He Tried the Blue Zone Diet for 7 Days: Here's What Happened to His Body

Are you sick and tired of your weight yo-yoing? Scott Sampson, 60, the YouTuber behind the account Becoming Superhuman, struggled with his weight for most of his life, losing pounds and then putting them – and then some – back on again. It wasn’t until he figured out the secret equation to weight loss that he achieved long-term success. “I lost 120 pounds, from 307 to 187 pounds in a 12-month period of time from July 2022 to July 2023,” he exclusively tells Body Network. Here is everything you need to know about his weight loss journey.

Scott Sampson Struggled with Being Overweight and Obese Almost All His Life

Sampson, who lives in Tyler, Texas, struggled with being overweight “and then obese” for almost his entire adulthood. “Each year, I would gain 20-30 pounds, try a diet, and lose 10-15 pounds. As I approached 300 pounds, I became more serious about my weight and managed to lose 30-40 pounds, but inevitably fell back into unhealthy eating habits of overeating and eating unhealthy food, leading to regaining the weight, often plus some. This cycle of losing and gaining continued for 20-25 years. I would lose 20, 30, or 40 pounds, and then I would gain most of it back. Over and over and over again,” he explains to Body Network.

He Hit His Breaking Point in 2019

In 2019, he experienced a pivotal moment when my dad passed away from a heart attack at 73. “Taking care of my mom, who was 74, disabled, and facing serious health issues like diabetes, hypertension, and severe CV, made me realize I was on a similar path, and it was going to be fast approaching. I was pre-diabetic and marginally hypertensive, and I decided to take control of my health and that if there was anything I could do to avoid being in poor health as I aged, I was going to do it,” he says.

He Shifted His Focus From Losing Weight to Becoming Healthy

“For the first time, my focus shifted from just losing weight to becoming healthy. I dove into YouTube content about metabolic health, learning about insulin resistance and the harmful effects of ultra-processed foods. Understanding the dangers of these foods helped me commit to a whole-food, low-carb lifestyle. Recognizing my struggles with food addiction, I created a ‘do not eat’ list, allowing me to stick with my new eating habits,” he says, “what most people would consider a keto or ketogenic diet. I didn’t count any macros, but I also knew I was not consuming enough carbs to count.” He also didn’t add in a lot of additional fat as a lot of traditional keto purists advocate, “because I knew my body was carrying around all the fat that I needed to fuel my body. I didn’t go low fat. I just didn’t increase my fat intake and didn’t have to count my fat macros. In hindsight, I probably should have done a better job of making sure I was getting enough protein as I was actively trying to lose weight. It wasn’t until I was in a maintenance phase that I began to prioritize my protein intake,” he says.

He Cleaned Up His Diet and Started Intermittent Fasting

“Throughout the weight loss phase of my health journey, I ate primarily cruciferous vegetables, berries, cheese, and proteins (eggs, beef, chicken, pork, fish). By eating a whole food, low-carb diet, combined with Intermittent Fasting, I was able to lose 100 pounds without any exercise,” he says, revealing that he started fasting about one month into the diet. “At first, two meals a day with no snacks in about a 6-7 hour eating window, and then I later transitioned to one meal a day (OMAD). I completely avoided ultra-processed foods, seed oils, refined grains, and fast foods,” he says.

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He Did a Water Fast Once a Month

“In addition, about once a month, I would do a 3-5 day water fast. For me, this was more about health than weight loss, and I learned that these extended fasts have incredible health benefits. Your body recycles damaged and abnormal cells. You produce additional human growth hormone. Your body produces additional stem cells. Your gut microbiome rests and resets. It’s also beneficial for your DNA and mitochondria,” he explains.

He Added Walking Into His Routine

“I did begin to introduce exercise into my routine and was able to lose an additional 20 pounds while building some lean muscle mass,” he says. “Walking is my primary form of exercise. Once I established a routine of daily walks, I noticed increased energy and mental clarity. Walking is sustainable for most people, offering tremendous health benefits. I recommend aiming for 30-40 minutes of walking each day, ideally after meals, as it’s easy to start at your own pace. Walking is also one of the easiest things for someone who is very overweight (like I was), and they can start at their own pace and improve as they drop weight,” he says. “I also incorporated bodyweight exercises like push-ups, air squats, and planks, along with some dumbbell workouts.”

