After losing 20 pounds in about 10 weeks, I decided to give the V-Diet a try. I thought it was probably hype, though Shugart has never been one to hype things up. I figured my metabolism was a little slow due to a long diet. So I ate maintence level calories for a week and then went on the diet.
In 28 days, I lost 20 pounds. I did not lose any strength in the gym.
Add another person to the list of folks who have lost a lot of weight - and fast - by following this diet.
I’ll have some more detailed notes later, but one thing that helped me get through the diet was reading about others who lost weight. So I figured I’d get something out there quickly for those of you still on the fence.
I’m curious, do you guys feel the V-diet is geared towards people looking to go from lean(10%) to leanER(6%), or for people seeking dramatic weight loss(15%+)?
[quote]Hannibal King wrote:
I’m curious, do you guys feel the V-diet is geared towards people looking to go from lean(10%) to leanER(6%), or for people seeking dramatic weight loss(15%+)?
Thanks.[/quote]
From reading around here it seems that both types have success with the V-diet. It seems to be especially helpful with getting rid of cravings and getting mentally “tough”.
[quote]Hannibal King wrote:
I’m curious, do you guys feel the V-diet is geared towards people looking to go from lean(10%) to leanER(6%), or for people seeking dramatic weight loss(15%+)?
Thanks.[/quote]
Its for anyone looking to lose a decent amount of fat in one month. It will work perfectly fine in both situations.
[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
I’ll have some more detailed notes later, but one thing that helped me get through the diet was reading about others who lost weight. So I figured I’d get something out there quickly for those of you still on the fence.[/quote]
There should be a checklist of questions or something… Here’s what I can think of off the top of my head:
Was it hard? – Not really. Hard is growing up in a housing project, getting a leg blown off in Iraq, or having MD. I thanked God I could afford the proten powder and had the luxury of “suffering” through the diet.
Post-diet weight gain – I started loading with creative and BCAAs and am up about 5 pounds. (Since being off the diet, I’ve taken in 2300, 2500, 4000, and 2600 calories.) My waist measurement is actually .5 inches down and my vascularity has increased, so I chalk the weight gain up as good gains.
Food cravings – I’ve craved green veggies for a while, so the diet was a gain in that regard. I still sweets and chocolate-covered almonds and espresso beans. But I tried eating a rich, buttery burger and almost vomited. So I still crave sweet food, but my body is rejecting rich food.
Tweaks – I used almond butter with 2 shakes a day. I didn’t use a fiber supplement. I also added a serving or of Udo’s greens blend to one or two daily shakes. Between the almond butter and flax and greens, I was getting 20+ grams of fiber per day. Given that the only thing my body needed to “move” was protein powder, I think that’s plenty of fiber.
Muscle loss – My lifts didn’t go down, and while my pants were literally falling off, my shirts still felt tight in the right places. So I don’t think I lost much muscle, if any.
Cost – If you’re eating a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, you’re likely spending a lot of money on food. Plus, add in all those diet cokes and coffees you buy (which you have to quit while on the diet), and I’ll bet you spend way more on food than you think. Even adding in the cost of the HOT-ROX, I saved money on my food bill. Plus, I save a lot of time - as I wasn’t spending so much time cooking food and washing dishes.
That’s all I can think of. It’s a simple diet, and seems to work well for everyone who follows it. I liked it a lot and might try out an MRP diet where I’d take MD Complete 5 times a day, with the first three shakes having fruit, and the latter two shakes have flaxmeal and fish oil. I LOVED not having to think about food.
Heck, I might go on the V-Diet again after I’ve repaired my metabolism. (I was on a diet before starting the V-Diet, so I really need to get my metabolism back up.)
[quote]brunottfn wrote:
did you use 21 fish oil caps(1000mg)each or just 4 flameouts?[/quote]
I actually take 6-8 Flameouts. I do jiu jitsu and oly lifts, and before that boxed, did take kwon do, fought, and was in the military, so my joints need the extra fish oil.
[quote]SWR-1240 wrote:
So that’s 40lbs in about 15 weeks?
Awesome job![/quote]
It should have said, “12” above. But, yeah, around 16 weeks. Funny thing…
I lost a lot of weight on a pseudo version of the V-Diet. That’s funny because I did the diet before even knowing what the V-Diet was. I would eat shakes all day (just Metabolic Drive, no flax) and then eat one dinner. At dinner I would eat something decent - pasta, broccolli, and bison. And I’d zig-zag my calories from 1800 to 2400. Once I found the V-Diet, I took a week off to let my metabolism sort of normalize.
I am worn down from dieting, though. Feel tired and flat. So I’ll enjoy maintanece calories for a while. Even if I gain a couple of pounds back, I won’t trip.
After that, I want to drop another 15 pounds. Likely, I’ll either do an MRP diet or the V-Diet again.
[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
SWR-1240 wrote:
So that’s 40lbs in about 15 weeks?
Awesome job!
It should have said, “12” above. But, yeah, around 16 weeks. Funny thing…
I lost a lot of weight on a pseudo version of the V-Diet. That’s funny because I did the diet before even knowing what the V-Diet was. I would eat shakes all day (just Metabolic Drive, no flax) and then eat one dinner. At dinner I would eat something decent - pasta, broccolli, and bison. And I’d zig-zag my calories from 1800 to 2400. Once I found the V-Diet, I took a week off to let my metabolism sort of normalize.
I am worn down from dieting, though. Feel tired and flat. So I’ll enjoy maintanece calories for a while. Even if I gain a couple of pounds back, I won’t trip.
After that, I want to drop another 15 pounds. Likely, I’ll either do an MRP diet or the V-Diet again. [/quote]
Knowing what the V-diet was, I also did a pseudo version, with full blown cheat days once a week and lost about 10lbs with it in 3 weeks. The cravings were bad every single week though and the first week after it I gained almost everything back from eating crappy.
