Will Tennyson gave up caffeine, alcohol, processed food, social media and almost every other modern convenience he could blame for making him feel worse. Then more than five million people watched him do it.

The fitness creator’s video, I Quit EVERY Modern Day Poison, attracted approximately 5.4 million views and 168,000 likes within nine days of publication. It has already been watched more times than Tennyson has YouTube subscribers.

That makes the video more than another influencer challenge. Its success says something about the growing suspicion that our phones, food and supposedly convenient habits may be taking more from us than they give back.

What did Will Tennyson give up?

For seven days, Tennyson removed a long and deliberately provocative list of “poisons” from his life. The list included added sugar, fast food, alcohol, caffeine, artificial sweeteners, supplements, highly processed snacks, social media, television and gaming. He also avoided seed oils, microwaves, plastic food containers and numerous other products he considered controversial.

Some of those choices were sensible. Others drifted towards wellness theatre.

Before starting, Tennyson underwent a brain scan, recorded his weight, photographed his skin and collected baseline sleep and readiness scores. He started the week at approximately 85.4 kg.

The first result was discomfort. He repeatedly reached for social media apps that were no longer on his phone and developed a severe headache after abruptly removing caffeine and artificially sweetened drinks.

He also discovered how much empty time his usual habits occupied.

Without his phone between sets, he claimed to finish a workout in roughly half the usual time. Instead of scrolling at night, he began reading. Television was replaced with walks, pickleball, chess and time outside.

“Watching TV or being on my phone was time spent, but it’s actually time taken,” he said. That may be the most meaningful observation in the entire experiment.

What changed after seven days?

Tennyson reported consistently higher sleep scores, more stable energy, less food noise and improved concentration.

His sleep score increased from previous readings of 83 to several nights between 86 and 92. He said he was falling asleep faster and no longer waking feeling as though he needed more rest.

His eating also changed substantially. Removing packaged snacks and convenience foods meant that eating required preparation. He began questioning whether he was genuinely hungry before making another meal.

By the end of the week, Tennyson weighed approximately 84.5 kg, a reduction of almost 1 kg. He also reported less facial bloating, calmer-looking skin and reduced pain from existing elbow and knee tendinopathy.

The visible before-and-after comparison helped give the video its satisfying conclusion. However, these results need perspective.

This was a seven-day entertainment experiment involving one person who changed almost everything simultaneously. It cannot show whether the reported improvements came from removing caffeine, reducing screen time, eating fewer processed foods, consuming fewer calories, avoiding alcohol or simply paying closer attention to his daily routine.

The rapid weight reduction was also unlikely to be entirely body fat. Changes in food intake, carbohydrate consumption, sodium and hydration can move body weight considerably over a week.

Where the experiment has some scientific support

The strongest part of the experiment was probably the shift away from ultra-processed convenience foods.

In a controlled National Institutes of Health trial, participants eating an ultra-processed diet consumed about 500 more calories per day than they did on a minimally processed diet, despite the meals being matched for several major nutrients. They also gained weight during the ultra-processed phase and lost weight during the unprocessed phase.

Research also suggests that reducing smartphone use can produce modest improvements in stress, sleep and wellbeing, although the effects have generally been studied over longer periods than Tennyson’s challenge. One three-week intervention found small-to-medium improvements after participants reduced their daily screen time.

That does not validate every claim in the video.

The brain scans were not explained in enough detail to treat the colour changes as evidence of neurological recovery. Seed oils, microwaves, supplements and artificial sweeteners cannot all be placed into one category marked “poison”, and avoiding plastic-wrapped vegetables does not automatically make the vegetables more nutritious.

The experiment worked better as a lifestyle audit than a scientific test.

Why did five million people watch it?

The video’s extraordinary success begins with its packaging.

“Modern poison” turns familiar products into a threat. “Every” promises an extreme experiment. The seven-day timeframe offers a quick payoff, while the measurements and before-and-after images make the result feel tangible.

More importantly, the targets are instantly recognisable. Millions of people suspect they spend too much time scrolling, drink too much caffeine, eat too many convenience foods and rarely allow themselves to become properly bored.

Tennyson combines those anxieties with humour rather than delivering another joyless lecture about discipline. Viewers are invited to imagine trying the challenge themselves without feeling as though they are being reprimanded.

The video is therefore not really about seed oils or Coke Zero. It is about control.

Tennyson began the week believing he was removing things from his life. He finished it feeling as though he had reclaimed time, attention and choice. That is a much bigger and more shareable promise than simply losing 1 kg.