressure, metabolic problems, type two diabetes. If those are some of the things that you're dealing with or struggling with, then it's always good to have an additional support system to hyper-personalized that and make sure that you're doing it safely. But if you are a generally healthy person, maybe you just wanna lose a couple pounds, maybe you're just looking to optimize your health, support, your longevity, then you can [00:11:00] absolutely just do some of the boxes.

There's a company called ProLon, P-R-O-L-O-N, that will fully design it ready to go, delivered to your door, so you don't even have to think about it. And then you can kind of either do a group fast or, or do it solo. 

V: I'm glad that you mentioned that because I can imagine that some listeners are like, okay, I'm just not gonna eat anything for five days water only, and you know, we'll see how much weight I lose. But it's not what it's about. It sounds like there is a lot of nutritional support so that you do it in a healthy way and not in a way that's going to eventually harm your body.

Renee: And this is so important because even with water only fasting, what we have seen is that people, sure they get. Pretty incredible results. There's a reason why we're mimicking it, right? Mm-hmm. There's a reason why we're trying to get these benefits.

But there is some safety concerns, right? Because you're taking out all nutrition, you're taking out all the nutrients that come from food. There is also the risk that you're gonna lose muscle and our muscle. I think there we're now starting to hear this a [00:12:00] lot more is so important for our health, our wellness, our longevity. It is really critical that we hold onto it because it's also one of the most metabolically active tissues in our body,

which means that it uses a lot of energy, which means it helps our metabolism go fast, which means that it helps us keep our weight down. It makes sure that we use all of the food and nutrition that we consume so that we're not getting into some, sometimes these vicious circles where, you know, you lose weight but you lose muscle. And then when you start eating regularly again, then your weight comes back and sometimes even more than when you started. And that's oftentimes 'cause we're losing muscle.

So what we see, and we've now shown in a dozen plus studies is that when you do fasting mimicking, when you add nutrition, when you add food, and I'm talking, you know, real meals here. You are able to not only see weight loss and not only see all of the deep [00:13:00] cellular benefits and the skin benefits and all the benefits that we see, but you also protect your muscle and we don't tap into muscle.

So it's, it's the right kind of weight loss. 

V: And I know you're also an expert in menopause. So when I hear like muscle, that makes me think, I mean the age where I am is kinda like protect the muscle and the protein and all of the things. How does any of this play into it or do you have any pieces of advice for women that are going through the stage of life right now?

Renee: Absolutely. And a lot of the research, if not most of it, right, and there's over 40 now have been done in both men and women. This is not just male-centric studies, which unfortunately we see in a lot of research today. It is both. And there's even some studies that are only for women. There is a incredible skin health study that was done in only women. We have some breast cancer studies that were done in only women. We have, you know, some, some really great studies that were done in only women. And so we can see some of this safety and benefit in this population.[00:14:00]

But on top of that, we like to look at what the data is showing in relationship to some of the things that when we go into menopause and when we enter into perimenopause even, what are the changes and does fasting mimicking help us kind of push back a little bit?

And there's a handful of things that we see one the most, maybe like stepped back general thing that we see is biological age. Now menopause is a natural cause of aging, right? Most people are are reaching it. In their late forties with perimenopause May, maybe mid forties. But it can even happen as early as late thirties in very, very early cases of perimenopause.

But it is a factor of aging. And what we see with fasting mimicking is that we can reverse that kind of aging process and we look at it through a number called biological age. This is [00:15:00] an a measure of what our body's behaving like, what is a, the age that our body's behaving, instead of just the number on our driver's license, our birth certificate. We're looking at how our body's actually acting. And we can see with fasting mimicking that the biological age goes back with just three cycles, two and a half years. Okay?

So this is really incredible to the point where, you know, people are completing these three cycles. That's five days a month for three months, they're doing. You know, they're just following the kit. Their biological age is reversing two and a half years and they're, you can feel it, right? You, you can notice the difference.

Now, even to the point where I've walked thousands of people through these protocols and I have had women, and this is something we haven't deeply studied and we don't fully understand yet. But I've had women who have stopped their cycles. Get them back. They're [00:16:00] like, whoa, I was expecting that. And, and you know, it's generally, you know, maybe like spotting or light spotting, 

but, but what we do know is that there is a form of regeneration happening. In at the cellular level when we go through these fasting mimicking protocols because our cells are, are kind of cleaning themselves out, allowing them to become younger, work better. And so there is just, you we're working at like the most root cause.

Now we already talked about muscle. This is really important. But another area that we see changes as we enter into perimenopause is that because our estrogen is dropping and really a lot of our hormones are, are declining, but especially estrogen is so important to manage. Not just our sexual health, but so many other things, including how we manage blood sugar.

So what we can [00:17:00] see that happens in this time of perimenopause is that we see that. If there's a higher risk of type two diabetes, of pre-diabetes, it's harder to manage blood sugar. And what we see with fasting mimicking is that it, again, it can push back here.

