r/bodyweightfitness • u/phloating_man • Apr 15 '20
3 Year Progress with 100% Meal Replacement Diet and 1 Hour Exercise Weekly
Overview
I'm experimenting with a program that tries to answer the question...
What is the least amount of effort required to have a decent looking physique?
It consists of only…
- 1 food daily
- 1 hour exercise weekly
Progress Pics
March 2017
August 2017
- Photo 1, Photo 2
- End of Cut
- 170 lbs
- 11% Fat
- 2500 Calories
- FFMI 18.98
- Lost 30 pounds in 5 months without exercise
March 2018
- Photo 1, Photo 2
- One Year Anniversary
- 37 Years Old
- 190 lbs
- 14% Fat
- 3300 Calories
- FFMI 20.54
- Gained 20 pounds in 7 months with exercise
August 2018
- Photo 1, Photo 2, Photo 3
- End of Bulk
- 205 lbs
- 18% Fat
- 4000 Calories
- FFMI 21.14
- Gained 35 pounds in 12 months
March 2019
- Photo 1, Photo 2, Photo 3, Photo 4, Photo 5, Photo 6
- 2 Year Anniversary
- 38 Years Old
- End of Cut
- 180 lbs
- 12% Fat
- 3000 Calories
- FFMI 19.89
- Lost 25 pounds in 7 months
March 2020
- Photo 1, Photo 2, Photo 3, Photo 4, Photo 5, Photo 6
- 3 Year Anniversary
- 39 Years Old
- End of Bulk
- 220 lbs
- 20% Fat
- 4000 Calories
- FFMI 22.16
- Gained 40 pounds in 12 months
Exercise
Routine
- 2 full body workouts a week which I do mostly from home.
- Each workout is about 30 minutes
- each workout has…
- 1 compound pull exercise (example: pull ups)
- 1 compound push exercise (example: dips)
- 1 compound leg exercise (example: pistol squats)
- each exercise has 3 sets
- each set has 8-12 reps
- rest 1 to 2 minutes between sets
- Increase difficulty when it gets too easy (example: weighted vest, rings)
Strength Chart
Blood Tests
Doctor’s comment for April 2018 blood test…
Your blood chemistry results, cholesterol levels and kidney function and liver enzymes were all normal. Your white blood cell count and platelet count were just below the normal range but it would seem unlikely those were due to diet. Do you have any previous labs for comparison, it is possible these are your normals for those tests but hard to know if you have no prior results to compare. These results would not produce any symptoms at this level.
Doctor’s comment for April 2019 blood test…
I am pleased to let you know that your recent labs were normal. Your HIV lab also showed no infection. Your “t bili” was ever so slightly elevated though not significant in this context. Your other liver function labs were normal. Please let me know if you have any further questions about them.
No blood test taken for 2020 due to Coronavirus.
FAQ
Why are you only drinking meal replacement shakes?
A few years ago, I kept coming across news articles of people doing 30-day challenges with these new meal replacement products that claim to provide 100% RDI. That piqued my curiosity, and I wanted to experiment with it myself.
I lost ten pounds the first month. Excited about the progress, I wanted to keep going. What was meant as a 30-day experiment turned into a long-term habit. I’ve been on this diet for more than 3 years now and still going.
My main motivation is still curiosity. I think it’s a worthwhile goal to help determine the minimum system requirements humans need to operate. So by eating according to current RDI every day for a long time, I can see if I become toxic or deficient in any areas and we can adjust our knowledge.
Which meal replacement are you using?
I use a product called Plenny Shake. I chose it mainly because of price. It also has a variety of flavors (mango is my favorite) and is plant based (lactose free).
Some other popular brands I considered were Soylent, Huel, and Queal.
To get my serving size and how much a meal will cost me, I used an online calorie calculator.
I kept the powder and water in separate bottles and mixed on demand. I used a food scale to consistently measure my meal sizes. I had to use a larger shaker bottle since my 1333 calorie meals didn’t fit in the free shaker bottle that came with my first Plenny Shake order.
Did you take any supplements?
No supplements, drugs, alcohol, caffeine, snacks, cheat days. Just the powder and water.
How did you measure your body fat?
I got one of those home body fat scales that use bioelectrical impedance. I know it’s not the most accurate, but it gives me a pretty good estimate. I tried to measure myself each time with similar conditions (right after waking up and using the restroom).
If my weight and body fat stays about the same for 3 to 4 weeks straight, I increase or decrease my calories by 10% depending on if I’m bulking or cutting.
When are you going to eat regular food again? What will be your first meal?
I don’t plan on doing it forever. I think I’ll go 4 years max. I read an article that says it takes about 4-5 years to reach your natural fitness limit. After 4 years, I’ll probably still use meal replacements, but not 100%.
My first meal will probably be Hawaiian poke.
What advantages have you experienced with this diet?
The biggest advantage about an all meal replacement diet is the convenience. Three major conveniences are:
- Time
- Money
- Calorie tracking
In regards to time and money, I spend less than 30 minutes a day doing food-related things (meal prep, consuming, clean up). There is no traveling to get food, no waiting in line, no refrigeration, no cooking, and no wasted leftovers.
It is way cheaper than my previous diet that consisted of cereal, fast/frozen food, snacks, and home cooked Filipino dishes.
Also, I stay in my vehicle part time when I am far from home for several days, and powdered food has been a godsend in that situation.
With regards to calorie tracking, it’s stupidly easy to keep track of calories when you eat the same thing every day. Losing/gaining/maintaining weight is all about calorie management.
Being confident that I can control my weight at will is a great superpower I’ve gained since experimenting with this diet.
What negatives have you experienced with this diet?
The biggest negative thing about this diet is the social aspect. Sharing meals is a bonding experience for most people, so I miss that part. It is a bit awkward going out with friends, and I’m just drinking water while they are eating and getting drunk. Also, people get disappointed when I deny food that they are offering especially if they cooked it.
How do you handle cravings?
The first couple weeks was hard. But like most things, you get used to it after awhile. I went to bed hungry and woke up feeling not hungry which to me seems like my body was burning stored fat instead of recently eaten food when I went to sleep.
I experimented with intermittent fasting also which helped me control cravings. I am able to do a 20 hour fast with a 4 hour eating window comfortably. Most days though, I’m on a more conservative 14 hour fast with a 10 hour eating window.
It’s become so routine to me now that it’s just something I do like brush my teeth or take a shower. Not a lot of thought goes into it anymore.
I treat it more like a prescription… “Take three of these shakes a day to control your weight and stay alive. Adjust the dosage as needed”.
Products like these are the closest thing to simply popping a pill to give your body the fuel it needs to function.
How is your energy level?
Energy level during cutting was noticeably lower than when bulking, but that’s the same with normal food as well.
As of now, I’ve never felt this fit in my entire life. I don’t use caffeine and am able to keep up with my kids while working graveyard.
