1 week Ago By [email protected] (Liam McInerney)
A fitness influencer tried what he claimed to be the “world’s healthiest diet” to see how the human body would react. Will Tennyson, from Toronto, decided to do so after watching Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones on Netflix. He took particular inspiration from Okinawa, Japan, where some residents follow an all-natural diet .
And embarking on his journey, he told his subscribers: “For this grocery haul I only have one rule, it needs to be one ingredient; it has to be foods that come naturally from the earth.” The content creator consumed nothing but natural foods for seven days and was left surprised when he noticed three changes to his body concerning his energy, gut and skin. We've taken a look at how each day went and exactly what the results were.
Day One Arriving at Whole Foods, Will filled his basket with steaks, salmon, chicken breasts, beans, eggs, fruits, vegetables and nuts. However, looking for all natural snacks was difficult, as he said: “As I was looking for snacks, I started to wonder how often do I truly pay attention to what I’m eating? As society becomes growingly health conscious, food brands have become better at marketing their products as healthy eating. “There are so many options that look good at first glance that I probably pick, only to find they are filled with additives.
Literally nothing in this aisle that I can eat - I have been looking everywhere for a snack.” He added: “It is actually insane and really eye opening to be honest.” His breakfast on day one consisted of three eggs, tomato slices and half a Japanese sweet potato - a staple for the people of Okinawa.
His weight on day one was 198.2lbs and he was keen to track his energy, mood and skin for signs of improvement throughout the week. His lunch meanwhile was “delicious” – ground beef, cauliflower rice and vegetables.
However, later in the day, he encountered his first problem, and it was hunger. With a lack of snacks, other than fruit, he said he underestimated the challenge and was left overwhelmed. Dinner meanwhile was made up of steak, chipotle bowels, rice with black beans along with ingredients like peppers, onions and chopped up tomatoes.
Day Two Breakfast on his second day was Japanese sweet potato, salmon and three eggs. Will also went to the gym, only to realise he could not have his usual supplements, so had to stick to water. He also told viewers he was only eating until he was 80% full, and he said: “I feel light, I feel less sluggish and I feel a lot more sharp, kind of like the feeling when you fast, and I think that’s because you are not spending so much time digesting all of this unnecessary food so it feels really good.
” Determined to fix his snack dilemma, Will looked online for some inspiration, and ended up making an all natural baked almond butter banana. He said it was the closest thing he had to a protein bar and gave it a 9/10 rating. Later in the day, he said: “I don’t know if it is too early to say but I actually feel great right now.
From the moment I woke up to right now I have felt the same. I have had no energy dips, no brain fog, just feeling fantastic.” He said this was down to the high quality food making his appetite lower as opposed to being hungry all the time.
Dinner was made of a chicken breast, butternut squash and avocado. Reflecting on it, he said: “It is really starting to make me realise how many little things I add to all my meals that have a bunch of crap in it and it is very concerning, it is kind of scary.” Day three It was a mixed start to the day.
The pro was that Will said his gut was working and his trips to the bathroom were frequent and "phenomenal". However, he added that he struggled to sleep the night before, saying his head was pounding. He put this down to withdrawal from certain things.
Breakfast consisted of a massive grapefruit and he said he was thankful that coffee was natural, otherwise he would be in a “state”. Looking for another all natural snack, he made a carrot cake, but ended up leaving most of it, saying it was unappealing without the tastier ingredients. Day four He described feeling “extremely empty and light” and that it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, just not something he was used to.
Will noted his skin had a more even complexion and after going to the gym, he said he was no longer experiencing headaches and that he felt “really good”. Snacking was more of a success after making a chocolate avocado peanut butter pudding, giving it a 10/10. Deciding not to cook dinner, he and his wife went for an all natural meal at Freshii, which he said left a little to be desired.
Day Five The headache returned here, but he said it was not as bad as before. And on the plus side, he said: “Today is the first day where my mood is pretty good. The first couple days I was kind of snappy, and agitated, things were irritating me that wouldn’t normally, which is kind of concerning.
But I have no gas, I have no bloating.” However, during his home workout, he commented: “I looked at my physique in the mirror and I was shocked to my core. Something is not right.
I don’t feel as sharp as I usually am for me, I feel a little bit softer.” Not being able to explain why, he said: “I just don’t feel like my normal self - I don’t feel as tight and ready to go, whatever that means.” Being away from home later that day, he was left to find a snack at a petrol station, with the only all natural thing he could eat being a small $5 fruit pot containing some apple chunks and five grapes.
Day Six Will said he was mourning the loss of his usual breakfast snacks, things like sugar free syrup, rice cakes, greek yoghurts and eggwhites in a carton. He erased them from his diet because they were not all natural. Sighing, he explained how he was having red meat for breakfast again, describing his breakfast as a dinner, with ground beef, vegetables and potatoes.
Will also said he usually wakes up hungry but had not been having breakfast until 11.30am because of the challenge. He then said he was not hungry for the rest of the day.
He explained: “I feel like I am actually forcing food down and that is just because I think the meals are way more substantial with nutrients and especially fats. I am not used to having a very high fat meal in the morning." And in a telling part, he later said: “I really don’t know if I can maintain this lifestyle.
I am almost on the too intense side of the spectrum with the all natural stuff. I feel like the egg whites and greek yoghurts should be OK but I am just trying to take this extra seriously. “But I already know when this is done I am going to have to incorporate some stuff back in.
However, it has certainly opened my eyes and made me want to reduce some of the crap I have been eating - because it is kind of scary.” However, he joked that if he had a son he would one day need a "scholarship" after spending more money on health foods at the supermarket. For dinner that night, he had homemade turkey burgers, without the buns, homemade guacamole, onion, mushrooms and sweet potato fries.
Day 7 His diet remained the same on the final day - but he was left surprised by one thing. “I ended up losing roughly two and a half pounds this week which was kind of unexpected,” he said. Will added he could not sustain the diet long term and that it was “incredibly limiting” for him.
However, he said it made him determined to cut out certain unhealthy foods and ingredients, and he added: “It is pretty crazy the lengths I typically go to to find these like diet hack foods and making these massive volume meals to keep me full only for it to keep me hungry all the time. “The second I lowered the volume and focused on the better quality, not only was I fuller, but I also felt better, my energy was better, my gut felt good and I feel like my skin has a really good complexion now. “So it has been an overall pretty good and eye opening experience.
I think a lot of us forget that health is about feeling good inside and out and not only the out. So take care of yourself, be healthy, watch what you put in your body.” Conclusion Through bettering his diet, Will noticed three clear improvements, those being his energy, gut and skin.
And there is a strong correlation between these things and food. According to health experts from science and nutrition company Zoe, “looking after your gut health by eating gut-friendly foods can directly affect your energy levels”. Explaining this in more detail, Dr Will Bulsiewicz said: “The most basic and most essential function of our gut is the digestion of our food.
This includes the breakdown of ingested food, absorption of nutrients, and elimination of waste. When things are working properly, things are effortless and in rhythm.” But when this is not the case, fatigue becomes a noticeable symptom.
As for how you can improve gut health, Zoe recommends things like eating foods rich in probiotics, consuming food with prebiotic fiber (onions, garlic, mushrooms), eating 30 different plants each week and limiting ultra-processed foods. They added that quick energy boosting snacks can include carrots and hummus, apples and peanut butter, avocado and wholegrain bread and yoghurt and fruit. To watch Will's YouTube video in full , you can do so here.
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