This content explores an extreme 30-day diet consisting of only chicken breast, potatoes, broccoli, and carrots (CPB diet) to test its effectiveness in rapid fat loss and resetting unhealthy eating habits, contrasting it with traditional calorie-counting methods.
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This is the simplest diet where you can
eat like a buffet every meal. No calorie
tracking, just crazy fat loss results.
But that's just my theory. These four
foods were scientifically selected to
maximize fullness, calorie burn, and
rewire your unhealthy habits. And over
the next 30 days, we're testing if this
can actually beat every other diet on
the market or if it ends up completely backfiring.
backfiring.
>> I'm just not seeing like a huge difference.
difference.
>> I've just had enough. This is Max, a
personal trainer and train conductor.
And according to his DEXA scan, he's
pretty jacked with a body fat of 19%.
And our female subject, Isabelle, is a
legree coach. I personally never tried
it before, but it does look pretty
impressive. And her body fat is 31%.
Which is actually far better than the US
average. So, both of them are already
pretty fit, but they do want to lose
some of their stubborn fat and tighten
up. And they've already tried the usual
ways of dieting. I think just with the
tracking is something that I kind of
struggle with mostly with just having a
busier schedule. I don't always take the
time to kind of, you know, weigh
everything out. And yeah,
>> and for Max, even though his workout
routine is actually pretty solid, he has
some interesting diet habits.
>> Well, usually I wake up, I go to the gym
fasted, and I I hit up a buffet. Usually
like a sushi buffet or I go to gooie,
which is like you grill meat, or I go to
hot pot. Maybe like two or three times a week.
week.
>> A week?
>> Yeah. I I I just love eating.
>> But he'd eat until he was sick to the
point where it would negatively affect
his sleep. And it's a habit that he
really wanted to break. Luckily, if my
science checks out, then this diet won't
just help him lose fat with unlimited
food and without counting a single
calorie, but it should also
psychologically reset their brain to
eliminate hunger, cravings, and
unhealthy food habits. Now, we'll see if
that actually ends up happening. But the
diet they've been waiting for is So,
>> Oh. Ooh, my favorite. But, uh, you're
going to have to put the cover back on. >> Huh?
>> Huh?
>> What? Unfortunately,
the fun ends here. What?
>> This is the last day. What? What? that
you're going to be able to eat those
because for the next 30 days, you are
only going to be eating this. >> What?
>> What? >> Potatoes.
>> Oh my goodness.
>> It's a buffet. It's an all you can eat buffet.
buffet.
>> I call it the CPB diet and it's pretty
simple. Just three rules. One, you only
eat chicken breast, potatoes, broccoli,
and carrots, but you can eat as much of
these as you want. Two, you also get
olive oil, but you're limited to one
tablespoon per meal. And third, there
are no liquid calories, diet sodas, or
artificial sweeteners.
>> I think I can do it, but it's going to
be kind of sad. I love eating avocados
and chicken for breakfast will be weird.
>> I should have went to a buffet yesterday
before I came in today.
>> And to help them stick to the diet, I'm
actually going to reward Isabelle with a
professional photo shoot for her new
website after the 30-day challenge.
Cool. Wow.
>> But the catch is the photos that we
take, you have to use it on your website.
website. >> What?
>> What?
>> So, and Max, if you can stick to it, we
are going to get you 10 fully
compensated buffets of your choice.
>> Okay, let's go.
>> All right.
>> Now, the theory behind this boring diet
is simple. It's a short reset that's
supposed to change how food feels to
you, so you stop chasing food for
pleasure. Plus, each food is
scientifically chosen to keep you really
full. So, while you can eat as much as
you want, your brain just doesn't want
to. And these effects should get more
and more powerful every week if they can
stick to it.
>> I meal prepped some food for breakfast.
I'm going to have some shredded chicken
with some carrots and some mashed
potatoes. Hopefully, this is kind of
like an easier breakfast to eat. I don't
know. Just a lot of thoughts like I can
do it and then you're thinking that you
can't but a lot of potatoes and chicken.
