In a recent YouTube video, popular fitness creator Will Tennyson swapped diets with Victoria’s Secret model Vita Sidorkina for one full day.
Her bodybuilder-style menu totaled 3,929 calories, while his runway-style menu barely reached 611.
Chewing gum, three coffees and a glass of water starred in one of those days.
Beneath the jokes, Sidorkina opened up about the darkest chapter of her modeling career.
Her recovery story hides one surprising lesson about food, lifting and the number on a scale.
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Two Diets, One Day, Wildly Different Numbers
Tennyson introduced the experiment with a simple self-description.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
I’m just a guy who likes to lift and eat like a lot.
Final tally, according to the MacroFactor app:
- Sidorkina on bodybuilder plan: 3,929 calories, 246 g protein
- Tennyson on supermodel plan: 611 calories, nearly six and a half times less food
Goal for Tennyson: squeeze into Sidorkina’s old runway show jacket by bedtime.
Breakfast Came With 267 Calories and Zero Salt
Tennyson’s plate held three egg whites and half an avocado, with no carbs and no seasoning.
Because back in the days, the carb is an enemy. It’s going to make you fat.
We cannot eat salt because it retains water.
Reality is more nuanced. Sodium can shift water weight temporarily, but salt does not create body fat, and carbohydrates are not inherently fattening.
Sidorkina’s own breakfast, by contrast, featured three whole eggs, egg whites, toast, avocado, feta and kiwis. Tennyson’s verdict? “This is not far off a Costco sample.”
Why Models Diet Like This
Pressure came from every direction, according to Sidorkina.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
I was in Paris Fashion Week. They casted me. They like my looks. I went on fitting. The dress was not closing. They were like, “Go home.”
Money added fuel. Young models living on weekly pocket money of roughly $150 could lose it after a weigh-in showing even slight gain.
The concept of wellness for me for the longest time was pain. Like if the workout is not hurting, if the food tastes good, it means something is off.
Gum, Boiled Chicken and the 6 PM Rule
Midday, Tennyson received chewing gum as his “best friend” and a plain boiled chicken breast with cucumber.
It’s like the Stonehenge of chicken breast. It has the excitement of like slightly off-white drywall.
Dinner was even bleaker. While Sidorkina enjoyed salmon and shrimp with nduja, Tennyson got water only.
We’re not eating after 6:00 cuz after if you eat after 6:00 I used to be convinced that somehow the calories read differently in a body.
Science disagrees. Total intake and food quality matter far more than clock time, so no magic cutoff turns evening calories into extra fat.
Another eye-opener: scanning dinner revealed the shrimp dish packed roughly 1,000 calories thanks to cooking oil, while the salmon landed near 500.
The Darker Side of Runway Dieting
Sidorkina was blunt about what she witnessed backstage.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
I saw models throwing up. A lot of laxative pills. Been guilty of that. Actually the craziest thing I’ve seen is a girl eating cotton.
Her body paid a price too.
I had like loss of the periods for a very long time. Like it was affecting my hormonal health as well.
Chronic undereating can disrupt reproductive hormones, which is why missed periods are widely treated as a warning sign. Anyone struggling with food should consider reaching out to a doctor or registered dietitian.
How Sidorkina Eats Today
Her current day looks nothing like the old one:
- Morning green juice to start the day
- Avocado toast and fruit
- Syrniki, a Russian-style cottage cheese pancake made with rice flour, served with Greek yogurt, honey and berries
- Carbs at nearly every meal
My mission now is to show the women that you can actually look good without suffering.
Healing Began After Leaving the Industry
Recovery was not instant. Sidorkina gained weight, struggled to face the mirror and chose patience.
I gave myself grace and trusted my body to sort of calm down because I do feel like it was in such a stress mode that I needed to over compensate before it actually balanced back.
Her compass became one question: how do I feel after food? She credits her Italian husband’s pride in quality ingredients for helping repair that relationship.
Lifting Changed Her Definition of Results
I weigh so much more now but I look so much better because the quality of the body matters more than the weight on scale.
She also notes steadier hunger on training days, with less effort yielding better results.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
Two Workouts, Two Humbled Athletes
Sidorkina’s session ran three blocks of three exercises, each using 45 seconds of max effort and 15 seconds of rest. Tennyson, who normally shoulder presses 100 lb dumbbells, found 15 lb weights making his shoulders scream.
If you really lock in for 30 minutes, you’re really not procrastinating on your phone, you don’t taking random breaks, you’re really locked in and doing it with intention, you feel it.
Tennyson’s turn brought a push day: incline dumbbell press, machine chest press, a lateral raise rest-pause set and tricep rope pushdowns. Sidorkina, fed by nearly 4,000 calories, held her own.
Practical Takeaways
- Season your food. Flavor makes healthy eating sustainable.
- Keep carbs in rotation. They fuel training and support balanced hunger.
- Ignore clock-based rules. Daily totals and food quality count most.
- Lift weights. Strength training builds a body measured by quality rather than scale weight.
- Ask how food makes you feel. Internal feedback beats punishment-based motivation.
- Watch for red flags. Missed periods, constant fatigue or food fear deserve professional support.
