V Shred Fat Loss Extreme Program: Does It Work? (Review)

Whether you fell into the college 15 abyss, pigged out at one too many fast food joints, or lost your foothold on your previous training program, you’re in the same “club.”

Like 49.3% of all American adults, you want to see that number on the scale plummet.

Maybe you’re “cutting” for a summer cruise (low-hanging beer bellies and shorts aren’t exactly a confidence-booster). Or you want to reveal 12 months of mass gains by shredding fat quickly.

Either way, you heard about the V Shred Fat Loss Extreme Program (for Him) and wondered, “Twenty to fifty pounds of weight loss sounds great. But does it work?”

Let’s find out!

About the Creator – V Shred

V Shred is largely nameless, not like Athlean-X, where Jeff Cavaliere never forgets to drop his own name! For the curious, Vince Sant is a V Shred co-founder (and the face in its videos!).

Now, our first bone to pick is a lofty claim that V Shred is the fastest growing fitness, supplement, and nutrition brand in the world. If this was true, it’s likely outdated now (the at-home fitness trend sent competing brands like Peloton, Mirror, and Fringesport surging).

V Shred has three company goals:

1. To create loyal fans, owing credit to its extensive product line-up and support network
2. To turn normally hellish and frustrating routines into fun lifestyle changes
3. To provide factual fitness and nutritional information that us normies can relate to

The V Shred world revolves around a “minimum effective” concept. In other words, you won’t spend hours in the gym brutalizing your body or have to starve yourself at dinner to drop ten pounds by spring break (you’ll do the bare minimum to produce results; nothing more).

Given this anti-bodybuilder mindset, V Shred is only the latest fitness-related viral trend. Its digital inner circle now includes one million Instagram followers, 8.5 million Facebook likes, and over 2.2 million YouTube subscribers (nearly tripling since 2018).

What is the V Shred Fat Loss Extreme Program?

The V Shred Fat Loss Extreme Program is — wait for it — an extreme fat loss program for guys (there’s a ladies version too) hoping to drop 20-50 pounds in the next 90 days.

This 100% digital 12-week program promises to torch fat at beastly levels, whether your gym membership is a few hours old or you’re a frequent flyer at your local Gold’s. V Shred co-founder, Vince Sant, guarantees results, attaching a money-back guarantee to his Fat Loss Extreme Program.

But if you’re still on the fence about clicking “Add to Cart,” here’s a quick glimpse:

• Workouts last no longer than 45 minutes.
• The coveted “Afterburn Effect” encourages fat loss 24/7, not just on the treadmill.
• It infuses a diet plan, classic weightlifting, supplements, and HIIT.
• The meal plan has a $50 weekly cap.
• The entire plan is designed with variety to combat boredom

The ultimate promise of 20-50 pounds of pure fat loss sounds a bit, well, extreme. If you’re tired of the gimmicks, the next section will describe this V Shred program from top to bottom (and answer the question: is this promise realistic?).

V Shred Fat Loss Extreme Details & Features

The V Shred Fat Loss Extreme Program isn’t perfect, and there’s certainly room for improvement (you’ll see why in a moment). That said, the V Shred portal is one of the easiest to navigate!

Let’s jump in; here’s everything you need to know about Fat Loss Extreme:

Step 1: Private Facebook Group

When you enter the V Shred Fat Loss Extreme portal, you’ll see a video at the top (featuring none other than Vince Sant) explaining how the program works. His first suggestion — and step one — seems a little brazen: join the private Facebook group!

Now, if a Facebook group with 216,000+ members is nightmare fuel (notifications galore, lost posts, etc.), understand that this step won’t make or break your 40-pound fat shred.

But while entirely optional, it does have its perks, like:

• A community-style support system (ask questions, receive answers, see results)
• Five “Lives” each week, featuring a V Shred trainer offering advice
• Regularly held contests, discounts, and exclusive deals
• Sixty-ish posts per day (it’s not too much to sift through)

The group does lay a few ground rules, however. If you were planning to share non-training memes or discuss politics, you’d probably get the boot.

