Chances are a V Shred ad has popped up somewhere on your computer in the past few months. So, now you’re wondering is it worth it? Is it everything it says it is? I spent $47 on the Fat Loss Extreme For Her plan so that I could give you a thorough review on whether or not it’s worth it in 2023.
Spoiler: it’s not.
Based off the ads, I knew I wanted to review this program, but I had no idea just HOW popular it is. They have nearly 800,000 individuals in the women’s facebook group alone! That’s insane. Their estimated annual salary is over 25 million dollars – again, insane.
So if you’re reading this review, you’re probably considering investing the money – I mean in theory it sounds like a great deal. But, is it actually? Keep reading as I break down what the program is, why I don’t recommend it, why it remains so popular, and what I recommend instead.
What is V Shred?
V Shred is a fitness program that has multiple different workout plans and meal guides that are designed to help you achieve your fitness goals.
The company markets mainly through YouTube ads that feature Vince Sant co-founder of the company.As you can see, he’s also usually shirtless in most of the ads.
The program is designed to help you shed fat through simple fixes. It claims that if you follow the program you’ll easily be able to lose weight. They heavily rely on targeting pain points of the weight loss process in their ads, saying things like, “I know exactly how you feel.” And, mentioning how frustrating the weight loss process can be. They then emphasize how they can help you lose weight without feeling miserable.
P.S. If it sounds too good to be true, that’s because it is.
What the Fat Loss Extreme For Her Program Includes
For $47, you get a 90 day workout and meal plan designed to help you lose fat. When you click on it you’re taken to a landing page (that seems to go on forever) filled with statements like, “You’ve tried, you’ve failed – it’s not your fault.”
As well as a whole lot of talk about three secrets that will instantly make the weight loss process “super fast, simple, and easy.” If you’re wondering what the V Shred secret is…it’s to stop starving yourself, utilize carb cycling, and stop doing cardio and start doing HIIT.
So no, there’s no real big secret!
The program includes:
- 3 months of gym / at home workouts
- A web app to help you burn fat fast (not sure how a web app helps you burn fat fast…)
- How-to videos for each exercise
- A customized diet plan
- An easy-to-follow-calendar
- Fast & easy 15 min HIIT cardio workouts
- Access to a private facebook group
V Shred Workout Plan
So, once you purchase the plan, you’re able to log-in to their website and access the workouts and meal plan.For the workouts, it’s laid out in a monthly format and you click on the day and are either taken to a video of the workout (if you choose follow along workout) or a page with the exercises listed for the specific day (if you choose gym workout).
Personally, I found this format a bit annoying as having to click in on each individual day to see the exercises drove me a bit crazy. I was anticipating there being a PDF for those who prefer to see everything at once or for those who stay off their phone when working out.
But overall, the workouts are simple with exercises like high knees, side plank hip raises, rollover crunches,etc. Each workout starts with a simple 5 minute cardio warm-up and then includes 5 exercises you repeat 4-6 times for a total of 15 minutes.
V Shred Diet Plan
On your account page you also have the meal plan section. The first step is to figure out how many calories you should be eating based on super simple calculations that involve your age, weight, and height. Nothing else. For me it recommended to eat 1,700 – 1,899 calories a day. Honestly, this isn’t a bad amount and it’s good to see they’re not recommending a crazy low calorie diet. But again, it doesn’t take into account my activity level, body fat percentage, or anything else.
Next, they give you 10 different options each for breakfast, a morning snack, lunch, an afternoon snack and dinner (with recipes included). You then mix and match based on your calorie goals. There’s also no way to choose a specific diet (i.e. gluten free, vegan) but it does have a few plant based options for each meal. As you keep scrolling you’ll see a list of substitutions you can make for specific ingredients.
It also comes with sample meal plans you can follow for when the 90 days are up, which includes similar recipes and foods as to what’s included in the diet plan section above.
And there you have it, that’s the meal plan and the workout guide. As you can see it’s pretty simple. Okay, really simple. As in, you could find the same thing on Google for free.
Is V Shred Worth It?
Personally, I don’t think V Shred is worth it. At all. However, I also don’t think it’s a scam. It’s pretty much a bare bones, one size fits all, exercise and meal plan.
Can V Shred help you lose weight? Definitely! But it’s not a quick fix or an easy solution to a tough problem. The meals they recommend are healthy and the exercises are good for you – so if you follow them you will most likely lose some weight. So what’s the problem?
Exaggerated Advertising
There’s a big gap between what V Shred is advertising versus what you actually get. After you sign up for a program, you’re led to believe that you’re going to get in on some secret weight loss plan that will be easy to follow. You’re not. That’s just not how weight loss works!
But, he targets individuals who are desperate to lose weight and have failed previously, so when he says things like, “I understand just how you feel,” he makes it seem like he’s been there and has come out the other side. They also consistently frame the programs to sound like they’re being tailored to YOU. But, they’re not. They’re just generic diet and exercise plans.