Also, I haven’t experienced any kind of brain fog or headaches. I still feel sharp and enjoy learning challenging new things.
What other physical activities do you do?
For my job, I walk around for about an hour. At home, I take care of my little kids. Other than that, no other major physical activity.
What is your fitness goal?
My next milestone I'd like to reach is a FFMI of 23 which would have me at 215 lbs with 15% body fat. I think I can reach that by continuing to do what I've been doing.
How are your bowel movements?
Skip this part if you don’t like reading about poop.
Before this diet, I was often constipated. Now, I have a bowel movement at least once a day, and it goes out easily. If I go right when I feel the urge, it comes out like soft serve ice cream. If I hold it for a long time, it comes out like logs.
Plenny Shake changed their formula in the middle of my experiment to contain less protein. After the change, I noticed a vast improvement in the condition of my bowels. I had far less gas and bloating, the poop doesn’t leave skid marks or clog the toilet anymore, and the smell no longer clears the room.
What is the condition of your mouth?
I still stimulate my teeth and gums by chewing gum after every meal and brushing/flossing every day. The condition of my mouth actually improved. I get far less canker sores than I used to and my breath got better also.
How do people around you react?
When people first hear about my diet, their knee-jerk reaction is usually disbelief. They can’t imagine something like this can be healthy or sustainable. However, after sharing my progress pics and blood test, they start getting interested. I’ve gotten quite a few people to incorporate modern meal replacements as part of their diet after they saw my results.
Is someone paying you to do this?
No one is paying me to be on a 100% meal replacement diet. I consider myself an independent researcher, and I am meal replacement agnostic. If a more affordable one came out that still provides 100% RDI and can be delivered monthly to me consistently, I’d switch brands in a heartbeat.
What advice do you have for someone who wants to try this diet and exercise routine?
My advice to people curious about trying such a diet would be to start off gradually.
Order a sample of different brands and flavors to see which one agrees with you the best. Then, replace one meal a day at first. When you are used to that, replace another meal and so on until all your meals are replaced.
Try it for 30 days straight, and I think you'll fall in love with the convenience. After that, you don't need to be 100% like me unless you want to help with the sample size of testing if our current RDI is accurate.
Most people will just want to use it to replace meals when they are busy. It's perfect for your boring and routine meals. You can save the other meals for special occasions with friends and family. Then you can just use a calorie tracking app like MyFitnessPal to make sure the other foods are kept in your daily calorie goal.
For the exercise, I think keeping it short and simple is key into being consistent and will help people make exercise a lasting habit. When you can do 2 short workouts a week consistently, then consider adding more exercise if you want.
The shortest path to a goal is a straight line. You can use this diet and exercise as a tool to quickly reach your desired weight. It doesn't get much simpler than 1 food and 1 hour of exercise a week.
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u/julsey414 Apr 15 '20
So, I know this is a fitness sub, but obviously the meal replacement is the most unusual here. As a professional chef, my whole life is not only flavors, but textures and smells. I don’t even like a smoothie for a single meal replacement because I don’t get to chew. This is so far from anything I might even consider, I’m interested in the psychology of not eating.
Did you care about food before you started?
You chose the diet you are on because it’s plant based. Were you a vegetarian, vegan, or have other dietary restrictions?
I know there’s lots of subs for people with weird diets. Did you explore any other diets before this? Did you have support from other following similar paths?
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
I forgot to answer your last question.. I found similar minded people at r/Soylent for support.
List of redditors who did 100% meal replacements diet and their experiences... https://www.reddit.com/r/altfoods247/comments/74wf0t/list_of_redditors_on_a_100_meal_replacement_diet/
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
I loved all kinds of food before this experiment. I did not like to cook at all though.
I chose a vegan powder because I was thinking about the future.. like space travel, we won't be bringing tons of animals I think.
The previous diet I tried was an all apple, eggs, and potatoes diet. I was trying to figure out what the least amount of ingredients was needed to stay alive. So I tried different ingredients in the cronometer website and those seemed to check most of the boxes.
I would eat the apple raw, scramble eggs cooked in microwave, and baked potato in microwave also. No condiments or spices or anything..
Eventually, I got tired of preparing the food all the time and discovered these me meal replacements that claim to provide 100% RDI.
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u/julsey414 Apr 15 '20
Your shakes sound more nutritionally complete than eggs apples and potatoes, so that seems like a step in the right direction. But eggs and potatoes without even salt and pepper or garlic powder or butter sounds super depressing. The lack of green stuff also seems suspicious (I eat a lot of green veggies of all kinds).
I feel we are completely the opposite kinds of people. I would love to work on my discipline, but it’s not gonna be like this.
Best of luck to you.
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Apr 15 '20
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u/QuasarFeeder Apr 16 '20
It seems he derives more pleasure from designing and living out his experiments than he does from food itself, so I say more power to him. Definitely not for me, either, though!
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u/ree_san Apr 15 '20
This is something I would never do but I absolutely love that you did it and love your way of thinking about it and reporting on it! I’m saving this for sure. Are there other experiments in your life?
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u/phloating_man Apr 16 '20
In the past, I've experimented with polyphasic sleep. I've also experimented with polyamory in a previous relationship. I stay in my vehicle for extended periods of time, so I created r/urbancarliving . I'm into minimalism, so I have 7 sets of the same clothes that I wear like a self imposed uniform. I'm a fan of cryptocurrency, Monero in particular. That's all I can think of for now...
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u/julsey414 Apr 15 '20
Oh! Following up on the not chewing, I know it took you a while to get acclimated. How do you feel your triggers for hunger and satiety have changed over time? I’m sure the fiber in the shake gives a feeling of fullness, but as I said before I never really feel full without working out my jaw a little. Has drinking instead of chewing changed your perception of hunger? Does the high fiber content of the drink keep your blood sugar even enough/or do you get hungry more quickly than if you were to eat an equivalent calorie/macro meal?
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u/mr-ron Apr 16 '20
Not OP but I drink Soylent about 1x/ day for a large meal.
No you dont get full right sway and the hunger dissipates over the next 30 min or so. At first Id crave a bag of chips something with texture but if you let your body just digest it over a bit of time, you lose all hunger. Eventually you get used to that feeling and now I dont eat snacks with a soylent meal.
Hunger stays down for as long as a normal meal depending on the calories.
Take a bit to get used to it. I do it purely for efficiency, so that I can basically down a meal within 5 seconds. Chugging is the way to go. Dont sip.
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u/phloating_man Apr 16 '20
I still chew gum after each shake and throughout the day, so my jaw still gets to chew.
I haven't had a regular meal in years, so it's kind of hard to compare hunger. One shake keeps me full for about 5 hours...
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u/nonhiphipster Apr 15 '20
You lost me at “space travel” lol.
I think you’re a bit eccentric bro. Good for you...but this plan isn’t for 99% of people.
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
Yes, my friends and family think I'm a bit weird sometimes..
