The results should have been the most shared and interesting part about the study, but they spent only about 20 minutes of the entire 4 hour docuseries talking about them.
But even then, they found a way to put their spin on it.
They reported results on 4 sets of twins. Their body composition results are as follows:
Jevon and John
Jevon - Omnivore
- Gained 7.1 lbs of muscle
John - Vegan
- Gained 2.3 lbs of muscle
When they were reporting this, I was so frustrated.
For literally every single person, when reporting their numbers, they showed a graphic on the screen of exactly how everyone’s numbers changed from start to finish…except for Jevon. Except for the omnivore who gained 7.1lbs of muscle. They breeze passed it quickly and didn’t note how amazing of a gain that was in just 8 short weeks.
But then John, the Vegan who built 2.3lbs of muscle, they highlighted to a large degree. The lady talked about that result like it was the most amazing thing she’s ever seen. And yes, they showed that graphic on screen.
How they represented their two results on screen was ridiculous.
Next up, Carolyn and Roselyn.
Roselyn - Omnivore
- Lost 8.1 lbs of body weight. The breakdown was she
- Lost 7.7 lbs of fat
- Lost 0.4 lbs of muscle
Carolyn - Vegan
- Lost 7.9lbs of body weight. The breakdown was she
- Lost 5.0 lbs of fat
- Lost 2.9 lbs of muscle
When discussing their results, they essentially blamed Carolyn’s lack of maintaining muscle due to the fact that she didn’t strength train. Which I’m sure yes, is a huge reason for it. But they didn’t even mention how maybe it was also due to the fact that she probably wasn't eating enough protein from her vegan diet.
Next up are Charlie and Michael.
Michael - Omnivore
- Lost 0.2 lbs of body weight. The breakdown was he
- Lost 3.8 lbs of fat
- Gained 3.6 lbs of muscle
Charlie - Vegan
- Lost 3.5 lbs of body weight. The breakdown was he
- Lost 2.8 lbs of fat
- Lost 0.7 lbs of muscle
When reporting their results, they basically attributed Charlie’s loss of muscle to the fact that he wasn’t weight training like Michael was. The lady reporting the results also told him, “I’m convinced you’re under eating.” To which he responded that it often felt like he was stuffing himself (full of food).
Lastly, let’s look at Pam and Wendy.
Wendy - Omnivore
- Lost 3.5 lbs of body weight. The breakdown was she
- Gained 0.3 lbs of fat
- Lost 3.8 lbs of muscle
Pam - Vegan
- Lost 7.6 lbs of body weight. The breakdown was she
- Lost 1.0 lbs of fat
- Lost 6.6 lbs of muscle
When reporting their results, both sisters claimed that they didn’t do the weight training the trainer had prescribed. Instead they added in jump rope and the treadmill regularly.
So, of course, that’s what led to both of them losing muscle.
What do the results tell us?
It’s hard to tell because it’s only 4 sets of twins and an 8-week study. And they didn’t show us exactly what they were eating, the macronutrient profile, how many calories, what their workout routines looked like, and more.
But, when it comes to body composition, the omnivores they reported had more favorable results than the vegans.
But I honestly don't even care about that as much as I'm simply frustrated with how they covered the results, reported them, and portrayed them.