We've even seen in patients with type two diabetes patients coming off of their meds, patients dropping their blood sugars to levels that are before pre-diabetes, even back into what we call remission, which is essentially a disease reversal. But we can't say that just because, it is, it, it's kind of the rules. But of course we say remission, which means that you no longer have it at this time. So, so this is really, really just incredible statistics that we're seeing in the research across a number of different factors. And I've only scratched the surface, you know, again, we only have 30 minutes, so I can only go so far. But you can imagine in over, [00:18:00] now nearly 50 trials, there's a lot that we can show and a lot that we can say that really starts to move the needle back to this younger, healthier self. That of course, in the scope of a transition in life that is very age dependent will be helpful. 

V: Absolutely.

Now and then also for later, because as you started, we want to get later with our mind and with our bodies intact. So this sounds absolutely phenomenal. Do you have to be under the care of a doctor or a dietician to follow the program? 

Renee: Yes and no. So I would say no. If you're a generally healthy person, go the ProLon route, that P-R-O-L-O-N company that you can get the kit and you can go off to the races. You can do it solo, no problem. I do recommend if you are gonna do it solo, uh, ProLon. Offers free group coaching where you can get supported by a dietician. You join [00:19:00] live calls every day of the week that you're doing your fast and you can get questions answered, and you also are joined by hundreds of people who are doing it with you. And so. It's always nice to have some support, but you don't need to like pay somebody to do it if you're a generally healthy person.

Now, if you are on any medications, especially blood pressure, blood sugar medications, if you have type two diabetes. And, and honestly, just generally, if, if you have, you know, something that your doctor has prescribed you medication for, you probably want to go the route where you have some support. But that LRA Health company that I mentioned, they have all of that baked in and it's only marginally. And they say like, you know, dollars, just a handful of dollars more to go that route if you need it. So. It's not like it's gonna cost you a fortune to have that additional personalized support, but it certainly makes it [00:20:00] better in terms of safety and making sure that you're just doing it right for you.

V: Agreed. We wanna make sure that we're safe and we're maintaining our overall wellbeing, especially if we have things going on already. And this is exactly why I wanted to have you on, because it's so important to look at our overall wellbeing through different facets. Because so often, we think of, oh, it's just a number of the scale, or as you said, the number on your driver's license, and now the number you know of anywhere like your, your sugar, whatever it is.

But something that we can't quantify within a number or maybe you can, depending on whom you find. But really it's a feeling is your mental wellbeing and how mentally fit or how you feel you connect with people, and really connecting with yourself so that you don't lose yourself in the busy and in the stress of everyday life, which is what free to be mindful and the podcast is all about.

So I'm wondering for you personally, how do you take care of your mental [00:21:00] fitness? 

Renee: Yeah. Well, this is something that I continue to manage and to work on. I think it's probably the part that I've always put last. I have become more and more a believer in the importance of our mental health and our mental fitness, and that really it should come first. And so now I actually, I had, I, I bought one of these little guys and every morning I wake up and I do three little bullets of what I'm grateful for. I try and make them different every single day, so a little gratitude journaling. Then I'll write like a little bit about. You know what, how I'm feeling, what's, what's going on in the world today? What maybe what I'm manifesting in the world, what, where are my, what are my goals? It depends. It, it's usually like half of a little page and you know, it's a little, it's a little book, right? So there, it's just super quick. It maybe takes me five minutes or less, and then I'll do. About five minutes of a mindfulness meditation and five minutes of a [00:22:00] manifesting meditation. Just kind of like being alone and taking some breaths, really at the end of the day. And also just kind of thinking, thinking ahead of what will fulfill me.

I cannot express how much that has changed. I really only started doing it maybe six, six months ago or so. Okay. And it really is, it's a game changer. I, I can tell on the days that I don't do it, the difference that I feel, and it, it's a great way to start the day. So I recommend it to anyone and everyone. 

V: I love that you recommended, and folks, we did not chat about this beforehand. But for those of you who are longtime listeners, you know that even the aspects that Renee just mentioned are a part of my mindful living framework. There's a aspect of gratitude. There's a aspect of setting intentions. You know, like what do you want? You used the word manifest. When it comes to semantics, like it's not the word that you use. It's really the feeling that you put out there as far as how you wanna show up in the world. Maybe what you wanna accomplish in the world. But what you're grateful for, some of those are aspects of the framework, and it really [00:23:00] makes a big difference into the way that you feel at the end of the day.

And for my busy folks, whether it be busy professionals or busy moms, I mean, Renee, you mentioned five minutes here, five minutes there, which is amazing when you have the time, but sometimes we don't.

Know that it doesn't have to look that way. I always find writing it is. I mean, I think it makes a big impact when you write it. But if you just think it before you go to bed, or as soon as you wake up, what are you grateful for? Or even on as your coffee is brewing or on your way to work, like how do you wanna show up? How is it that you're going to show up with that person who like challenges you every day. Or when you have something big on your plate. Those small, small shifts really do change the way that you see life. And what we ultimately do is we train our brain to think differently so that we can see more good, we can be more good. And that all plays into the longevity of life.

Renee: Absolutely. Could not agree more right there with you. 