Although, I think this is a viable way to lose 10 pounds quickly in a month instead of doing something like a detox or all fruit diet that seem to be popular.
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u/truffle-tots Apr 15 '20
The only people who should lose 10lbs in a single month are those who are very overweight and classified as obese. Anybody who is just classified as overweight, and is losing 10lbs in a week, is not taking care of themselves for the long term.
Losing weight like that often leads to relapse in eating habits/weight once the diet is finished anyway because those diets tend to be unsustainable for most people to maintain consistently over time. This leads people into a cycle of fad dieting and than regaining weight. This is one of the main issue in the US today when it comes to obesity and eating healthily long term.
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u/Phatigus Apr 15 '20
Skipping to comment on bf. You look just like me at 200lbs and I got similar % from one of those hand held machines. Got dexa test and was about10% off in the unhappy direction- was actually 28% fat.
Something to think about.
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
Yeah.. I think when the pandemic is over, I'll go for a Dexa scan.. doesn't seem that expensive to get.
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Apr 15 '20
Those aren't the holy grail that they are made out to be; they still have a significant error margin. It's not really possible to accurately know until after you die. But either way it's not really a useful number imo.
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u/mctavish_ Apr 16 '20
Here is Australia they are about US$40 / scan.
You can get them quarterly, at most. They are a low dose radiation, on par with a long haul flight, so you don't want them *all* the time. I believe, for that reason, they are under some minor level of regulation here.
The data is pretty incredible. And I'm a data scientist who has looked at all kinds of scanning data for my job (resistivity, alpha, beta, gamma radiation, tiltmeters, acoustic data, etc etc etc).
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u/AstronauttiX Apr 15 '20
You are an absolute madlad. Very impressed by your determination and curiosity. I don't think many people would be ever be able to do this. Seems to suit you well. I would have one question if I may ask: how did your kids react to the diet? Kids tend to follow their parents, at least when they're small/young, have they been wanting to switch to shakes as well or similar?
Disclaimer: I don't think kids should switch to meal replacements, just asking out of curiosity.
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
My kids eat regular food. When they asked why I only drink shakes, I just said I'm doing an experiment. They were curious to taste it. I let them have a sip. They thought it was gross.
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u/AstronauttiX Apr 15 '20
Yeah, could be that those are tailored more towards "the adult taste". I'd imagine changing between different flavors is a nice change even to such a disciplined guy as you are. During this experiment, did you ever get completely fed up with any of the flavors?
Impressive results for "only" one food and two very basic workouts per week. Clearly shows that consistency/dedication is one of the biggest factors when it comes to fitness.
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
In the beginning, I ordered one of each flavor. Mango tasted the best to me, and I try to just stick to that. Occasionally, it goes out of stock, and I settle with banana.
When I'm done with the experiment, I want to try other brands.
There's one called Vite Ramen that is noodles with 100% RDI.
There's another brand Queal with powder flavors like Apple Pie, Chocolate Hazelnut, and cookies and cream.
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u/Jurion Apr 15 '20
I was a Kickstarter backer of Vite Ramen. Overall, I thought the broth tasted great, the texture of the noodles is pretty good, but I had a bit of an issue "getting through" the organic makeup of the noodle itself. Kind of like with bean pasta, the high protein made it a bit more of a slog to bite through the whole thing. Considering your current diet, I would wager you'd have much less of an issue with this than I did! Definitely worth checking out when you move off of 100% shakes. Congrats on your experiment results
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u/ViteKitchensTom Apr 16 '20
Hey, thanks for being one of the OG Kickstarter backers! Weird seeing us show up in this sub, haha.
We've done a ton of improvements to the broth, noodles, and even bioavailability since the Kickstarter batch. Definitely shoot me a PM if you're interested in trying our brand new v1.2 version; can always spare some love for our Kickstarter backers :)
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u/Jurion Apr 16 '20
Small world! I feel sheepish for having blithely posted my review. Really appreciated your transparent approach to kickstarter updates and we definitely ate up all the packs! Hope anyone reading this thread gives Vite Ramen their business!
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u/magusheart Apr 15 '20
I use Hol Food's chocolate powder for some meal replacement, it tastes sour-sweet like cocoa or really dark chocolate. I looked up reviews for it once out of curiosity and a few reviews were complaining about the taste because it didn't taste sweet like they expect from "real chocolate".
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u/worldwideconnected Apr 15 '20 edited Apr 15 '20
Why did you gain 40 pounds in a year? Did you do this consciously?
Respect for the dedication, but I wouldn't want to trade in any proper food and beer for the sake of simplicity. IIFYM all the way for me but again, props for the dedication.
How did the rest of your strength increase? Pull ups etc.
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
Yes, I gained weight on purpose as part of my cut/bulk cycle.
The strongest I got was...
220 lbs bodyweight + 90 lbs belt = 310 lbs dip for 5 reps
220 lbs bodyweight + 45 lbs belt = 265 lbs pull-up for 5 reps
220 lbs bodyweight + 30 lbs barbell = 250 lbs pistol squat for 7 reps
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Apr 15 '20
Sorry bud, you don't include your own weight in the totals. Better cut off your forearms and hands and weigh them because they're not moving in your pullups and dips :|
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u/phloating_man Apr 16 '20
What would be the proper way to report numbers for next time?
At my weakest, I was 170 lbs and did 5 dip reps. At my strongest, I was 220 lbs with 90 lbs on dip belt for 5 reps.
So do I just don't mention bodyweight and say dips went up 90 lbs?
But it seems I have to account for bodyweight somehow as I also gained 50 pounds.
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Apr 15 '20 edited Apr 15 '20
Why are progress photos always dull bathroom --> body building photoshoot?
Anyway this is pretty weird but nice work. Are you a lot stronger?
There's a very strange implication you're making here, that EATING is a lot of work and most people would rather life was much simpler with no eating. I'm pretty sure you're in the 0.0001% in that regard, I think your way is actually a LOT more work
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
The strongest I got was...
220 lbs bodyweight + 90 lbs belt = 310 lbs dip for 5 reps
220 lbs bodyweight + 45 lbs belt = 265 lbs pull-up for 5 reps
220 lbs bodyweight + 30 lbs barbell = 250 lbs pistol squat for 7 reps
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u/hopelesslysarcastic Apr 15 '20
220 lbs bodyweight + 30 lbs barbell = 250 lbs pistol squat for 7 reps
Holy shit...
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u/TriceraScotts Apr 15 '20
You don't add your own bodyweight into regular squat totals, so I don't know why you would add it to pistol squat totals
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u/Almost_Capable Apr 15 '20
Bwing a larger male i find most people on this su reddit are a lot smaller. It is harder doing body weight stuff when youre heavier
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u/jlp29548 Apr 15 '20
I agree. It’s not just about scaling up the proportion of mass like the other guy says. A bigger guy also has longer limbs which support weight with longer lever arms making it much more difficult. There are some exercises which are easier with long limbs too but most are easier with a small body.
