'I tried eight diets in a year – one let me embrace life but one is absolutely stupid'
A man spent a whole year trying eight different diets to find which one is the best one – and he argues one was 'worst of them all' as it was too restrictive and no fun.
Gavin Wren spent 2024 documenting his journey on TikTok as he tried a variety of different eating habits throughout the year, tacklign a different one each month. He went on to post a summary of all the different eating regimens he experimented with in January 2025, along with a short description of what he thought of them.
Gavin began the year participating in Veganuary, where the goal is to follow a plant-based diet throughout the whole month of January. Proponents of a vegan diet often abstain from eating animal products for ethical reasons, but claim it can provide health benefits too, as long as followers are careful to ensure they are consuming enough essential nutrients through plants alone and supplement if necessary.
READ MORE: Consuming one drink can 'boost your risk of cancer' – and it's not fizzy drinks
READ MORE: 'I'm a spa manager - there's something you can do to your skin daily that beats Botox'
"Although I did take a little while to get my nutrition balance spot on, once I reached that, I felt great," he explained. "It's a good diet if you're thinking about your health long term."
In February he followed the rules set out by Slimming World, which prioritises home-cooked meals. He said while he enjoyed this way of eating, it didn't teach him anything about how to deal with food challenges 'in the real world'.
However, he seems to have preferred it to the next diet, which saw him solely live off Huel products for the month of March. Doctors generally advise against relying on meal replacement shakes as your primary source of nutrition, emphasising that a balanced diet with a variety of whole foods is preferable.
Gavin said the diet had its benefits but also its drawbacks. "I saved so much time. I didn't have to do any food planning or shopping or cooking, I just bought Huel and drank it," he said. "On the other hand, it slowly destroyed my love for food, and it's not something you'd ever want to live on."
The following diets were intermittent fasting for April, which involves cycling between periods of fasting and eating, and the paleo diet for May, which involves eating the diet of hunter-gatherers in the Palaeolithic era and avoiding processed foods.
While he enjoyed both diets at first, he didn't see himself continuing with them long-term. This was followed by one of his favourite diets – the Mediterranean diet, which include a mix of eating fruit, vegetables, beans and pulses, as well as lean proteins like chicken and fish.
"It was an entire philosophy about embracing life and food at the same time," he said. "Only downside is that you eat bread with every meal. And even though I loved bread, that was still quite a lot of bread."
He then resumed his regular diet in July before continuing in August with the low-carb diet, also known as the keto diet. He said that as he has an active lifestyle, carbohydrates are important for providing energy for the body. As he restricted his intake, he often found himself exhausted – and critics of the keto diet often claim it is unsustainable.
After another month off for October, Gavin continued in November with what he said was the worst diet – the Eddie Abew/carnivore diet, which only allows participants to eat meat, fish, and other animal foods like eggs and certain dairy products.
While he argued there were some benefits to the diet, including feeling good mentally and having improved mental clarity, he argued that it was the most mundane and restrictive diet out he'd tried that year, as it doesn't allow any fruit, vegetables, or starches, which can also lead to deficiencies and other health risks, Diabetes.co.uk reported.
"It's infinitely more restrictive than veganism is, not to mention the heart disease and cancer," he said. "It's a short-sighted approach to food, basically, for people who don't care about the long-term consequences of their diet."
In a second video he talked about his experience the carnivore diet, arguing that it's a diet for people who 'hate food'.
"I personally love food, therefore the carnivore diet is absolutely stupid, because I can't even eat [an orange]," Gavin said.
He then went on to reveal that the biggest challenge with the diet was that it prevented him to participate in a lot of social events. After going out for drinks and food with some friends, he felt left out as he felt as if he couldn't participate as much in the fun due to only being able to eat meat and drink water.
"[This] meant I was excluding myself for no other reason than some arbitrary rules in a stupid diet," Gavin said, who then decided to get off the diet in order to enjoy spending time with his friends.
The NHS urges everyone to speak to a doctor or a dietitian if you want to go on a diet. They also highlight the importance of eating a balanced diet, which include eating a wide variety of foods in the right proportions, and consuming the right amount of food and drink to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight. It is not recommended to try extreme diets.