Why diet culture missed the average British bloke – until now

SHED is here to change the game for middle-aged men—finally, a meal replacement shake made for those who could benefit from it (Picture: Getty Images)

Weight loss ads have been around for decades. But ever noticed that nearly all of them feature women or super-fit gym-going men?

In fact, you hardly ever see an ordinary working bloke. And one over 40 carrying a bit of timber? Unimaginable!

This makes no sense.

After all, if anyone needs help losing weight, it’s this exact group, with 69 per cent of men in England overweight, and ages 55 to 64 the worst time for loading on fat¹.

So, despite the health and fitness industry booming, ordinary middle-aged guys have been pretty much left out of the conversation.

Well, they were before SHED – a new British brand offering nutritionally complete meal replacement shakes specifically designed for normal men.

The shake is designed for real men, tackling the weight gain that hits hardest (Picture: Getty Images)

They’ve already racked up some impressive results in real-life trials, which you’ll hear about below.

But first, let’s deal with the key question – why does the diet industry have such a blind spot for ordinary blokes?

Ideal vs reality

To understand why normal men are ignored by traditional weight loss marketing, consider what it’s trying to achieve.

In most cases, these ads are about selling an ideal.

In other words, they want you to look at the man with the chiselled abs who runs a marathon a week and think – if I buy this, I could be him.

But real life, as we all know, doesn’t work like that. Most of us have busy jobs and lots of commitments. So, while there’s nothing wrong with aspiring to be a gym god, pretending this is a reasonable aspiration for everyone is a non-starter.

You don’t need to be a marathon-running Adonis—SHED is built for real life, and real results (Picture: Getty Images)

That’s not the only way weight loss regimes exclude everyday blokes. It’s also the fussy recipes and complex diet plans – hardly suitable for someone who’s working long hours and always on the move.

And while tech bros might be able to pay £20 for a cup of ‘magic’ juice, most of us have better things to spend our money on.

How SHED breaks the mould

SHED took one look at the diet industry and turned it on its head.

They’ve not only created a weight loss product specifically for men but also made it simple and fuss-free at the same time.

So instead of having to follow a mindboggling regime, you simply ditch unhealthy meals and opt for a SHED SHAKE, which provides a balanced meal containing less than 300 calories.

Just make sure not to over-indulge elsewhere and keep on eating a normal, healthy evening meal.

It’s that simple. Oh, and they’re great value too, coming in at under £1.80 per serving.

Real blokes, real results

That’s all well and good, you say, but does it actually work?

To test this out, SHED ran a trial² involving 50 middle-aged men – factory workers from Darlington and Leeds and the members of a specialist league for fat footballers in Chelmsford, Essex. In other words, a bunch of ordinary blokes.

Tronny, 52, and his five-a-side teammates all went on the SHED for the 14 weeks of their league season: ‘SHED’s been a game-changer for me. It started me on my weight loss journey, and now I feel like I am heading in the right direction.

‘I love the vanilla and chocolate. Both really nice. I would recommend it to anyone.’

During a six-week trial, 95 per cent of the men taking part lost weight, dropped inches, and felt energised² (Picture: SHED)

Each of them was asked to swap one meal a day, either breakfast or lunch, for a SHED SHAKE – recording their weight before and after, as well as journaling how it went.

A remarkable 95 per cent of those who stuck to this routine for the whole six weeks lost weight, with the average SHED-ing (sorry…) four kilograms. They also lost 3cm off their waistlines, with 33 per cent returning to a healthy waist-to-height ratio.

Unsurprisingly, the great majority – 80 per cent – said they would recommend SHED to other men.

Consult your doctor before starting on a new diet programme.

¹ NHS Digital, 2023 to 2024.

² Six-week real-world study of 50 British men aged 35-65 (mean age 47), published 13 December 2024.