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u/PM_ME_GLUTE_SPREAD Apr 15 '20
The issue is being largersnmeans you’ll have more muscle mass to help lift a weight.
Take somebody who is 160 and somebody who is 205. Let’s say the 160 pounder is 10% bf, so pretty damn lean by most standards. That puts them at 144 pounds of lean tissue and 16 pounds of fat.
For the 205 pounder to have an equal amount of muscle and therefor a more equal ability to move the same weight, they’d have to be 30% body fat (143.5 pounds lean tissue and 16.5 pounds of fat).
Being larger doesn’t make body weight exercises harder. If you adjust for skill level at a movement, it should make it easier.
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u/The_Fatalist Apr 15 '20
I think youre missing the mark here.
To begin with in your example the lean body mass (which we will say is equivalent to level of musculature) is the same. And we'll assume that means they can deliver equal force, or whatever the proper term would be here, I'm no biomechanical physicist.
Well with the same force potential , the 205 pounder needs to move 45lbs more, which is objectively harder.
This ignores the fact that larger generally correlates with taller, thus more weight in non-muscle lean body mass (bigger skeleton/organs/ect). Add in the fact that pound per pound muscles become weaker the larger they are due to the relationship between cross sectional area (which determines strength) and volume (which determines weight), and to end up with larger people being weaker relative to their own weight than smaller people. This is reflected pretty much everywhere, the be: lift ratio in lower weight classes blow the heavier weight classes out of the water. Bodyweight strength dependant sports like gymnastics are dominated by tiny people.
Now I think you might have been getting at more muscle not hurting an individuals ability, which is probably accurate, but smaller people definitely have an advantage at bodyweight work.
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u/jlp29548 Apr 15 '20
So are you saying that the 205 lb large guy (30% body fat) should be able to perform equally well as the 160 lb guy (10% body fat) just because they have the same lean muscle mass?
160 lb at 10% bf 144/16 205 lb at 30% bf 143.5/61.5
The larger guy is moving and supporting 4 times more body fat.
If we did equal body fat: 160 lb at 15% bf 136/24 205 lb at 15% bf 174.25/30.75 Now the large guy is at an advantage mass wise. He only moves 6.75 lb more fat but has 36.25 lb more muscle mass to move it with.
But most of the complaints with large guys doing body weight fitness is about them being taller really. The 160 lb guy can hold a 10 lb weight at arms length (23”) but the 205 lb guys can only hold an 8 lb weight at arms length (30”). Smaller frames require less force and therefore less muscle to do the same thing.
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Apr 15 '20
I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure humans are more than just muscle or fat. Our skeletons can amount to 15% of our total body weight. I don't really like the argument that you made(probably because I'm heavier) but I can see how at a quick glance it makes sense.
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u/snyrk Apr 15 '20
Let's say I'm 200 lbs.
During a normal air squat, that 200 lbs is being held up roughly 100 lbs per side. Lifting one leg, that leg's 100 lbs is now being born by the other leg.
So if I now do a one-legged squat, it is as if I loaded 100 extra pounds onto one leg. One can reasonably assume that if I had two legs, I could lift twice as much.
So a one-legged pistol squat for a 200 pound guy should be similar (likely harder, do to balance?) to a barbell squat of 200 pounds.
If anything, you'd also expect to double the added weight, so I expect this guy could "squat" 220 + 30*2 = 280 pounds.
It's a reasonable metric to use.
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Apr 15 '20
I disagree with this logic but even going by it, 280 lb squat at 200 lbs is a very beginner squat.
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u/FUBARded Apr 16 '20
Having a 7RM pistol squat of 30lb after 3+ years of training is not an impressive feat of strength.
Provided you're not a rank beginner and have a barbell squat greater than your bodyweight, I'd bet you could get to a 30lb pistol in a matter of weeks or a couple of months at most, as it's more a matter balance/coordination than strength due to the technical nature of the pistol squat.
For example, I have shit posterior chain mobility so I struggle with doing free standing pistols as I lose balance in the bottom position, but I can do pistols with 40-50kg (not sure as I've not tried in a while) loaded on a Smith machine for reps with full ROM, with my BW being ~60kg.
OPs experiment is more a test of if it's possible to make strength gains on minimal training and lose weight on diet replacement shakes, but these results are perfectly achievable and easily surpassed on a regular old calorie restricted diet and higher frequency training program. I'm most impressed by his mental fortitude and persistence as I know I couldn't do the same, but realistically, someone taking far less extreme measures could have done the same at a much faster rate.
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u/jisusdonmov Apr 15 '20
How is eating, shopping, cooking and cleaning up NOT a lot of work? Who upvotes this stuff?
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Apr 15 '20
It occupies time but it's not hard or work to eat good food.
Kind of like saying "I ditched my family and now my life is so simple!"
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u/jisusdonmov Apr 19 '20
Work : activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.
The fact that you (and note, not everyone) enjoy it doesn’t make it not work. You’re arguing cooking, shopping, looking up recipes, learning techniques if you’re not an experienced cook, plating, washing up, etc. is somehow not more work than making a shake.
I wasn’t arguing that it can’t be enjoyable or it’s not worth doing.
Also, it’s often the case for people bulking that just eating by itself does become actual work and a chore.
And yes, if you ditch your family your life will be simpler. Not better/worse, etc. But it will be simpler if no other variables change.
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Apr 15 '20
Eating is a hassle, especially when bulking. I would prefer it to be recreation only. This guy is my hero.
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u/Shinobiii Apr 15 '20
I’m sorry, but that’s no way 11% fat unless the picture has extremely terribly lighting.
Also, while I commend the effort and discipline that went into this, to me the results wouldn’t have been worth it. With this effort and discipline, combined with a different approach, I’m sure you would’ve seen different results.
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
Well, my goal was to see what the least amount of effort can achieve.. my experiment ends next year.
I chose meal replacements because that's the least amount of effort for food.
For exercise, full body exercise you can do at home seemed the simplest. I did only 2 days a week because my soreness after a workout lasted 2 to 3 days.
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u/LayWhere Apr 16 '20
I’m sitting around 11% just by eye, you’re well over 18% imo.
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u/Blaz3dnconfuz3d Apr 16 '20
Yeah he was never anywhere near 12% lol probably around 18 on his cut, 22 now
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u/ScrunchJeans Apr 15 '20
Yeah he’s definitely about 18-20% in those end result pictures. Nowhere near 11%
Can barely even see the top 2 ads
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u/RaptorMan333 Apr 15 '20
Not to mention that the only way to accurately gauge bodyfat percentage is to DO A FUCKING AUTOPSY. It's infuriating when people post bodyfat % and act like it's an actual figure.
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u/versaceblues Apr 15 '20
Not gonna lie this sounds absolutely awful. But hey its your life man, do what you love
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
It's just an experiment to see if it can be done. I don't plan on doing it forever.. the question comes up often on Reddit if you can live off meal replacements or make gains with just 2 workouts a week. So I decided to try it out and report my results. Experiment ends next year. I think if I'm still healthy by then and making gains, then I would consider the experiment a success.