There’s also a disclaimer suggesting that anything you post in the group is fair game for V Shred. If you aren’t comfortable with your results, comments, or testimonials landing on the V Shred website or a digital advertisement, don’t post it!

Step 2: 90 Day Diet Plan

No amount of treadmill sprints, meandering five-mile runs, or medicine ball slams makes a difference if you’re not fueling your body for weight loss. In Vince Sant’s own words, this is the most important part of the entire Fat Loss Extreme Program.

In step two, you’ll find two buttons:

Create Your 90 Day Diet Plan

The Create Your 90 Day Diet Plan section is your full nutritional guide for the next 90 days.

It begins with a “calorie calculator,” though, in this case, the calculator is you (unlike the real one you get with Superhero X12). You’ll find your height, weight, and age on a chart — each one has an assigned number, 0 through 4 — and total them up.

At the bottom of the chart, you’ll take this number to find your daily recommended calories.

For example, if you’re 21-years-old, weigh 200 pounds, and stand at 6-feet tall, you’ll stay within the 2,400 to 2,699-calorie sweet spot.

This one’s a blaring red flag two-fer, and yes, we’re thinking the same thing:

1. This calorie “calculator” doesn’t seem scientific at all, especially in a plan that guarantees weight loss. If you want a more accurate calorie estimation for weight loss, you’re better off using this Body Weight Planner by the NIH.
2. Another thing you’ll notice early on is that macronutrients don’t seem to matter. That’s a trend that sticks through the entire program (well, at least during the 90 days). There’s no reference to carbs, proteins, or fats at all during this V Shred program, which is half of a healthy diet (calories being the other half).

The Weekly Menu

The weekly menu section looks incredible (at least from a first glance perspective). It breaks all food selections down into five meals and includes ten options for each, like:

• Breakfast (Grilled Avo & Eggs)
• Mid-morning Snack (Strawberry Greens Smoothie)
• Lunch (Chicken and Avocado Burrito)
• Mid-afternoon Snack (Matcha Bliss Bites)
• Dinner (Turkey and Zucchini Meatballs)

If the phrase “matcha bliss bites” gets those taste buds tingling, you can click on it to open the recipe. There, you’ll find the exact ingredients needed (including measurements), a step-by-step guide explaining how to make it, and the nutritional information per serving.

There’s even a week-long sample menu if decision-making isn’t your forte.

However, this is where the convenience fizzles out suddenly. Since you have a specific calorie range in mind, planning out a day’s worth of meals is more a puzzle than anything.

You’ll have to mix and match meals and hope they land in your calorie range. If they don’t, there isn’t much guidance in how to make up the gap (are extra snacks or servings okay?).

A huge missed opportunity.

Food Substitutions

About half-way through this section, you’ll find a food substitutions tab offering quite useful tips.

On top of clarifying what counts as a serving for vegetables, carbs, healthy fats, and more (ex: 1 cup of kale, eight large asparagus spears), you also have the freedom to customize your dishes. Swap in chickpeas for lentils if you want to spice up the dishes (especially by the 90-day mark).

It’s also a life-saver (literally, maybe) if you’re allergic to certain ingredients or traveling.

The one sticking point is that this section is supposedly color-coordinated, but all substitutions have a blue bullet point next to them (is that the color-coding?).

Other Things You’ll Find In This Module

This must-have guide closes out with a few finishing touches.

It mentions which type of cookware you need to bring these dishes to life. Hopefully, you have a well-stocked kitchen because you need rice cookers, wooden spoons, the whole nine yards!

There’s also a brief meal prep section if you want to cut your cooking times in half, along with some tips on how to meal prep like the pros.

Then, there’s a supplement section; since there’s a standalone supplement section too, this seems like overkill. It recommends a handful of supplements, with the recommendations phrased somewhat oddly (for the HGH booster, it says a deficiency can make you bald and overweight).

Suggesting its benefits in relation to your fat-burning goal might convince you to try it more than sparking fear. It has this “use XYZ or else” vibe to it, which isn’t the best approach for newbies.

At the end of the guide, you’ll find 11 Frequently Asked Questions about everything from the importance of breakfast to whether protein shakes are on the menu (nope).

