This Bodybuilder Tried to Follow the ‘Military Diet’ for 72 Hours

The so-called Military Diet gained a significant amount of attention on the internet due to claims that it can help people lose 10 pounds in less than a week by following a highly restrictive meal plan for just three days. This particular diet has no affiliation with the Armed Forces, has reportedly never been used to help soldiers get lean for service, and it is almost immediately obvious that such extreme calorie restriction does not constitute a sustainable nutrition plan—but it remains a subject of curiosity.

Which is why YouTuber and bodybuilder Will Tennyson, known for subjecting his body to some pretty grueling physical challenges, decided to follow the Military Diet for the allotted three days. “It’s unbalanced, unsafe, and about to be tested by me,” he announces in his new video, forging ahead despite advice from a dietician that it will negatively affect his performance in the gym and any weight lost will come back.

On day one, Tennyson is limited to consuming just 1,400 calories (a number which will drop even lower on days two and three). Breakfast consists of a single slice of toast with peanut butter, half a grapefruit and black coffee. Lunch is half a cup of tuna, and another cup of black coffee. “Somehow, the meals are getting sadder,” he says. The third and final meal, which Tennyson believes “resembles a toddler’s lunch,” is 3 ounces of beef, a cup of green beans, an apple, and half a banana. The upside is that a cup of ice cream is also allowed, but it has to be vanilla.

“I am in a very bad mood right now,” says Tennyson at the end of day one. “Very snappy, I feel very agitated for no reason.”

On the second day, Tennyson can only eat 1,200 calories, which would usually equate to just one “good-sized meal” in his everyday life. For breakfast he has one fried egg, one slice of toast, half a banana, and more black coffee. He then heads to the gym for a workout which, in his words, “sucks,” as he has such low energy.

Lunch is a cup of cottage cheese and another egg with saltine crackers. “I feel like this has to be rock bottom,” he says. But he’s wrong, and the hunger soon gets so intense that he begins trying different methods to quell his cravings, including drinking apple cider vinegar and self-administered acupuncture techniques. “It didn’t work,” he reports. Dinner consists of two hot dogs, a cup of broccoli, half a cup of carrots, half a banana, and half a cup of vanilla ice cream.

For the third and final day, Tennyson’s calories are reduced again to just 1,100. For breakfast, he eats six saltines with grated cheese and an apple. “I’m pretty sure I’ve burnt more calories assembling and eating it than actually contained in the combined items,” he says. For lunch, he has another egg on toast, and then it’s time for the last meal: a cup of tuna, and another cup of vanilla ice cream.

The next day Tennyson weighs himself and learns he has dropped from 192 pounds to 185.5, a total loss of 6.5 pounds. “I feel like the suffering equaled out to the results,” he says. “But I would still never do that shit again.”

In conclusion? “This is what I like to call a fad diet, which means: find another diet.”