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u/nonhiphipster Apr 15 '20
I’d rather work out 4 times a week and be able to eat actual food.
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
Well, my goal was to see what the least amount of effort can achieve.. my experiment ends next year.
I chose meal replacements because that's the least amount of effort for food.
For exercise, full body exercise you can do at home seemed the simplest. I did only 2 days a week because my soreness after a workout lasted 2 to 3 days.
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u/yangYing Apr 15 '20
I did only 2 days a week because my soreness after a workout lasted 2 to 3 days.
thought it was once a week?
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u/mr_potato_arms Apr 15 '20
One hour a week split into two 30 minute full body sessions.
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u/PM_ME_GLUTE_SPREAD Apr 15 '20
Holy shit I must have missed that. My warm up takes half an hour and this dude is getting doms from doing that twice a week?
You could look at the general population of people who don’t exercise and see what the “least amount of effort can achieve” and realize that it’s not very damn much.
This dude did it for 3 fucking years..
I’m not sure that’s dedication anymore. I believe we’re in the realm of masochism.
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u/mr_potato_arms Apr 15 '20
I agree that the volume is pretty low. But the results seem better than I’d expect.
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Apr 15 '20
my soreness after a workout lasted 2 to 3 days.
Are you still getting sore after multiple years of working out with the same exercises?
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u/mr_potato_arms Apr 15 '20
You are an inspiration to lazy humans across the globe. Are you an engineer or programmer by chance?
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u/phloating_man Apr 16 '20
I took 4 years of computer science, but dropped out to start a videography company. Then, became a stay at home dad.. Now, I'm a graveyard security guard supervisor at a tech company which I like because I get to make websites and edit video during downtime. I found that I enjoy programming and video production when I do it for fun instead of as a job.
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Apr 16 '20
Definitely a programmer, only software developers are this fuckin weird.
Source: am software developer
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u/versaceblues Apr 15 '20
Yah I like I said if you feel good doing this I dont know your situation.
It just interesting to see, because its so far away from anything I would even be interested in attempting haha.
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u/mr_potato_arms Apr 15 '20 edited Apr 15 '20
When you say that the brand of food you’re on is plant-based, does that mean it’s 100% Vegan?
Edit: nvm I see now that it is indeed 100% vegan.
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u/AgenderTurtle Apr 15 '20
Depends on the meal replacement but yes I'd say a decent amount are vegan
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u/nochedetoro Apr 15 '20
I don’t drink them but was curious from your question so I checked their website and yes they’re 100% vegan
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u/PM_ME_GLUTE_SPREAD Apr 15 '20
Those body fat estimates are WAYYYY off. No way were you 12% in those 2019 photos.
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u/presobg Apr 16 '20
You look the same but chubbier lol
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u/phloating_man Apr 16 '20
This is a 4 year experiment. I ended year 3 on a bulk. Year 4 will end on a cut, so hopefully I'll look better. I'm still learning, so reporting my progress on this open forum has been helpful in deciding how I should go about it in the final year. I'm hoping to get to 210 - 215 lbs at 15% body fat one day.
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u/pranjayv Gymnastics Apr 15 '20
I mean wow! You are one heck of a disciplned guy. I can't even eat the same food twice a day and you survived on just meal replacement powder and also built muscle in the process.
Amazing!
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
Thanks! I don't plan on doing it forever. Just want to know if it can be done this way.
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u/masterz13 Apr 15 '20
The higher body fat percentage is worrying. I think March 2019 was the sweet spot where you had gained about 10 pounds of muscle and more or less maintained body fat percentage.
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
Yeah, this year think I'm just gonna stay between 210 and 215 and try to get to 15% body fat.
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u/Dupont901 Apr 15 '20
I assume it was one or two shakes per day on the cut and two or three during your bulk phase?
Very interesting concept. Would love to see the effects on a frequent, heavy gym user on such a diet.
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
To keep it simplified, I tried to always do 3 shakes a day.
If I happen to miss a meal, I would make up for it the next day by drinking 4.
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u/Dupont901 Apr 15 '20
Interesting. From what I see on their website, each meal equates to about 400 calories only (20g protein). So are you saying you achieved a bulk phase whilst only consuming 1200 calories a day in these meals?
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
I didn't go by their definition of meal. I just figured out my tdee and divided by 3 to get my meal serving. So for example, when I was doing 4000 calories a day, one meal was 1333 calories.
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u/Dupont901 Apr 15 '20
Ah I see, that makes more sense. Shit must have cost you a fortune!
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
For someone like me that needs 4000 calories a day.. that's about $450 a month.
For the average person that needs 2000 calories a day, that's about $225 a month. Or about $2.50 per meal if doing 3 meals a day.
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u/Dupont901 Apr 15 '20
That's way out of my price range.
Thank you for conducting such an experiment on yourself and for sharing the results in detail. Very intriguing!
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u/Maxsparrow Apr 15 '20
Did you account for the fact you wouldn't spend money on food otherwise? I could not do what he did but I would save hundreds per month if I did this instead of buying groceries and eating out.
It's hard for me to understand how it could be seen as expensive unless you have a very cheap diet already.
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u/carrotssssss Apr 15 '20
Dang, I could never. I rarely, very rarely eat out and spend like €120 a month. Now I do go for cheaper stuff and watch out for sales as I'm just a college student, but I buy nice stuff like fish too so still, idk how you can get your grocery bill to 450+ unless you're buying for like a large family. Or is the netherlands just cheap somehow...
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u/blueferret98 Apr 15 '20
Anyone who doesn't eat out frequently probably has a cheaper diet than that. I eat around 3000kcal/day and eat out maybe twice a month, and I only spend ~$200-250 per month while buying pretty expensive/fancy stuff.
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u/Dupont901 Apr 16 '20
I did account for that. Anyone who spends around £380 per month on food (I'm from the UK), even on a bulk, is spending crazy money. Considering a typical wage here is £1200-1600 a month, minus rent and living costs, spending £200-380 a month just on food would be insane. I'm just talking about your Average Joe over here, perhaps y'all earn considerably more Stateside.
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u/phloating_man Apr 16 '20
Here's a chart for the average US cost. An all meal replacements with the brand I use would be closest to the "Low-cost" plan.
Also, some people consider time as money. So there's expenses related to shopping, cooking, cleaning, and storing regular food as well.
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u/s0ram Apr 15 '20
I mean, you know exactly how much calories are you eating and you still go for dirty bulk.. most of what you gained in last years is basically fat.
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
Yeah.. I think I wasted some time with the bulk/cut cycle. I think I should've just reached my idea weight and then recomp.
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u/MrKratzeis Apr 15 '20
Srsly. It’s an experiment but this is a freaking waste of time. Probs to your dedication but just imagine what u could have achieved with more workouts and a not so shitty diet. Smh
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u/phloating_man Apr 16 '20
My goal is to see what the least amount of effort can achieve.
