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Penn Jillette’s Weight Loss: How He Lost 100 lbs with the Potato Diet
Penn Jillette's weight loss of a whopping 100 pounds is indeed astonishing. Here are all the details about his potato diet plan and fitness routine.
Penn Jillette, the magician and TV presenter, is famous for his magic tricks and making things vanish in thin air. A few years ago when he weighed around 300 pounds, he got hospitalized for a massive heart blockage and high blood pressure, which made the doctors warn him seriously about the repercussions that he could face if he didn’t focus on his health. That was when Penn Jillette's weight loss journey started — landing in the hospital was a wake-up call for him that was much needed.
The co-host of Penn & Teller: Fool Us tried the “potato diet” to make his extra weight disappear (not with magic though). For this, he had no tricks up his sleeve, he knew he had to work hard and be determined to shed pounds. He was advised to have his stomach stapled and that would help him slough excess weight but he decided otherwise. As he was already on six powerful medications for high blood pressure, he wanted to take a different route to achieve his fitness goals.
But how come potato — a vegetable that has a negative connotation to it in terms of weight helped him burn fat? Let’s understand all about Penn Jillette’s potato diet in detail but before that, let’s take a quick look at Penn Jillette’s career highlights.
Who Is Penn Jillette?
Penn Jillette, born Penn Fraser Jillette, became interested in magic after watching a show by James Randi, an illusionist, and still considers him an idol. He started performing juggling acts with Michael Moschen, his high school classmate and after he graduated, he got introduced to Teller. All three then performed an act in Amherst and San Francisco, and later on, Penn and Teller did a Broadway theatre show named Penn & Teller, which became highly successful.
Today, he is known as a famous American magician, musician, television presenter, actor, and author. Apart from his successful career, Penn Jillette’s weight loss story is another milestone of his life that created a lot of sparks among his fans. Let’s know more about it below
Penn Jillette Weight Loss Story Unveiled
There’s always something that motivates a person to alter their lifestyle habits and become fitter. In the case of Penn, it was his hospitalization that gave him the push to work on his health, or else he knew it would be too late before he could make any amendments and bring his health back.
Jillette weighed around 322 pounds several years ago and wanted to set a good example for his kids, hence he started with a diet plan to lose weight and thus came into the picture the “potato diet” that helped me get rid of excess fat. Let’s understand how!
Penn Jillette Potato Diet
When asked in an interview why he chose potatoes, he candidly said that he knew he could have chosen any other vegetables but decided to pick potatoes as they sounded “funny” to him. For about two weeks, the magician indulged in an extreme diet plan and ate nothing but five plain potatoes a day in baked or boiled form and with their skin on. There were no cheese, butter, or any other kind of fatty or salty toppings and no bacon bits. By just eating potatoes, the author was able to lose 14 lbs in 2 weeks.
Post 14 days, Penn started adding other plant-based meals, such as bean stews and salads to his meals. He made sure he consumed minimally processed foods and steered clear of meat and cheese.
Penn Jillette's weight loss plan was obviously restricting but he didn’t give up and ended up losing 100 pounds in four months, that too without exercising.
During this strict diet regimen, neither did he have any hunger cravings, nor did he count calories. He felt satisfied and content with his diet plan.
As promising and lucrative as this diet looks, it is prohibited to try any such restrictive diets to lose weight without the supervision of a medical practitioner, as they can have adverse health effects (1).
For instance, potatoes, the highlight of Penn Jillette’s calorie restriction diet, are a healthy vegetable bursting with the goodness of vitamin C, potassium, vitamin B6, and so on — all these nutrients, when combined, help in keeping the body healthy by alleviating inflammation, aiding digestion, boosting metabolism, and improving immunity (2), (3).
However, as potatoes are one of the high glycemic index foods (meaning, they get digested quickly and spike sugar levels), eating too much of this starchy vegetable can cause high blood sugar levels among various other side effects (4). Hence, be it trying the “potato diet” or any other fad diet, make sure to consult your doctor first.
How Does Penn Jillette Maintain His Lost Weight?
Losing weight in itself is an arduous task, and maintaining it is further challenging. After reaching his weight loss goal, Penn wanted to sustain it, but in a healthy way. He is currently a follower of Dr. Fuhrman’s Nutritarian diet and refrains from eating added sugar, salt, animal products, and processed grains.
He revealed that he eats “unbelievable” amounts of food but makes sure his meals are healthy. Salads with vinegar as dressing, green veggies, black rice, brown rice, fruits, vegetable stew, and dessert (blueberries with plain cocoa powder) are a few food items that are often found in Penn’s diet.
He hasn’t stopped snacking altogether and indulges in lots of vegetables with Tabasco sauce as a snack. Sometimes, the magician also has a slice of pizza or a hot fudge sundae but confesses that he doesn’t really crave junk food, which is a great thing, as junk food is no good for anyone.
Studies show that junk food consumption on a regular basis can cause weight gain, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and low immunity (5).
Penn Jillette’s Exercise Routine
After losing 100 pounds in four months, Jenn started exercising to become even more fit. He revealed that he wanted to start exercising after he lost some weight as according to him exercising becomes easier on the heart and joints when you have lost weight, especially if you are overweight. Penn’s exercise routine consists of weights and an elliptical, both of which are effective tools for improving balance and burning calories simultaneously (6), (7).
How Does Penn Jillette Feel Post His Weight Loss Journey?
Penn definitely feels happier and healthier after losing a whopping 100 pounds. In an interview, he revealed that he feels “better, happier, and has more fun.”
What Advice Does Penn Has for Those Trying to Lose Weight?
Penn Jillette candidly said that one should not take health advice from a Las Vegas magician. He went on and said that he would advise people on a weight loss journey to not make it easy for themselves and not focus on what different people on the internet are saying and go with what suits them.
In a way, we agree with his advice, as it’s not ideal to follow any fad diet without proper knowledge. It’s highly recommended that one seek medical advice before making any dietary changes to lose weight.
While many celebrities undergo weight loss surgeries or take Ozempic to lose weight (which ain’t wrong either, as everybody has their reasons), what’s inspiring is that Penn Jillette didn’t resort to any such methods, even when he was advised to undergo surgery.
Hence, Penn Jillette's weight loss journey is a testament to hard work and perseverance — he not only successfully lost weight to overcome his health problems but also sustained it to manage his health better. What we take from his journey is patience and determination that’s often lacking in people trying to achieve their health and fitness goals, so get inspired from the magician’s journey and take the necessary steps to get one step closer to your health goal.
Sources:
1. Fad Diets: Lifestyle Promises and Health Challenges
2. The Potato and Its Benefits to Human Health
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/215827800_The_Potato_and_Its_Benefits_to_Human_Health
3. Nutritional composition and health benefits of potato
4. Potatoes – a scoping review for Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10845899/
5. Junk food-induced obesity- a growing threat to youngsters during the pandemic
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8459649/
6. Comparison of elliptical training, stationary cycling, treadmill walking and overground walking
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3299003/
7. Role of Physical Activity for Weight Loss and Weight Maintenance
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5556592/