Get Your Supplements

The push for supplements only continues into the Get Your Supplements section, opening up a new page dubbed “Supplement Guide For Men.”

On this page, V Shred divides its supplements into multiple lingo-free categories that beginners can easily understand (ex: weight loss, muscle building, etc.). Unfortunately, this section takes a nosedive when you realize it’s almost purely promotional.

Each supplement features a several paragraph description, a video of Vince explaining its benefits, and a black box describing the dosage for healthy adults.

Oddly enough, everything circles back to this particular product (a SculptNation product), taking the focus off the supplement as a whole (ex: creatine, in general). Backing each description with studies and slashing the sales pitch would’ve been more convincing to true noobs.

But if you’re wondering which supplements are on the list, here’s a taste:

• Creatine
• Fat loss and muscle building stacks
• BCAAs
• HGH Boost

The good news is that Vince Sant attaches the money-back guarantee (30 days, in this case) to the supplement purchases too. However, don’t feel pressured to buy from V Shred; you can buy supplements almost anywhere like Amazon (and with a likely lower price tag).

Step 3: Choose Workout

By the time you reach step three, you’ll be in your glory; it’s finally time to pack your gym bag, load the barbell, and crank up the treadmill speed.

For the most part, the workouts follow a few themes: upper, lower, HIIT (high-intensity interval training), and circuit training.

No matter which of the following two workout options you follow (you can bounce back and forth at your leisure), you’ll find three blank calendars. Click on one of the blank boxes to see your workout for the day!

Follow Along Workouts

The Follow Along Workouts are exactly as they sound. Over the course of 19-ish minute videos, Vince Sant will walk you through at-home workouts that require very little equipment (if any).

The home workout trend is circuit training that looks a little something like this:

• Three circuits
• Three exercises per circuit
• 20 seconds of continuous exercise for every circuit
• One minute of rest between circuits

These workouts fit into your routine nicely if you can’t make it to the gym or only have 20 minutes to spare after work. But just because they’re mostly bodyweight exercises, don’t assume they’re any less intense; you’ll sweat up a storm and feel the muscle aches come morning!

Note: When you click on a calendar box, it’ll automatically open the video in full-screen. You can exit that mode by clicking Escape on your keyboard.

Gym Workout

The Gym Workout section is the more traditional route if you have a gym membership (or even a ritzier, fully stocked home gym in your garage).

All workouts start off with a five-minute cardio session of your choice as a warm-up. Generally, your weekly workout schedule will look something like this:

• Upper body & HIIT
• Lower body & abs
• HIIT
• Rest
• Circuit training #1
• Circuit training #2
• Rest

As is the V Shred promise, the workouts aren’t too time-consuming or joint-busting, making them a good fit for any amount of past training experience.

What to Expect

Most weighted exercises sit nicely in the 4 set, 8-12 rep range and focus on exercises you already do (ex: dumbbell curl, barbell squats, barbell bench press, dumbbell reverse lunges, etc.). You’ll also notice about three supersets per workout, so prepare yourself for a little damage!

For bodyweight exercises, some favorites include burpees, pulse lunges, and mountain climbers.

If you discover an exercise that’s new to you, feel free to click on it to open a pop-up window. There, you’ll find a walkthrough video and step-by-step instructions explaining how to do it.

The one downside of this portal is that you can’t log your weight, reps, or sets for each exercise. This only complicates progressive overload tracking; it looks like you have to still carry a notebook and pencil into the gym if you want to see strength gains in numbers.

The only thing you can log is that you’ve completed the workout.

“Legacy” Workouts

If you’re a V Shred veteran, the “Legacy Workouts” section will give you a taste for the old-school training plan. This will revamp the calendar to include more exercises per workout, drop the sets down to three per exercise, and infuse more exercise variety (ex: chin-ups, rope extensions).

Selecting the legacy workouts revamp is purely optional but can add more pizazz to your workouts if you’re always looking for something fresh.

Supplemental Workouts

A few times a week, you’ll discover a HIIT session to close out an otherwise standard workout (weightlifting, to be exact). But once the classic 20/20 running HIIT session becomes boring, you can swap in a supplemental workout.