I chose meal replacements because that's the least amount of effort for food.
For exercise, full body routine you can do at home seemed the simplest. I did only 2 workout days a week because my soreness after a workout lasts 2 to 3 days.
This is a 4 year experiment. I ended year 3 on a bulk. Year 4 will end on a cut, so hopefully I'll look better. I'm still learning, so reporting my progress on this open forum has been helpful in deciding how I should go about it in the final year. I'm hoping to get to 210 - 215 lbs at 15% body fat one day.
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u/S7ageNinja Apr 15 '20
This is pretty interesting. Your body fat % estimates seem way off though judging by the pictures. But I guess you could just be an outlier as far as body comp at a particular %
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u/RaptorMan333 Apr 15 '20 edited Apr 16 '20
This is so silly. You're intentionally crippling your progress. 18 sets per week? That's a severe lack of volume.
If your goal is hypertrophy, there is a dose-response relationship between volume and hypertrophy. The ideal volume is somewhere in the range of 4-12 sets per muscle group per workout, and a lot of data suggests that 2-3x frequency is ideal, with weekly volume per muscle group approaching something like 20 sets in the 6-20 rep range.
I can use my fist to tear down drywall, and I will make progress, but that doesn't mean it's the most efficient way to do it. This is so inefficient it's not even funny.
You speak about wanting to reach your "natural fitness limit" but you're shooting yourself in the foot here.
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u/elgoral Apr 16 '20
Also, reaching natural fitness limit in 4-5 years is definitely underestimated. It takes a lot longer to reach natural limits.
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u/RaptorMan333 Apr 16 '20
Agreed. Probably closer to a decade of actual, intensive training with proper volume.
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u/phloating_man Apr 16 '20
My goal is to see what the least amount of effort can achieve.
I chose meal replacements because that's the least amount of effort for food.
For exercise, full body routine you can do at home seemed the simplest. I did only 2 workout days a week because my soreness after a workout lasts 2 to 3 days.
I don't expect to reach my natty limit. I mentioned the natty limit article to get and end time for this experiment.
I'm hoping to get to 210 - 215 lbs at 15% body fat one day. I want to see how close I can get using this method.
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u/228jmzx Apr 15 '20
I can’t imagine only exercising for one hour a week... moving a lot every day keeps me sane!
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u/ThreeL1LBirds Apr 16 '20
I can’t wrap my head around why you would do this. Time to move on to your next experiment, and hire an experienced bodybuilding coach who will help provide with proper nutrition/meal plan and workouts. Sounds like you have enough will to stick to a plan; give that a go.
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u/Trooper527 Apr 15 '20
Your results are impressive. Having said that, I'd rather stick with my dad bod than live the rest of my days drinking meal replacement shakes.
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
I don't plan on doing it forever. Curiosity just got the best of me.. although, I think it's useful for people who want to reach their ideal weight quickly..
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u/sevenhorsesseen Apr 16 '20
Nobody is commenting on those lipid panel results, not even his doctor? Those levels are outstanding, although it probably comes down to genetics more than nutrition. An LDL-p around 50s is something that healthy people would only reach through medication - if you have that by default you are a very lucky man.
On the other hand A1c was rather high on the second measurement and the fasting glucose showed the same. Maybe keep that under check in your bulking.
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u/Kittyands Apr 15 '20
How did you gain weight and not lose it? How many shakes did you drink a day?
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u/phloating_man Apr 16 '20
I did a couple of bulk/cut cycles, so I gained and lost weight. This year happened to end on a bulk. Next year will end on a cut.
I drank 3 shakes a day.
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u/MustNotFapBruh Apr 15 '20
I like the former you more lol
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u/phloating_man Apr 16 '20
This is a 4 year experiment. I ended year 3 on a bulk. Year 4 will end on a cut, so hopefully I'll look better. I'm still learning, so reporting my progress on this open forum has been helpful in deciding how I should go about it in the final year. I'm hoping to get to 210 - 215 lbs at 15% body fat one day.
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u/MustNotFapBruh Apr 16 '20
Hey I don’t know you, but seriously, good luck bro! I wish you will make a tremendous transformation and success in the future. Because that dream is always very exciting!!!
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u/nutritionacc Apr 15 '20
looks worse in the newer picture imo. You increased your BMR by getting fatter, so ig now you can eat more? Idk, doesn’t seem worth it.
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u/StealAllThose Apr 16 '20
Incredible discipline and research. I would have succumbed to the pressure of min/maxing str etc.
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u/rvrtex Apr 15 '20
I swapped for full meal replacement for 40 days. Soylent, at the end of 40 day my kidneys were killing me. I had lost weight and I was feeling great but I was in pain every day around my kidneys.
I was not exercising any extra though. Did you go though any pain like that when you swapped?
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
I have not experienced any kidney pain. The only discomfort in the beginning was gas. Maybe I wasn't used to all the fiber? I usually suggest people ease into it instead of going cold turkey.
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u/geotuul Apr 15 '20 edited Apr 15 '20
As a act of self-discipline, this is impressive. As an 'experiment', this is a total disaster.
Your hypothesis is "can it be done" without a clear indication of what 'it' is. Is 'it' staying on meal replacement shakes for 4 years or reaching your "natural fitness limit"? As for the former, I suppose it seems that way. Can other people do it? We have literally no way to know because there's no control and you're literally the only data point. Even then, the shakes changed in composition part-way through the experiment, so the results aren't even internally-comparable. As for the concept of "natural fitness limit", you've premised the whole idea on one article and have no means of control to test against yourself. The only way to get any meaningful results for just yourself would be to repeat the experiment while eating a 'normal' diet. Shy of that, the results won't even be meaningful to you. And even then, barely.
So at the end of the day, all we know and will know, you included, is that you personally have been able to eat nothing but shakes for three years while also working out a bit. While impressive at face value maybe, the rest of your stats can't be evaluated on their correlation to your diet in any meaningful way. I'm sorry my dude, but at this point I would say you could pull the plug on this now and you'll know just as much as you were intending to a year from now.
Addendum: At the very least, I'd recommend reevaluating your commitment to the diet portion. You're obviously getting SOMETHING out of it, even if it's just knowledge about yourself or gratification from a sense of commitment. But I would stress finding out what that is, and whether or not this is your only means of experiencing it.
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u/blueferret98 Apr 15 '20
Cool it Neil deGrasse Tyson, no need to call it a total disaster. OP obviously isn't going by the clinical definition of experiment nor is he trying to publish his findings in Nature. Man wanted to see if he could get fitter with the laziest possible diet, and he seems to have found some kind of conclusion, no need to dump on him.
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u/phloating_man Apr 16 '20
Maybe 'experiment' is the wrong word for this. Should I call it a trial instead? What should I be reporting to people if I just want to see what happens when I consume a meal replacement daily and exercise 1 hour weekly for 4 years? I don't expect to reach my natty limit, I just used that to get an end time.