Yeah. As expected, Max and Isabelle are
already struggling early on with strong
cravings for their usual foods, but that
should slowly subside if they're able to
make it through the most difficult first week.
Chicken for breakfast. It just I don't
know. It just makes me feel very
trapped. I'm not someone who really
likes to eat a lot of meat and I just
really want to make sure that I get
enough protein in. I noticed that I was
starting to lose my appetite every time
I did get hungry because I knew what I
had to eat.
>> Think about a buffet. Even when you're
stuffed, you can always make room for
something new. New taste, they light up
your brain's reward system, which is why
you end up eating way past what your
body actually needs. But when you keep
foods simple and you stop constantly
switching things up, that reward system,
it doesn't get triggered as much. As a
result, people naturally eat about 20 to
30% fewer calories. They lose more fat
and they keep it off more easily. And
this effect, it actually gets stronger
over time. In fact, in one study, people
eating the same mac and cheese every
single day ended up eating about 100
fewer calories less per meal by the end
of the week just because it became less
exciting. That's why pretty much every
lean fit person I know, they tend to
stick to very similar go-to meals every
single day. This experiment, however, it
takes that idea to the extreme.
>> Every time I think about food, it just
images of a potato just pop in my head.
Like potato, like I would be at work,
I'd be thinking about what I'm going to
eat. That's all like just potatoes. like
just images of potatoes just constantly
just popping out in my head every time
I'm hungry.
>> Now, there is some pretty crazy science
behind Max's favorite food, potatoes.
So, back in 1995, a team of researchers
wanted to figure out what foods keep you
the fullest for longest. So, they gave
participants 240 calorie portions of 38
different foods. And then they tracked
how full they felt over the next 2
hours. They then compared everything to
plain white bread, which was set at a
fullness score of 100. Here is how all
the food scored. Potatoes absolutely
crushed the rankings and for the same
calories were three times more filling
than white bread and eight times more
filling than Isabelle's favorite treat,
croissants. But here's the catch.
Preparation matters. If you fry them,
that advantage almost completely
disappears. Which is why we limited each
meal to just one tablespoon of olive
oil. And to boost the crazy effect of
potatoes, that's where broccoli,
carrots, and chicken breasts come in.
Fiber richch vegetables and le protein,
they not only add a ton of volume and
fullness for very few calories, but they
also take more time and energy to
digest. So, your body burns more
calories processing them. But the most
powerful effects of this diet, they're
not really going to kick in until after
the first week once their brain's food
reward system starts to reset. The hard
part is getting there. We can finally
stop eating dry chicken. So, my friend
let me his sousvid. This is my first
time using it. We got the water to 62°.
And we will have these cooked in about
an hour and a half or so. Made some
chicken waffles because she was tired of
eating regular chicken. M.
M.
>> You said m before. >> Good.
>> Good.
>> It's good. >> Mhm.
>> Mhm.
>> Now, at this rate, by the end of 30
days, they're both going to have a PhD
in cooking chicken and potatoes. But
what's really interesting is they've
both been weighing themselves every
morning and logging it into my Built
with Science Plus app. And based on
their weight trends, accounting for the
initial water weight drop, the app can
actually estimate how many calories
they've been eating, even though they
haven't tracked a single calorie. And
according to those estimates, Max was
only eating about 1,800 calories per
day, while Isabelle was closer to 1300.
But here's the crazy part. Neither of
them have complained once about being
hungry. In fact, it's been the opposite.
They've actually struggled to eat
enough. And with week one coming to an
end, they're finally starting to feel
some of the positive effects of the diet.
diet.
>> I feel a lot better. I feel like I've
kind of settled down all my emotions,
and I'm focused now. I have mental
clarity, good energy, consistent energy,
and no crashes throughout the day.
>> I have mentally accepted this challenge.
Initially, I was honestly very
frustrated and irritated because like I
said, I had no idea what to expect for
this experiment. My body, I think on a
physical level, has also started to
accept this diet.
