Penn Jillette adds 120-pound weight loss to his résumé, and it only took him about four months to shed the pounds. In several interviews, Jillette, a famous magician, explained that he dropped the weight by going vegan and by linking his scale to a friend’s phone.
Penn Jillette‘s 120-pound weight loss is an impressive accomplishment, and in a series of interviews, the magician has revealed his secrets to dropping the pounds.
In December 2014, Jillette’s high blood pressure landed him in the hospital, and he was put on six different medications to get it under control. Jillette, a married father of two – Zolten Jillette, 9, and Moxie CrimeFighter Jillette, 8 – had another idea, instead of spending the rest of his life on medications, why not start living and eating healthy.
By his 60th birthday, on March 5, 2015, he had lost 105 pounds and before the summer of 2015, he had lost a total of 120 pounds – he went from 330 to 225 pounds. He explained:
“I was on six very powerful meds to bring the blood pressure down.My doctor said I needed to get my weight down, and if I brought it down 30 or 40 lbs. it would be a little easier to control. And then he said something in passing that completely blew my mind – he said, ‘If you got down to 230, you probably wouldn’t need any of the meds.’ ”
So, how did Jillette lose 120 pounds so fast and was able to keep it off? Immediately after leaving the hospital he contacted his old friend, Ray Cronise, a former NASA scientist, who pushed him to get a handful of tech gadgets. The first thing Jillette was asked to get was a Withings smart scale, which is connected to Cronise’s phone. He shared how the scale helped him:
“Cray Ray said the first thing you gotta do is buy this scale.I thought a scale is a scale is a scale. I know what I weigh. I got scales. I got one of those fancy doctor ones where you slide the things along. He says, ‘No, no, this is different. It talks to the Web.’ It sounds like the difference is unimportant. But, you know, we’ve learned over the past 30 years that the things that talk to the Web — whether that is naked women, ISIS, or a scale — once they talk to the Web, things change.”
Jillette also relies on the Withings Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor to monitor his blood pressure. He decided to follow Dr. Joel Fuhrman‘s Nutritarian diet, which means that he eats no animal products, no processed grains, and no added sugar or salt. Every day, the juggler and comedian eats a big salad for lunch, and for dinner he has 3 lbs. of vegetables and three servings of black or brown rice along with lots of fruits for dessert, and he rarely eats breakfast. The musician and inventor added:
“I could probably have a steak or a doughnut every couple of weeks, but I just haven’t felt like it.When you’re feeling as bad as I felt, and you go to feeling as good as I feel, the temptation to go back to doing what you were doing when you felt bad is not very great.”
The actor and best-selling author concluded by saying that after his 120-pound weight loss he started exercising, and he now has more energy to be with his family. Jillette claimed that he has discovered that dieting and exercising are fun, and he now finds “normal food” like turkey, pies and steak disgusting. He said:
“People always ask me, “Don’t you miss pizza and stuff like that?” That’s kind of like asking someone who plays in a band if they miss watching TV. No, motherf****r, I’m playing in a band. I didn’t watch CSI: Cleveland tonight because we recorded a f*****g album. I don’t miss pizza because we’re all obsessing on getting our weight perfect.”
What are your thoughts on Penn Jillette’s weight loss?