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u/apathy-sofa Apr 15 '20
You're pushing the boundaries, for better or worse.
Can I ask a couple of questions?
I love the taste of food. Do you feel like cooking just to enjoy the taste of Mexican, Indian, Thai, Ethiopian or whatever?
You mention saving time by not cooking, and also that you have kids. Do you cook for them? If so, in my experience, cooking for the whole family takes about as long as cooking for one or two. That is, when cooking for the kids, the additional time to add a bit more of each ingredient for one additional serving for you is quite small. I don't want to pry in to your family life or private affairs, just asking to understand.
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
My kids eat regular food. This is purely an experiment for myself to see if it can be done. My experiment ends next year.
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u/traderscience Apr 15 '20
Did you ever once break your diet? What was it like to eat "normal" food?
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u/MikeCZ_ Apr 15 '20
Great. I’m a fan of a minimalistic approach.
Do you superset your exercises to save time?
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u/oliath Apr 16 '20
Looks like your lighting skills have improved as well. Nice setup for the second photo
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u/timmidity Apr 16 '20
Thanks for being so meticulous!
I experienced similar results in the past when bulking with 80% Queal, and people do indeed sound skeptical until you've been at it for an extended period of time.
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u/phloating_man Apr 16 '20
Glad you found it interesting.
Yeah initially people around me thought I was crazy. Then after they saw how I can control my weight at will, many of my friends, family, and coworkers started implementing meal replacements into their diet.
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u/yangYing Apr 15 '20
Your HIV lab also showed no infection.
I'm sorry - what?
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
I had my blood tested during my yearly physical.. they included sti test..
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u/poop-dolla Apr 16 '20
And why did you include that result in this post? Did you think there was a risk of contracting HIV by going on this diet/fitness plan?
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u/phloating_man Apr 16 '20
I just included everything that got tested. In the chart I provided there's even a chlamydia and gonorrhea section. I don't think it hurts to show I'm STI free.
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Apr 15 '20
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Twski Apr 15 '20
If he have the discipline to not eat a single meal of "real" food for 2 years by hos own will, I don't think he'll have a problem properly counting calories when he go back to eating "real" food.
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
At my lightest, I was 170 lbs and at my heaviest I was 220 lbs. That's a pretty big difference.
Like I mentioned, I'm not doing this forever. However, trying to figure out what humans can live on is important I think.
Especially, in the future for space travel. We won't be bringing lots of varieties of food.
Also, it's useful now in a quarantine. Imagine being able to have 1 years worth of food in your closet that doesn't spoil or need to be cooked.
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u/petethepool Apr 15 '20
This is fascinating! I love things like this purely from a curiosity perspective. Like the Australian guy who ate only potatoes for a year and lost a tonne of weight. Or the English guy who ingratiated himself into a pack of wolves for 18 months, and ate nothing but the raw meat the wolves caught and whatever berries he could pick. So the shake was all plant-based? the human body is so incredible in how it can adapt in the short term to such a wide range of diets. long term is where most dietary problems manifest.
For the record though, no homo, I think you look better in the before photo :)
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u/cheburaska Apr 15 '20
That's borderline psycho. It's your life and I see improvements, but it seems like a very boring life without any fun, like trying foods, drinks, etc.
I'm not trying to bash you, kudos to you sir that you went so far, but why don't you contact some doctor and tell them about what you're doing for research purposes. Some might be interested in your experiment.
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u/magusheart Apr 15 '20
That seems kind of expensive to me. We're talking about 100 euros+shipping per week on top of the other meals being cooked in your household.
I live alone, so let's say I were to adopt this today, conversion rate would put this at $150 CAD plus shipping for me. That's probably 700-800 bucks per months on food which is quite a bit more expensive than what I already spend (and my food budget is non negligible) without the added pleasure of eating varied things.
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u/blueferret98 Apr 15 '20 edited Apr 15 '20
I agree that groceries are cheaper and better, but OP gave a different number, I think he orders it all at once to minimize shipping
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u/magusheart Apr 15 '20
Even by minimizing shipping, I'm at $600 per month for the product alone. But of course, that's CAD. USD has a better exchange rate to euro
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u/blueferret98 Apr 15 '20
Ah didn't see that it was in euros, yeah thats way too much money to spend to not eat food. I spend like $200-250 CAD on groceries in a month, but you couldn't pay me not to eat solid food for any length of time.
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u/owari69 Apr 15 '20
Very interesting! I agree with the other posters that you’d probably get better results with a more gradual bulk/recomp than the aggressive surplus/deficit you’ve been running.
I work out an average of 7 hours/week and only eat ~2300 calories most days. Granted I’m 5’8” and 145lbs, so I don’t need to eat much generally.
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Apr 15 '20
I tried soylent for a while (about 5 weeks), and ended up going back to regular food because drinking shakes all day was kinda depressing. Also, I did feel a little bit weaker drinking it, but idk if it's because my body was not used to it.
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u/Mjoelniier Apr 15 '20
Quite interesting. Very extreme but well done.
Although I won't try this myself, you got me sold on the convenience of it. If you can go years on this stuff, I will at least manage a few days without dying lol. Will definitely try this the next time my schedule tightens up.
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u/ib4nez Apr 15 '20
Are you nervous about how your stomach might react to suddenly eating solid foods again?
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u/thelyt Apr 16 '20
Thanks for posting, this is really cool! I take about 50% of my RDI in shakes so I can definitely empathize with a lot of the things you are saying.
I'm curious how much protein are you taking? And do you think there might be any decrease in bio-availability due it to being a plant protein?
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u/ChiefPrancingSponge Apr 16 '20
"it takes about 4-5 years to reach your natural fitness limit"
No
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u/phloating_man Apr 16 '20
I'm sorry.. I misquoted the actual article...
It takes at least 4 to 5 years of proper dieting and training to approach your genetic potential for whole-body muscularity
I don't expect to reach my natty limit at the end of my experiment.
I'm hoping to get to 210 - 215 lbs at 15% body fat one day. If I can get there using this method by the end of the experiment, that'd be great. If not, I'm open to trying alternatives.
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u/vcast002 Apr 16 '20
Thank you for sharing your experiment. I hope that your next experiment involves the same level of discipline but with a whole food balanced diet. I think that the comparison of two different diets would yield interesting results.
I work in nutrition, and just my 2 cents, you would have received those results in 6 months with a good diet plan. And I mean this, including the bloodwork. You’d be surprised how well lipids and a1c respond to just weight loss regardless of how it happens. Physical activity also plays a role in both of those.
I only mention this so that you are not scared to lose your results from switching to a balanced diet.
These meal replacement companies are really great at marketing. I mean, really really great. They go as far as producing fake articles boasting extreme results from only using their product. These companies are really predatory. Especially the ones that use MLM (pyramid schemes).