>> Now, as for the physical results, after
just one week, both of their bodies had
visually tightened up and their
measurements revealed some pretty insane
changes. It's down over 3 cm. Well, I
did lose like what a bit like 5 lbs or
something. Holy.
Or something like that. What do you mean
something like that? 5 lbs is crazy for
a week. Isabelle is also down 1.5 cm on
the waist. >> Okay.
>> Okay.
>> Which is good.
>> Which is crazy. Um
>> the chicken.
>> I've been tracking my weight. I feel
like it's not consistently going down,
but it's um it's like up a pound, down a
pound, up a pound, down 2 lb. Like it's
just like fluctuates every day. And
girls are have learned the weight scale
is uh time of the month and everything,
but your waist definitely went down.
Now, even though they've seen some fast
results, the goal of this experiment
isn't to have them eat this extreme diet
forever. It's to reset how their brain
responds to food and then gradually move
towards a more flexible approach that
they can actually stick to long term. In
fact, later on, I'll show you how
applying just a fraction of this diet
can make your fat loss way easier. And
since Isabelle absolutely cannot handle
another day of chicken for breakfast,
I'm letting them add in three different
protein options. But there's a catch.
>> Oh
>> yeah, that would have helped a lot. We
have eggs, we have Greek yogurt, and we
have protein powder.
>> Think I'll do eggs
>> next. I don't need it. I think I'm just
going to keep going. I'm seeing good
results with what I got. And then I'm
really curious about what's going to
happen in 30 days.
>> I admire your choice. I am a little
scared for you, but
>> keep going.
>> I I believe in you.
>> And just like that, the experiment now
takes two very different paths. Isabelle
adds eggs while Max decides to push the
original diet even further. But what's
perhaps the hardest part about this diet
is what they've been missing out on,
especially since this video was filmed
during the holidays.
>> I've been feeling a lot of FOMO lately,
so the fear of missing out here. Um, I
was invited to a potluck, a birthday
potluck social, and me and my wife
couldn't go. I went to this grand
opening of my friend's bakery, Isaac's
Bakery, um, baking factory. So, I went
and then I realized I couldn't even
sample anything. I can't even try it.
Uh, just a lot of missing out on stuff.
We had family lunch today and I also
missed out on that cuz would almost be
no point of me going and just watching
them eat, right? Oh, for dinner. What do
you got?
>> Broccoli. Yum.
>> Luckily, Max has found some other ways
to stay busy.
>> I've replaced that with drinking tea,
reading books, and planning some sort of
activity with my friends that doesn't
revolve around eating. That helped me
eliminate that bad habit and replaced it
with um good habits.
>> Now, this is actually one of the biggest
benefits of this diet. Most people don't
realize how many decisions they make
around food every single day. Where to
eat, what to order, how much to have, it
can get draining. But when you repeat
the same three or four meals, the
decision is already made for you. And
that leaves more mental energy and
willpower for everything else. Resisting
junk food at night, focusing on work,
and crushing your workouts, which are
especially important here. Because if
Max and Isabelle continue losing weight
this quickly without proper training, a
lot of that weight loss is going to be
from muscle rather than fat. Which is
why I've given both of them access to
our Built with Science Plus app to help
guide them with their workouts every
single week. And after 2 weeks, neither
Max nor Isabelle has broken the diet.
And Max is down another 3 cm off his
waist. It's honestly one of the fastest
waist reductions I've ever seen. What
about cravings at this point? No, like
maybe here and there if I start chatting
about it, but then it goes away after.
>> How have the cravings changed since day one?
one?
>> It's changed a lot. Like I haven't been
really craving too much things. Like
it's kind of been a habit now that I
wake up, go to the gym, that's the first
thing I do. >> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> And then when I do feel hungry, I eat my
chicken and potatoes that I've prepared
and then there's no craving. So, it's
really weird how it's just like become a
habit and that that's all I ate. It's
really weird.
>> Last time you were at 71 cm and she's
down she's down to 70 cm. >> Okay.
>> Okay.
>> I don't think you realize a centimeter a
week is like
>> that's a lot. Plus, for this week, we're
going to add some special ingredients to
Isabelle's diet.