It Is Now His Lifestyle

“Even a year after losing 120 pounds, I continue to eat a whole food, low carb diet, continue to eat one or two meals a day, and continue to consume YouTube content on health and wellness. This is a new lifestyle for me. After I had lost about 100 pounds, I had a friend ask me when I was going to stop dieting. I explained to them that we all diet all the time and that my new diet was something I was going to do for the rest of my life.”

Here Is What He Eats in a Day

Here is what he eats in a day during the maintenance stage. “My diet resembles a ‘carnivore adjacent’ approach. Typically, I consume 3-4 eggs, 12-24 ounces of protein (usually beef), an avocado, and a handful of strawberries. I also include chicken, pork, and fish a few times a week,” he says.

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He Also Hydrates

He also has a “strict” hydration routine. “I start my day with 6-8 ounces of water mixed with electrolytes, followed by about 15 ounces of coffee with cream or milk. By mid-morning, I drink 40 ounces of black iced tea, then another 40 ounces of green iced tea in the afternoon, finishing with 30-40 ounces of water later in the day.”

Sleep Is Also Key, He Says

Sleep is also a priority. “I aim for at least 7 to 8 hours of quality sleep. Good sleep is crucial for overall health and effective weight loss, and it’s often overlooked,” he says.

His Message? “Mindset Is Everything”

What is his message for people out there who are struggling to get in shape? “Mindset is everything,” he says. “You need the desire to change and the determination to learn what it takes. I’ve been where you are, that I struggled for years and years, and I found success through a whole food diet. Processed foods are detrimental to our health; recognizing them as harmful can make it easier to stop consuming them. The idea of “everything in moderation” often leads to failure for those who struggle to moderate. If I can do this, anyone can—there’s nothing special about me. I simply learned the impact of certain foods on my body and decided to eliminate them. You can too!”

He Started His YouTube Channel to Help Others

“I started my YouTube channel because I feel like I have something to offer. I want to share what I’ve learned about gaining control of my health and how it’s impacted my life. I believe I come from a different standpoint than most people on social media talking about weight loss. I named my YouTube channel Becoming Superhuman because sometimes that’s how I feel now that I’ve regained my health. Super basically just means ‘over and above,’ higher in quantity, quality, or degree than ‘more than,’ and taking control of our health in the way that I’ve been able to do so, is more than most people these days. I have a message to share that’s positive, that’s possible, and so many people don’t realize how much better they can make their lives. They feel trapped, and I want to help them take their first steps to Becoming Superhuman,” he explains.

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He Has “Transformed” His Life

“Losing over 100 pounds has transformed my life in ways I never thought possible. I’ve ditched the daily medications for joint pain and body aches, and I no longer suffer from frequent acid reflux or digestive issues. It’s been years since I’ve had a cold or a sinus infection. With newfound energy and mental clarity, I finally care about my appearance and feel confident in my own skin. At 60 years old, I’m more excited about the future than ever before.” And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.

Do you want to lose 30 pounds in two weeks? While it might seem impossible, one YouTuber claims it isn’t. Steve Cha of Rockstar Eater, a YouTube channel focusing on his love of food, shared a recent video about how rapidly he lost weight to the tune of a pound every two days. He claims it all boils down to following three simple steps.

He Gained 10 to 12 Pounds After Starting His YouTube Channel

Steve from Rockstar Eater explains that he gained “about 10 to 12 pounds” after starting his YouTube channel from “eating a lot of food” and that “it did take some toll” on his body. He topped the scales at 170, admitting that his blood pressure and cholesterol both went up.

He Gave Himself 30 Days to Lose 15 Pounds

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“So I decided that I'm going to take some steps in order to try to take care of my health for the next few weeks. So in this video, I'm gonna be documenting my journey on losing basically 10 to 15 pounds,” he says, giving himself a time frame of 30 days.

His Plan Starts with Exercise

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Steve’s plan was to start with exercise. “What I'm gonna do is basically every day do a lot of walking, cardio, jogging in order to sweat, burn some calories,” he says.

It Also Involves Changing His Diet

“And I'm also gonna, of course, alter my diet. That's the most important thing because it's no use for me to go out and do all of this exercising but then come home and snack on all this junk food,” he says. “Of course, I'm not gonna go the drastic route of starving myself, you know, like what some people do. That's actually not healthy at all.”

Protein with Salads or Veggies

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What will he be eating for the next few weeks while he’s trying to lose weight? “Definitely low-fat foods,” he says. He might make a big salad and some salmon but only have a third of it, then “probably the other third for dinner. And then for dinner, I can change it up by eating, for example, fish, some cucumber and some baby broccoli, which is really good. I highly recommend this.” He will also eat an apple.