They also throw out claims like jogging, treadmills, exercise bikes, and any form of “long, steady cardio is 100% ineffective.” Or that, carb cycling is a “Nuclear Bomb for rapid fat loss.” These sort of all-or-nothing phrases are, again, exaggerated. Steady cardio isn’t always ineffective and carb cycling isn’t going to change your life.
Demonizes Certain Foods & Exercises
Another problem I have with this program is that they demonize certain foods and exercises. They make cardio out to be the enemy and claim that you never have to do traditional cardio again. Most of the time the reason people hate cardio, isn’t because it sucks, but rather because they’re doing it in a way that they don’t enjoy.
Finding a way to enjoy cardio, rather than avoiding it at all costs is going to be much better for you in the long run! Whether it’s hiking, tennis, dancing, running, etc., cardio doesn’t always mean spending an hour on the elliptical.
They also make it seem like the only reason people would want to eat healthy and work out in the first place is to lose weight. Given it’s a weight loss program this makes sense, but it’s going to be much harder to stick with it in the long-term if that’s your mindset. And, based on who V Shred is targeting, it’s largely people who have had trouble losing weight in the past.
Their ads also mention salads as boring and bland and show Vince choosing to eat pizza instead. But, salads can great if you put the effort in and never once on the meal plan did I see pizza – just saying. Plus, they talk about avoiding cravings by writing them down and then allowing yourself a cheat meal every week. While this strategy may work for some, it’s much easier to just eat everything in moderation and not label certain meals as, “cheating.”
Constant Upsells
And, lastly, V Shred is hyper-fixated on upselling you. Whether it be getting you to work with a trainer 1:1, or getting you to order a custom meal plan, they are constantly trying to get you to invest more money.
I’ve read reviews on both the custom meal plans and personal trainers, and they’re overall, again not super personalized. But, I didn’t go either of those routes so I can’t say from firsthand experience.
They also have supplements that they are constantly trying to sell – they even have a free supplement guide to help you understand what exactly you need. Again, see the usage of “you” to make it seem personal? There’s bright colors and large text throughout the landing pages saying things like, “If you want to get in on this rare opportunity to get fit, lean and sexy, you need to act now.” Anyone else reminded of an early 2000s infomercial?
They’re constantly making it seem like you need to keep investing to have an even better chance at losing weight, but that’s just not the truth!
But Why is V Shred Popular?
V Shred relies heavily on their marketing strategy – a strategy that they’ve nailed down. Throughout the process of exploring their website they make you feel as if they are talking to YOU specifically. You take a quiz on your body type and then you’re brought to a video with Vince where he talks about YOUR body type and fitness goals and how his programs can help.
His marketing also relies heavily on demonizing things that people often find hard in the weight loss process (i.e. calorie counting, doing cardio, eating bland foods, etc.). He uses this tactic to show that weight loss can be enjoyable and easy, but only if you follow his program.
So why is it so successful if it has plenty of negative reviews? Well, V Shred’s marketing technique heavily relies on playing to his audience’s troubles and claiming he can easily fix their problems. The vast majority of his audience is people who have tried to lose weight in the past, found it too hard, and failed. But, often the biggest problem isn’t knowing what exercises to do or what to eat, but rather sticking to it.
And, this program is not going to help you do that. The only way that I see it being helpful by sticking to it is joining the Facebook group to get added to a community of people going through similar things. However, there’s Facebook groups out there like that for free!
So, What Can I Do Instead?
Instead of purchasing another plan that claims it has the secret to weight loss, I recommend asking yourself why you’re struggling in the first place. Is it lack of time? Not sure what exercises to do? Struggling with diet? Depending on what you’re struggling with, there’s plenty of free resources out there that are incredibly helpful.
YouTube is an amazing resource for workouts if you don’t know where to start, Mrandmrsmuscle, Caroline Girvan, and Blogilates are just a few examples of creators who have workout series you can follow each day.
And, The Real Food Dietitians has a bunch of great free meal plans if you’re struggling with diet. Or, you can use a more accurate calorie calculator to figure out your calorie needs and then create your own meal plan based around that. You can use food blogging sites, Instagram, YouTube, and more for recipe inspiration. P.S. you can find my round-up recipe series here if you’re looking for vegan recipes.
There’s also plenty of lifestyle factors that can impact weight loss, from stress to sleep to hormones, so if you feel like you’re doing everything right, but still struggling, I highly recommend consulting a doctor.
And most importantly, I recommend looking at eating healthier and working out as a lifestyle change that will benefit you in the long-term, not a quick fix!
P.S. You can download my free meal planner bundle below 🙂
Free Meal Planning Bundle
Get a free meal planning bundle to plan out your weekly meal prep, grocery trip, and more.
Hopefully this review helped you understand whether or not the program is worth it for you! And, let me know below if you’ve tried V Shred and what you thought of the experience.