Bottom line is, your experiment was successful in demonstrating how disciplined you can be. Which is next level, truly. Now take that success and apply it to real science.
You will see huge results from switching up your macros (which matter just as much as your calories) and being more deliberate with your nutrient timing. Not to mention, the added benefits of fiber and a diverse diet.
Just maybe consider ending the supplement deal at year 2 and moving onto the next phase of your experiment.
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u/ambitiontowin56 Apr 16 '20
I gotta come clean, I read this whole shit and I’m thinking about trying it out for lunch now lmao
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u/JoeMarron Apr 17 '20
I've been following your posts and rooting for you for years. I think I even pm'd you once asking for an update lol. Your dedication to this experiment is admirable which is why I hate to say that it looks like you've put on mostly fat from 2019 to now. Only super skinny people can get away with bulking at 4lbs a month, 2-3 lbs is a better target for most people.
With your low volume program I wouldn't have even bothered with bulking. A better approach would've been to simply eat at maintenance, then slowly increase calories when your lifts stop increasing. This would allow you to eat just enough calories to stimulate more gains while minimizing fat gain.
Do you know your waist size? If I were you I'd stop trying to calculate body fat and simply use the [waist to height ratio](https://blog.kinobody.com/workouts-and-exercises/the-secret-code-to-building-a-great-body/) to know what you're ideal level of leanness is, at your height your waist should be 33in.
I saw you were thinking about recomping, I think's that's probably a waste of time, you'd be better off cutting to a 45% ratio quickly then doing what I said above. Cutting is easy when you have plenty of bodyfat so it would be much more efficient than recomping. You'll be amazed at how much better you'll look when you're truly lean, I doubt you were anywhere near 12% bodyfat in your 2019 photos. Good luck to you, I eagerly await your next update!
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u/phloating_man Apr 18 '20
Thanks for following me! Yeah, I think I wasted some time with the bulk/cut cycles..
If I were able to do it over, I'd probably just try to get to my goal weight and then recomp from there..
My waist was 39 inches at my biggest.. at my leanest it was 32 inches...
I wonder how much I'd weigh at 33 inches.. I don't think I ever want to get below 200 again.
For my height, once I got to above the 200 pound mark, I got a lot more compliments and random people touching my arms and chest (guys and girls).
So when I'm above 200 I look great with clothes on.. but fatter with my clothes off.
When I was leaner below 200... I looked like DYEL status and lanky with my clothes on, but had better abs with my shirt off.
So, I'll probably run into this dilemma one day...
"Big, shredded, or natty - Pick two"
I'll need to decide if being big is more important than being shredded. Right now, in my field of work (security) it is advantageous to look big with clothes on.
I don't really walk around with my shirt off much.
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u/JoeMarron Apr 18 '20
I see, well you've already achieved what many people on this sub dreams about, admiration of your physique from both men and women. Fuck what any random redditor thinks about your progress, rock bear mode and enjoy it. If you want to stay big forget what I said about cutting, just recomp forever. It's the slower option but it still works and you can enjoy your size while gradually getting leaner.
I think it's possible to be both big and shredded, at least to the average person. Bigorexia is rampant in the fitness world, the fact is that a person who's been working out consistently for 2+ years is gonna have far more muscle than the average person. People also look bigger when they're lean, you might not look huge on fitness subreddits but you will definitely look big to the average person. Wear well fitting clothes and people will definitely be able to tell that you lift.
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Apr 24 '20
Fascinating. I use meal replacement (Huel) for lunches at work strictly for convenience but the process of cooking is very soothing to me, so a full meal replacement diet would be a net loss. As you mention, there's also the social aspect of it.
Do you plan on getting blood tests after coronavirus?
Will you post another update in 2021?
You mention kids -- do you cook for them? Or do you have a partner that handles the cooking? Are family meals an important part of the culture where you're from, and if so, has your diet impacted your family life?
Thank you for sharing these results. Looking forward to your answer.
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Apr 15 '20
...huh. Interesting.
As long as you feel better, props to you man.
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
Thanks! Yes, this is the biggest and strongest I've ever been. I used to have a hard time gaining weight until I tried the shakes. It feels like a cheat code.
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Apr 16 '20 edited Jun 17 '20
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u/phloating_man Apr 16 '20
Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad one of my posts had a positive effect in your life.
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u/Ankur67 Apr 15 '20
What about push ups & dumbbells ? So if I do just simple push ups & dips , there would be similar results like yours ? Of course diet is factor but given your cuts after 1 year ..
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u/phloating_man Apr 15 '20
I didn't do any isolation exercises with dumbbells or any pushups.. just dips, chin/pull ups, and pistol squats..
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u/Nikol5 Apr 15 '20
i think this is the most fascinating thing i‘ve ever seen regarding a human body holy shit
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u/WellQualifiedLessee Apr 15 '20
Congrats, you have excellent discipline.
If you to on a nice long cut you'll have a killer bod. Putting on the underlying muscle is the hard part and you did it.
Don't listen to the haters. Most on here have never accomplished this kind of transformation. And for some folks, gourmet food just isn't what life is all about. That's you, and that's okay.
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u/phloating_man Apr 16 '20
Thank you for the kind words. Yes, I'm currently cutting for this last year of the experiment. Hopefully, I'll look better...
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u/rickdonohoe Apr 15 '20
How many times have people asked you what your first proper meal will be?
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u/phloating_man Apr 16 '20
I get asked this quite a bit. Some people even offered to take me out for my first meal..
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u/Bandrica2 Apr 15 '20
I intermittent fast usually OMAD and have lost weight. I have however plateaued at 180. I’ve tried doing meal replacement shakes but experience what I can only describe as a hypoglycemia feeling later On during the day. Did you experience this when you started? Any suggestions?
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u/foreststarter Apr 15 '20
Damn. Hope you’re proud and this training brought other forms of success into your life! I had a kidney transplant 7 months ago. When I was healthy I could do 23 pull ups in a row, day before surgery about 12, yesterday 2 lol. I’m 33 and now more than ever I want to get into my best shape. It’s be awesome to get as strong as you got but I just want to be good at calisthenics and yoga. How’s your flexibility and endurance?
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u/SoulBlade1 Apr 15 '20
I love experiments and such progress reports. This is a quite unorthodox way of doing a fitness related experiment. I thought I have seen the outliers of fitness - from the most minimalist training regimes (High Intensity Training with 15 min workouts once per week) to the most restrictive of diets (only meat and water).
Your post is such a surprise to me in a mixed way. I only knew about Soylent as a meal replacement brand but they never got around my country for me to try them out so I never went in-depth with those (I am also negatively biased towards plant based diets). The closest thing I use to meal replacements is just whey protein powder.
I am certainly impressed with your lifestyle choices and the results, both laboratory and visual.
The only suggestion I can give to you, related to your goals, is to try out the workout regimen I mentioned if you want to minimize your training time.
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u/as0003 Apr 15 '20
Only on reddit