So we have reached the end of our nutritional intervention and by and large the results have been rather positive. We have had 25+ guys successfully complete the 4 weeks with a high level of compliance. Here are some of the effects noted.

The Positives

1. Dudes lost weight.

So mission accomplished then. Everyone involved transformed themselves into sexier versions of their previous selves. The weight loss varied widely among the participants. This was to be expected as the old eating patterns were not controlled for, this is one of the reasons I use the term “experiment” very loosely. The weight loss ranged between 2kg and 8.6kg, that is a pretty decent amount of mass to shake of a frame.

I considered getting some of the before and after pictures up as they are always cool visually. I decided not to in the end as a) its more work for me and screw that and b) they are incredibly easy to mess with.

Check out this dramatic transformation from Jiu Jitsu practioner Daniel Strauss.

Pretty impressive right? That transformation took all of 30minutes.

By doing a quick workout and getting better lighting you can really make a difference to your physique. Their are tonnes of techniques like these that can get you instant results. In the same way that fighters at weigh in look incredibly diesel, the cover models on men’s workout magazines get mega dehydrated before a shoot.

Before and after pictures have their place but I feel they should be a guide for yourself and maybe a few other people that you are close to get the accountability advantage. When you start sharing them on the interwebs its hard not to fix that posture, stick that arse out and not drink anything for 5days.

I find honest anecdotal stuff like this way cooler.

2. Cooking Veggie food is mega cheap.

Turns out that dropping meat from every meal is great for the wallet. With weekly shops coming in at £15-25 a lot of our participants were pleasantly surprised.

Dietary information and advice can often be confusing, but one thing that nearly everyone in the nutrition industry agrees on is that eating a crap tonne of vegetables is a great idea. Having meals made almost entirely from plants is a good way to facilitate this.

3. More Energy

This is the classic I have stopped eating like a 12year old factor. Going from meals in a box to meals made from whole ingredients is a great way to avoid finding yourself unconscious at a desk around 3pm. The participants felt that they could tackle their workouts with more energy and get more from them as they were not starting in a fatigued state.

4. It was easy to follow.

Cooking in batches and having meals planned in advance was one of the cornerstones of the plan and seemed to work really well. Our guinea pigs rarely had to ask the question “what should I eat now?”. If you ask this question while hungry chances are you will answer “ALL THE FREAKING CAKES!”. Having a fridge full of handy meals in Tupperware prevents this from becoming the diet ruining issue it might otherwise be.

5. The meals tasted great.

This might be the most important factor in lifelong body composition control. If you do not enjoy your food you will eventually find something else more palatable, like a snickers or mcflurry. Track down healthy recipes that are easy to make and that you enjoy and make them staples you can keep coming back too.

6. The Egg Burrito thingy is amazing.

It is.

The Negatives.

1. Atomic Explosive Bottom Burps.

There is no way round it. Whenever you completely change your food intake your body will tend to kick off a bit. By kick off I mean you will be able to produce room emptying, tear inducing, this really should be weaponised farts. Thank fully this effect usually passes in a couple of days as you get used to the increased fiber content etc.

2. Peeing like a race horse.

When your body is used to a certain level of hydration and you start drinking a lot of fluid, you will tend to pee for a long time and pretty often. Again this will settle down after a few days as you adjust to your new much more hydrated self.

3. It messed with Coggsies 9.30am poo.

And he was raging

4. Dishes and washing up.

Turns out food prep requires more effort than a takeaway.

Thanks to everyone who took part and stuck with it so strictly, I know a lot of people really benefited from the support via the Facebook group.

In the next blog ill be discussing where to go from here and the purpose of these experiments/diets in general.

The next experiment might be a put on as much muscle mass in 4 weeks as you can kinda deal. Any interest in that one?