No Fried Food

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“So something like this is what I would be eating every day with just some variations, but definitely staying away from all the fried stuff, all the beef, you know, high cholesterol stuff, definitely no ice cream,” he adds.

10,000 Steps Per Day

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Steve’s goal is to try to hit about 10,000 steps a day. “On a busy day, I'd probably be walking for about one hour, kind of like a walk-jog. But then, if I have one of those days where it's not that busy, who knows, I might even go for half a day, like three to four hours of walking. But remember, drink plenty of water when you're out here, especially during the summertime,” he says.

Week One He Lost 3 Pounds

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“So it's been about a week now, and it looks like I've been able to lose about three pounds in the course of six to seven days. So far off to a good start,” Steve says. “I mean, I'm already feeling it. My body feels a little lighter, and I can get into my pants without feeling so very tight.”

Week Two He Lost Two-and-Half-Pounds

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This week I was able to drop about two to two and a half pounds, and I do feel better. Everything feels good all around,” Steve says. If “you're losing weight over time, it gets more difficult and difficult to drop the same amount of weight every single week.”

He Did Cheat

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Steve admits that he “did have some cheat days here and there, but for the most part, still sticking to vegetables, fruits, and cereal, oats, you know, all that healthy stuff, and I don't overeat. That's the key. And you gotta also do a lot of exercise.”

30 Day Mark: 15 Pounds

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“Moment of truth after 30 days of hard work. Let's see what the final result is.

As many of you guys probably know, that was not an easy task to all of a sudden go onto such a strict diet exercising plan. So yes, it looks like I lost about 14 to 15 pounds in the span of 30 days, which is not easy to do, but it is doable though.”

Step 1: Diet

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He then details each step he followed. “Number one, I changed my diet plan,” he reiterates, “eating stuff with less sugar, less sodium, less carbs in it, sticking mainly to fruits and vegetables and oats and wheat. I mean, once in a while, I had my cheat day here and there to eat something heavier, but that's pretty much what I've been sticking to.”

Step 2: Hydrating

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The second step? Hydration. “ I've been drinking a lot of water, like a lot of water,” he continues. “No more of the sodas and the fruit juices, mostly water during a lot of these days.”

Step 3: Exercising

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His final step? Exercise, including “a lot of cardio, jogging, some stretches here and there,” he says.

It’s Not Easy, But Gets Easier

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Steve encourages others to stick to a diet. “It's not easy, I'll tell you that, especially in the first few days. It's gonna be very difficult, but then you kind of get used to it over time,” he says.

His Blood Pressure Decreased

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“But overall, I'm definitely feeling it. It's flatter all around my stomach area and my chest and I feel better health-wise. And I was even able to go to the local grocery store to measure my blood pressure. It actually went down by 15, I think I was at 1 35 before in terms of blood pressure. And then I think it went down to about like one 20 or one 17, which is really good.”

So Did His Body Fat

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His “body fat level has gone down a little bit as well, and I'm assuming that's also cholesterol,” he notes. “So overall, I'm feeling very healthy. So if you guys want to lose some weight and you want to lose it fast, maybe within 30 days, just letting you know that it is possible.”

The NIH Recommends Losing 1 to 2 Pounds Per Week

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Is Steve’s weight loss realistic? According to the National Institutes of Health, no. “Weight loss should be about 1 to 2 pounds per week for a period of 6 months,” they say. That would be a maximum loss of 8 pounds in 30 days.

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Body Network’s Expert Weighs In

Tara Collingwood

Body Network’s Resident RDN, Tara Collingwood, MS, RDN, CSSD, LD/N, ACSM-CPT, a Board Certified Sports Dietitian and co-author of the Flat Belly Cookbook for Dummies, agrees that starving yourself thin is not a good idea. She notes that rapid weight loss usually leads to weight regain. “Starving and fasting can produce fast weight loss, but it also stresses the body and causes the metabolism to shut down, which in turn can cause rebound weight gain,” she says.

However, sustainable weight loss is possible with the right mindset and approach. "Anything hard takes some discipline, and losing weight is one of the hardest lifestyle habits to modify," says Collingwood. "I coach my clients to think about their motivations for eating to make the changes in their lifestyle that will require them to lose the weight they say they want to lose. With discomfort comes growth and results." she says. And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.

💪🔥Body Booster: It's important to have a solid motivation for making tough choices. "When you have a strong reason for making the hard choices, it becomes easier to keep yourself on track," says Collingwood.