>> Oh, I'm very excited.
>> Orange, tomato, avocado, Greek yogurt,
and bok choy.
>> I find it so weird though. She's so
excited for this.
>> Oh my gosh,
>> I love it. >> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> And these additions weren't chosen
randomly. These foods not only provide
more nutrients and color, but oranges
ranked as the most filling fruit in the
satiety study from earlier. Whereas bok
choy is extremely low calorie and one of
Isabelle's favorites. And Greek yogurt
just gives her another lean protein
option to mix things up. The only thing
though for the fats, you know how you've
been limited to just like one tablespoon
of olive oil? It's going to be half an avocado.
avocado.
>> Okay? So you had to choose like
tablespoon or half an hour.
>> Oh, got it. Okay.
>> But that's not it. We're also adding one
treat meal per week. In the research
world, this is called a planned hydonic
deviation. Basically, a deliberate
temporary break from your normal
routine. And it can help keep your
social life intact and give you a mental
and physical boost. And research
suggests this actually leads to better
long-term results compared to staying
strict every single day. You've been
working so hard that I think you deserve
something other than chicken and potatoes.
potatoes.
But I'm curious, after weeks of eating
the same healthy foods, how would their
bodies react? And could this actually
trigger their cravings instead of
suppress them? I think it would make it
harder cuz it would distract you from
your habits because then you'd be like,
"Oh, this is so good. Let's just why not
get another day of this?"
>> I definitely thought it would spike like
more cravings. So, I was a little
worried to have it. But honestly, I feel
totally fine. I feel like it's been easy
just to kind of get back into routine
again today.
>> And since Max declined my offer to add
more ingredients last time, I'm going to
try again and offer him the exact same
things I gave to Isabelle. Plus, under
here, I have four more food ingredients
that you can add into your diet. Oh,
>> okay. I think that would help.
But I don't know. I've already committed
to that, right? So, I've already put in
so much effort into maintaining that and
I've already had a treat meal that I
think I almost got to keep going. I'm
pretty committed.
>> So, no more treat meals for Max. He is
officially sticking to the strict diet
for the rest of the experiment. And
while I do respect his decision, there
is a serious problem he's overlooking. I
plugged in your current diet into our
science app. I looked at the
micronutrients and these are the big
ones that you're not getting enough of.
It would be a good idea to how to start
supplementing with these. I am rooting
for you.
>> Yeah, I honestly was not expecting this.
On the other hand, Isabelle has been
enjoying her new foods, and her weight
has continued to trend down. But there
is one challenge she's dealing with that
Max honestly just can't relate to, her
menstrual cycle. So during this time of
month, hunger and cravings can ramp up,
which can make consistency harder. And
you often hear that women need to
completely change their diets or
workouts around this time. But there's
actually no strong evidence supporting
these changes. Instead, the research
suggests keeping the overall structure
the same and instead just listening to
your body. So for Isabelle, that just
meant making small adjustments without
breaking the plan. And for her, this
meant increasing her meal volume by
adding some more potatoes and managing
her cravings with simple things like tea
or gum. But while Isabelle was handling
that like a champ, Max just might have
hit his breaking point.
>> I just can't take this anymore. Just
this chicken breast and potato diet, I
just had enough. I got to the gym
yesterday. I just laid on the mat for a
solid 15 minutes. It's mostly the
thoughts. Every time I stop and think
about something, I spiral down this deep
hole. Am I making progress? Am I getting
leaner? I don't know.
I can't really tell. I think I am.
People are saying you're getting
smaller, but then you're like, I'm
getting smaller. That's not good.
>> Max has been losing weight at nearly
double the rate that I'd usually
recommend. So, muscle loss was my
biggest concern. Luckily, research
suggests that as long as your diet is
short, protein stays high, and you're
training hard using a solid program,
that you should be able to maintain your
muscle, even with rapid weight loss. But
whether or not that would actually hold
true here, I honestly didn't know. And
since losing muscle was Max's biggest
fear going into this, I'm honestly a
little nervous what to expect in their
final scans. All right, everybody. I
just finished my last workout, and we're
going to demolish our last couple
chicken breasts before the DEXA scan.
