Caught on T-Nation that Dan John was going to run this V-diet (version 4.0) 15 years after doing it as v1.0. I did this back in 2011, so only 11 years ago for me - one of the first cyclic programs I attempted as I started tracking macros.
The first itineration only had a solid meal once a week; this 4.0 version lets one have a solid meal once daily.
The main points for 4.0:
1. Protein Pulses: You consume four fortified fat-burning protein-pulsing shakes daily as the core of the plan, one at breakfast, lunch, midday, and bedtime.
2. Healthy Solid Meal: You have a daily healthy whole-food evening meal.
3. Critical Supplements: You also take two other caffeine-free supplements; one that provides omega-3 fatty acids (Flameout) and an ingredient that inhibits fat storage (Micellar Curcumin). Superfood is optional and supplies whole-food extracts of berries, fruits, vegetables, and greens.
4. Cold-Water Pulses: You drink eight 8-ounce glasses of cold water to help the body function optimally for fat loss and muscle gain.
5. Power Walks and Activities: You go on one power walk a day and opt for a more physical life where ever possible (taking the stairs, parking farther away, packing groceries, etc.).
6. Mindful Eating: You’re taught mindful eating techniques that make your food taste better and reduce and eliminate cravings.
7. Recovery Sleep and Rest: You’re encouraged to sleep nine hours or longer each night for optimal hormone regulation and accelerated body-composition changes.
8 and 9 involve having them coach you (no exercise plan with this, there was one with 3.0) and keeping a dietary log.
I consumed protein (not the T-Nation product, just Costco Gold Isolate) 3x/day instead of 4x, which got me to an average of 250g/day, took vitamins, drank cold water but not on the clock, Rucked 6x/week in the AM (see below), got over 8 hours/day of sleep, did my own HT program by feel, and logged my diet. So I was much closer to following this program to the letter than I was in 2011 when what I did was really bastardized.
It broke down like this:
Duration:
Half of August and all of September, 6 weeks.
Exercise:
Ruck just about every weekday morning, weekends into Crunch for early AM lifts.
36 rucks, 6/week. Took a few hikes on the weekends: Day to Freeman Creek grove, Weekend to Forks of the Kern and a Weekend to end it to George Lake. The morning ruck started with about 30 water bottles in the ruck; after a while I stopped added bottles because they no longer fit in the pack. Finally weighed the pack in the final week: 65 lbs.
Lift was mostly all HT, with basic 40 for main lifts. Frequency was really high; 30 workouts in 6 weeks = 5x/week. Many days, these were PM on top of AM rucking.
During Sprintember, sprinted after AM ruck just about every third day - all simple 60 walkbacks in the street - 9 sessions, just over 2x/week.
Cals and Macros:
Ate an average of 2419 cals/day, with a mental stopping point of 2000/day. With an average of 809 cals/day for exercise, the total was 1610.
Breakdown was 35% fat, 22% carb and 43% protein, with an average of 257g protein/day, and 128g carbs. I've come a long way in my ability to keep with my macros.
I didn't do it to lose weight, or I would have eaten fewer calories per day (a true 2000/day prior to exercise subtractions, rather than 2400); this cycle was more of a recomp with really high training frequency, and a focus to keep my macros clean.
Measurements:
As you can see by the grid, measurements didn't really move all that much. One expects about .5" off the waist each week of this, and it moved 1.5" in the first 4 weeks. If I cut calories more, say, by 400/day true calories, it probably would have shrunk the waist size more. Everything else remained basically static.
I didn't take any befores or afters, but I can see that I did lose some subcutaneous fat, and gained some muscle to compensate - thus the static measurements. If I really wanted to cut fat and lose weight, I would
• Train more heavily and less frequently (4x week instead of 6x)
• Fewer calories/day (2000 true calories instead of 2419, no accounting for cals lost in exercise)
• Eat as cleanly as I did this cycle.
I usually end these recaps with what I'll do next (and then never do it). But I anticipate cycling this again in November after Squatober, and again in January (after Deadcember), and again in March (after a Pump City), and my hope would be to lose 4 or 5 lbs each round. 228 down to 224 down to 220 down to 215, and just alternate a power building 4 week cycle with a 4 week Velocity/Leangains cycle, until I'm about 210 or 10% body fat. Hold the body weight during the power cycles, and lose during the cuts.
Closing out this cycle with a hike to George lake, I was on the trail thinking about how I handled a pack and long pulls up slopes when I weighed 40 lbs less, and was doing math in my head about how to weigh 205 or so again. It's important, and I really should give it a try.