V Shred offers more than a dozen to choose from, like:

• Switch jump lunges (10 per side, rest for 20 seconds)
• Battle rope
• 40-yard sprints
• Treadmill running

All HIIT sessions are 15 minutes apiece, meaning there are no shortcuts here! But if you’re coming off a grueling leg day, a battle rope or rainbow ball-slam HIIT workout could be better choices (giving your still-recovering muscles time to repair).

V Shred does allow you to click on the workouts, but it only enlarges a picture.

Can these HIIT workouts help shred fat? Sure. Will it amount to 20-50 pounds in the next 90 days? Considering the calorie calculator isn’t cutting too many calories, probably not.

After 90 Days

Once those 90 days come and go, you’re technically at the end of the Fat Loss Extreme Program. But if you’re still seeing success, the “After 90 Days” section is for you.

There, you’ll find two “Advanced Dieting” guides in PDF form:

Flex Dieting

This 18-page guide does what the original meal plan doesn’t: discusses macronutrients. While emphasizing the IIFYM (if it fits your macros) mentality, you’ll learn about how to calculate your BMR, TDEE, and true caloric needs.

It’s essentially a brief nutrition guide detailing everything from omega 3 benefits to the best sources for lean protein.

Carb Cycling

This 9-page overview details the ever-popular carb cycling trend. In short, this strategy will throw your metabolism hormones for a loop with greater stimulation, encouraging greater fat burning.

Over the week, your carb intake might look like this:

• Day 1: 0 grams
• Day 2: 125 grams
• Day 3: 250 grams
• Day 4: 0 grams
• Day 5: 0 grams
• Day 6: 125 grams
• Day 7: 250 grams

If carb cycling is new ground for you, this guide will teach you the ins and outs. You’ll learn all about calculating your carb needs, how to read nutrition labels, and using a scale to weigh foods.

Sample Meal Plans

After you finish the full, 90-day program, V Shred also offers six meal plans that’ll come in handy. That includes two carb cycling, two flexible dieting, and two vegetarian plans (referenced above).

Each one has an attached 12-page PDF walking you through a seven-day eating plan. Where the regular V SHred Fat Loss Extreme Program meal plan was quite vague, this one is exceptionally detailed (down to the time you should eat and the macro content of each meal).

At the end of each guide, you’ll also find a grocery shopping list (including quantity and which aisle you might find it in) and a portion control guide. But the references are a little unorthodox: computer mouse, stacked dice, CD, poker chip, etc.

In all honesty, these sample plans are better laid out than the real 90-day plan.

6 Impressive Benefits of This Program

1. You can run this program via the V Shred web portal or the mobile app (available on both Android and Apple devices). There’s no need to waltz into the gym carrying a clunky notebook and a pencil.
2. The routine incorporates high-intensity interval training at least twice a week. A 2019 study found that HIIT can cut absolute fat mass 28.5% more than standard cardio (in line with this program’s end goal).
3. If you’re not impressed with your results, you can ask for a money-back guarantee.
4. V Shred doesn’t leave you hanging. By joining the Facebook group, you have a support community with thousands of fellow trainees and regular Lives to answer your questions.
5. You can’t beat the HIIT variety and choice between at-home and gym workouts.
6. Bodyweight or functional training has a reputation for cutting body fat (-6.5%), improving oxygen consumption (+12%), and 100% enjoyment among participants, according to a 2018 study.

4 Negatives of V Shred Fat Loss Extreme

1. Because there are only ten dishes available for each meal, you’ll probably become bored before the 90-day program finally ends. Ironically, this goes directly against V Shred’s promise to make nutrition tasty.
2. Supplements as a whole aren’t recommended; specific products are. The entire supplement section can feel like an advertisement in disguise.
3. There’s absolutely no focus on macronutrients until you finish the original 90 days. To make matters a little sketchier, the calorie “calculator” seems a little random. Because this is a weight loss plan where every calorie and gram matters, these two aspects practically defeat the entire nutritional aspect.
4. The fast weight loss might feel amazing, but dropping it so quickly might not be a long-term solution, especially if you return to old habits.

Another drawback is it’s almost exactly the same program as V Shred’s Ripped in 90 Days program.