V: So I [00:24:00] know that I want to live longer. And I think that all of these steps are important to be maybe at 96 or whatever the age may be, but have our physical health, our mental health, and our emotional health so that we can share it with those who are left around this at that age. 

Renee: Absolutely. And you know, time flies and it is no time like the present to start thinking about the later years in life and where you wanna be. And by the way, if you make these changes now, they will also impact your life today. So it is, it really is no time like the present with things that you can change through your lifestyle, whether it be community, whether it be gratitude, or nutrition, sleep.

You know, the list is endless, but any step in the right direction is a good one. 

V: Absolutely. So, Renee, let me ask you, if you could be remembered for one thing in life, what would that one thing be? 

Renee: Oh man. I, I think it would probably be that I would want to feel like I [00:25:00] made a difference in in somebody's health and longevity journey. I think, you know, this is something that I spent a lot of time doing, and so it would make me feel good that it was working towards a purpose. I hope one day somebody is, is 90 years old and they're feeling strong and they're feeling powerful, and they're like, you know what? I'm really glad that that girl, Renee, you know. 40 years ago, you know, kind of prompted me into this direction. And even if all I do is kind of nudge somebody in that direction, I think that that would be really powerful. I think that, obviously I have so many incredible friends and family that I, I hope that they remember me as just being supportive. So that would be great. 

V: Beautiful, and you've already started nudging us in that direction by letting us know about ProLon and tell us more about where we can find that information. But also where can people find out more about you? 

Renee: Absolutely. Well, if you wanna connect with me, I would urge you to do so.

You can [00:26:00] connect with me at fitton Nutrition on Instagram or online@fittennutrition.com. That is F-I-T-T-O-N Nutrition. And then if you're interested in the ProLon kit, they are at P-R-O-L-O-N Life. Dot com. And if you're interested in the L Nutra health programs, they are at L nutra N-U-T-R-A health.com.

V: Awesome. If you're on YouTube, you saw that flash across the screen. If you're listening, we'll have it in the show notes so that you can access it at any point. And any last tips that you'd like to share? 

Renee: Oh man. I think the only thing that I like to note is that, yes, I spent a lot of time talking about the fasting mimicking diet, and if that resonates with you, if that's interesting to you, amazing. And I can't wait for you to try it, please let me know how it goes.

But if it doesn't, , I am a big believer in finding something that you can do today to make a difference in your health. And it doesn't have to be [00:27:00] fasting mimicking, it doesn't have to even be something huge. But I think it's critical that we pick something, you know, even if it's every month or every quarter, that you're just gonna focus on that works and resonates with you to help you feel better and feel stronger. And, that can be across. The pillars of longevity and lifestyle, which again, can be sleep, it can be community, it can be nutrition. Sure, it can be exercise. But find one thing that you wanna do and work on that. Um, and I think you'll, you'll be, you'll find that when you start seeing some improvements from that, it'll motivate you to do the next and the next and the next. And they stack and they stack, and you will find the next thing you know, you'll be the healthiest version of yourself. 

V: So very well said because so often we want to do all the things and we wanna do like a 180 turn, you know, from here to tomorrow. And we really [00:28:00] have to start with just one aspect at a time. And I also appreciate that you said, whether it be this month or this order of life. It doesn't have to be all the things in one day. So I hope that people really take that with them.

And I always end the episode with kind of, just a thinking reflection after the guest. But I'm gonna do it right now because it fit in so perfectly.

And I typically, when I have a guest, I always say.

Choose one thing. One thing that Renee may have mentioned today that you feel you can apply in your life, and don't feel like you have to be superwoman or Superman at it or get it a hundred percent, but know that every one of those baby steps is getting you closer to whatever that ultimate end goal is, which usually does not happen overnight, but over the course of time.

So my friends, I really hope that you have that one thing in mind. Not only thinking about it, but putting an intention and emotional intention behind it as to why this is important to you. And I wish you all the [00:29:00] best of luck as you work on these baby steps, and maybe we'll see where we are at the end of this quarter or maybe halfway into next year.

So Renee, thank you so much for joining us today, for sharing your time, your expertise, and I look forward to learning more about fasting mimicking. And if I try it, I will be sending you an email. You 

Renee: absolutely should. Please let me know. I hope that listeners are eager to give it a shot.

The beauty is it's five days. You can, everybody has five days to give something a shot, especially if it's gonna make such a powerful change to your health, your wellness, your life. So I, I hope that I've nudged you in the right direction and actually worth noting before we pop off, even if five days sounds like a lot. Then there are also one day kits just to kind of dip your toe in the water. Now is it gonna have as impactful as an impact of the five day? Of course not, but it's a great place to start. And as we talk about baby steps, it's important that you find solutions that work for you now. So I'm eager to [00:30:00] hear how people go.

Yay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Have a great one. You too.

V: again, we thank you to Renee. I hope that you took that time to do that reflective moment as we were on the interview together. And just as a reminder to make sure you go into the link in the show notes and see if you're interested in trying this to not only prolong your health later. But to prolong your health right now.

My friends, thank you so much for joining me. And as always, remember in a world where you are free to be anything you are always free to be mindful. Catch you next time. 

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