Then I did the actual V-Diet and lost 20-23lbs and don’t get cravings anymore.
I’m sure the weight you gained back won’t be fat as long as you’re not drastically increasing your calories, you’re eating mostly “clean” and still working out.
I know it sounds corny and cliche, but I really have tried and failed many other diets (even from respectable sources) and this one gave me the most dramatic fat-loss while sparing muscle.
I know it sounds corny and cliche, but I really have tried and failed many other diets (even from respectable sources) and this one gave me the most dramatic fat-loss while sparing muscle.[/quote]
Glad you found something that worked for you. As for me… I always liked trying new diets. I’ve done SuperSquats, Warrior Diet, Protein Fasting diet, ISO, Zone, TKD, CKD. The only one that didn’t work for me was Duchaine’s bodyopus. No carbs kills my brain, and hence, my ability to earn a living.
Got injured and couldn’t train for years. So I ballooned up to 260. Maybe more - I eventually stopped stepping on the scale.
So I dieted down to 235 over several weeks. Wanted to really kickstart it. Hence, the V-Diet. Took me down to 215. EVERYONE notices I’ve lost weight.
With a glycogen reload (for me, that’s about 5 pounds) and creatine load, I anticipate bumping up to ~225. I’ll chill there a while and eat maintenance calories. Then I’ll drop my final 15-20.
I’m think MRP diet (with fruit blended in the a.m. shakes and fats in the pm) is what I’ll use for the final dropdown. I did the math, and it’ll be cheaper than eating normal food, plus, I like knowing EXACTLY what I’m putting in my body.
Finally, after that, I’ll be able to start putting some muscle back on.
Just had blood and bp taken. My BP was the lowest it has ever been - 117/71. (Won’t have blood work until next week.)
I never had high blood pressure, but even when I trained hard and before the weight gain, my BP was always at ~129/80. What’s remarkable about today’s reading is that I have been under tremendous stress lately. Sadly, I didn’t take pre-V-Diet BP readings. But given that my BP is the lowest it has ever been, I conclude that the V-Diet got me there.
I wonder why, though… I’m not even close to being the leanest or fittest ever: I have at least six more months of body recomposition to go. I’m under a lot of stress, and have been for several years.
I wonder if there is something in the protein powder. Shit, I don’t know - just brainstorming.
Has anyone else on the V-Diet noticed a drop in blood pressure?
[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
Just had blood and bp taken. My BP was the lowest it has ever been - 117/71. (Won’t have blood work until next week.)
I never had high blood pressure, but even when I trained hard and before the weight gain, my BP was always at ~129/80. What’s remarkable about today’s reading is that I have been under tremendous stress lately. Sadly, I didn’t take pre-V-Diet BP readings. But given that my BP is the lowest it has ever been, I conclude that the V-Diet got me there.
I wonder why, though… I’m not even close to being the leanest or fittest ever: I have at least six more months of body recomposition to go. I’m under a lot of stress, and have been for several years.
I wonder if there is something in the protein powder. Shit, I don’t know - just brainstorming.
Has anyone else on the V-Diet noticed a drop in blood pressure?[/quote]
I suspect it has something to do with all those healthy fats with almost zero ‘unhealthy’ fats. A month straight of almost nothing but Omega 3’s might go a long way in correcting the 6/3 imbalance you see in the Western Diet.
After creatine loading, I’m up 3 pounds since the end of the diet. (About two weeks ago.) Waist size hasn’t increased. Been eating 2500-3000 calories a day. Going to restore metabolism before shedding the rest of the fat.
[quote]Hanley wrote:
How did your blood work turn out?[/quote]
Literally just got off phone with doc.
Total cholesterol: 176
Triglycerides: 45
HDL: 63
LDL: 110
He said these were very good numbers. I have no clue what they mean.
I do know this: Until about 16 weeks ago, I was 60 pounds overfat. I am currently 15 pounds overfat. So even if the numbers aren’t great, I’m pleased that they were good enough for my doctor!
So that my blood pressure and bloodwork could be good is amazing.
I’m currently in a similar situation. I used to be 8% 210 @ 5’11" about 6 years ago. A number of life events and my own ignorance found me at over 270 and friggin just plain old fat. Been training since mid August, went from size 42 pants to comfortable 38 and at 255. Still wasn’t totally dedicated to diet and program, as I didn’t give up beers altogether. In fact, some nights I had more than a ‘few’.
Well I am somewhat lucky in that my body did keep some muscle, and I gained FAST over the past 2 months. Muscle memory is no myth! I’m living proof.
Started the V-Diet on Sunday (so this is Day 4 for me). Doing it religiously. For only 4 days now nontheless, but religiously. I know if I can do one week, I can do 3 more.
Actually, I did my own “V-Diet” long before I ever heard of Chris Sugart and maybe before there was a T-Nation? I did a protein shake only (ISO Pure zero carb, so no garbage there), but ate one meal a day and got healthy fats with the meal. It works, and I remember how well it worked - that is definately part of my motivation to stick to it. This time, I’m not allowing the meal (except one per week per Chris’s original plan.) so its definately the strictest diet I’ve ever done.
Well, just wanted to say congrats and good luck on your continued progress.
[quote]IFR Pilot wrote:
Started the V-Diet on Sunday (so this is Day 4 for me). Doing it religiously. For only 4 days now nontheless, but religiously. I know if I can do one week, I can do 3 more. [/quote]
It sounds like you will succeed. Be sure to let everyone know you’re results when you’re finished: It’s helpful to those on the diet to see others succeeding in “real time.”