And we are done. We are done with this
challenge. Here's some progress. The
last little push here.
Just get that little push.
I'm actually finding the last few days
quite challenging to be honest. Mostly
because I am also in the end part of my
cycle, which tends to make me feel more
bloated, more puffy. Feeling like I'm
comparing that versus day one. I'm just
not seeing like a huge difference.
>> Okay, so I have your Dexus scan results.
Well, first off, before I show you the
Dexus Scan results, what's the first
thing that you're gonna eat after this?
I think I'll have a steak and a fruit
cuz I haven't had fruit in a very long
time. What about you? Some eggs.
>> Some blueberry pancakes.
>> Blueberry pancakes. That's when Sounds
like you had that plan for a while. >> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> Isabelle, in the last 30 days, you lost
5 lbs of fat. Oh, okay.
>> And your body fat went from 31% down to 28%.
28%.
>> And you gained about half a pound of
lean mass.
>> Oh, really?
>> Which means you built some muscle >> Oh.
>> Oh.
>> in the process as well. Like that's
crazy. I don't think you you realize for
30 days, especially uh for a woman at
your at your body weight body size, like
that's a huge change. Typically, we see
maybe 1% or a 2% drop in in body fat
percentage per month. So, the fact that
you got a 3% drop plus built muscle plus
lost 5 lbs of fat.
>> No, with that, that's really cool.
>> That's amazing.
>> In the last 30 days, you lost
14 lbs of fat.
>> Wow. Wo.
>> Wo. That's lb of fat.
>> Of fat. >> Wow.
>> Wow.
>> In 30 days.
>> That's crazy. What?
>> That is insane. >> Yeah,
>> Yeah,
>> that's not even something I recommend,
but you did it. Holy crap.
>> That's crazy.
>> And your muscle stayed the same.
>> Oh, wow. >> Wow.
>> Wow.
>> That's awesome.
>> Based on the scans, it doesn't seem like
you lost any muscle.
>> Wow. Now, your body fat percentage, you
started at 19.3%
and today you were at 12.9%. Wo,
Wo,
>> I didn't expect that.
>> Wow. How did
>> Dude, it's your special diet. >> 12.9%.
>> 12.9%.
>> You've discovered something.
>> That's insane.
>> This is a breakthrough in science.
>> No, I don't think you realize 14 lbs of
fat and going from 19 to 12.9 in 30
days. In 30 days. I didn't I honestly
did not think that was possible.
>> I don't think that was possible either.
Now, to be honest, I was very worried
about giving him buffets as a prize
after such an extreme challenge with the
worry that he'd just gain all the weight
back. But he actually decided to treat
his friends and family, making up for
the moments he missed during the
challenge. My sleep was actually better.
I felt like I was sleeping more and
having better quality sleep.
>> I felt really proud after hearing my
Dexter results just because
I mean I can't compare my progress to
Max because obviously a guy versus a
girl like it's so different just
everything. So comparing to where I was
before to now, I feel really proud of
like losing 5 lbs of fat and I've never
been on like a weight loss journey or
tried to, you know, intentionally lose
like weight.
>> And the good news is even if you apply
some of the basic principles from this
experiment, it can still get you really
solid results. But for me personally,
I'm planning to give the full diet a
shot during my next fat loss phase.
Which is why we've created two free
30-day guides. CPB Strict, which follows
Max's diet and CPB Flex, which gradually
adds flexibility every week. And to get
them for free, all you have to do is
start a free 2e trial of our Built with
Science Plus app. The app is going to
create personalized workouts for you and
also lets you track your daily weight.
And if you opt into our experiment,
you're going to help us test how these
diets compare against normal calorie
counting using anonymous data. You can
sign up using the link in the
description box down below or by
scanning this QR code. And as soon as
you do, you're going to get your guide
instantly emailed for you to keep
forever. And you can check out this
video next if you want a longer
sustainable plan that took the mesh from
this to this. Thanks so much. I'll see
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