Wrapping Up This V Shred Fat Loss Extreme Program Review

The V Shred Fat Loss Extreme Program can be a worthwhile launchpad if you’re fresh on the fitness and weight loss scene. But does the program work as described?

That’s a toughie.

There’s no doubt that the HIIT, weightlifting, and circuit training add some variety to your routine and keep it fresh. Or that this convenient digital program can help you lose at least a few pounds.

But it’s a far cry from “perfect” in nearly every category.

Shredding 20-50 pounds in 90 days is a little extreme (and by extreme, we mean beyond the 1-2 weekly pounds the CDC recommends). The meal plan is bland and narrow, the supplement section seems a little shady, and macronutrients don’t seem to matter.

If you’re starting from zero and follow this program to a T, you’ll almost certainly shed some weight. Just don’t count on the miracle 20-50 pounds V Shred advertises.

Rating: 6.0/10

Try This Program Instead

V Shred is one of the biggest names in muscle-building and fat-loss programs right now, but Fat Loss Extreme didn’t really do it for us.

What do we recommend instead? Superhero X12 by FitMole.

If you haven’t heard of it, SX12 is also a complete fitness program but it helps you build the best version of yourself without spending hours per day in the gym, or eating foods you don’t like.

So, why would we pick this over Fat Loss Extreme?

First off, Fat Loss Extreme distracts you from what really builds muscle and puts unnecessary emphasis on supplements.

Let me be the first to say, “Yes, supplements have their place and some of them (like creatine) are heavily-researched with lots of evidence of improving muscle gain and fat loss.”

However, supplements like test boosters, HGH boosters, and fat burners have very little evidence of actually changing your body.

The fact that V Shred heavily promotes these products in their program raises a red flag.

On the other hand, Superhero X12 gives you all the information you need to build muscle and lose body fat without any supplements at all.

Yes, there’s still a short supplement guide included just in case you’re curious and want to know how to give yourself a boost in your training and recovery.

That being said, the creator, Keith Lai constantly preaches how supplements are typically unnecessary and you can do just fine without them.

And SX12 shows you how!

Second, V Shred’s program can’t possibly be that effective without setting any guidelines for macronutrients, especially protein!

Have you ever heard of a fitness program that didn’t tell you how much protein to consume?

Well, now you have! And we think that’s bonkers!

Protein is the MOST IMPORTANT macronutrient necessary for building new muscle tissue and Fat Loss Extreme doesn’t even mention HOW MUCH you should have until AFTER 90 days are up.

Alternatively, Superhero X12 comes with a full calorie and macro breakdown of exactly what you need to eat to build muscle.

It’s all covered.

And the beauty is… you can really eat whatever you want as long as it fits in your nutrition numbers.

Yea, eat a piece of cake every single day if you want! You can still lose body fat!

Crazy, right?!

Finally, the main promise of Fat Loss Extreme is that you’ll lose 20-50 pounds in 90 days which is borderline crash diet territory.

I know everyone WANTS to lose this much weight.

But in reality, the range is more like 12-24 pounds considering the average person can SAFELY lose 1-2 pounds per week.

“1-2 pounds a week?? Ugh. That’s so SLOW!!”

Yes, we get it. That sounds slow.

But here’s the deal… you don’t want a method that works for only 90 days.

What you REALLY want is a fat loss system that will work FOREVER.

Unlike crash diets, Superhero X12 is a long term solution to transform your body using strategies you should have no problem following for as long as you want.

• Working out is efficient and motivating
• Dieting is easy when you get to incorporate your favorite meals
• And losing 1-2 pounds per week sounds great when you consider doing it for months or even years

These are the reasons we think Superhero X12 might be a better fit compared to V Shred’s Fat Loss Extreme.

• Save money on unnecessary supplements by focusing on good training and proper nutrition
• Remove all the guesswork by knowing exactly what you need to eat to shred fat (plus eat your favorites!)
• Use proven fat loss methods that’ll be effective for the rest of your life (and not burn you out after 90 days)

But you don’t have to believe us.

Click one of the buttons below and check out Superhero X12 for yourself.