Former US Secretary of State Pompeo Reveals How He Managed to Lose 90 Pounds in Half a Year
10:29 GMT 07.01.2022 (Updated: 14:40 GMT 07.01.2022)
© AP Photo / Alex Brandon
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Pompeo is not the only official from the Trump administration, who's focused on his health since their departure from the White House. The ex-president himself has lost 15 pounds since last spring after he overcame stress eating and took on a healthy diet.
Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has opened up about his dramatic weight loss, which left him nearly unrecognisable. Speaking to the New York Post, the ex-official said that he decided to work on his weight last summer after he stepped on the scales and saw that he was getting closer to 300 pounds (136 kg). "Today is the day", the Harvard graduate told his wife.
He then built a gym in his basement and started exercising "nearly every day". A change in diet was the next step to losing weight – the ex-director of CIA had to bid adieu to cheeseburgers, sugary treats, and food containing a lot of carbohydrates. The weight started to come off and six months later the official lost 90 pounds (40 kg).
"I tried to get down [to the gym] five, six times a week and stay at it for a half-hour or so. And that was nothing scientific. There was no trainer, there was no dietician. It was just me".
He then built a gym in his basement and started exercising "nearly every day". A change in diet was the next step to losing weight – the ex-director of CIA had to bid adieu to cheeseburgers, sugary treats, and food containing a lot of carbohydrates. The weight started to come off and six months later the official lost 90 pounds (40 kg).
"I tried to get down [to the gym] five, six times a week and stay at it for a half-hour or so. And that was nothing scientific. There was no trainer, there was no dietician. It was just me".
Mike Pompeo: How I lost nearly 100 pounds in 6 months https://t.co/1O7xdFmp77 pic.twitter.com/Or7tZg71dM
— New York Post (@nypost) January 6, 2022
The ex-secretary of state said the dramatic weight loss prompted many speculation online, with users wondering whether he is suffering from cancer. "The posts were pretty nasty or just inaccurate", he said.
Pompeo says he hopes his story will inspire Americans struggling with obesity to lose weight. The official confessed that he used his foot ailment as an excuse to not lose weight.
"I put on almost a hundred pounds over the course of 10, 11 years — years that coincided with my foot injury — so I told myself that was the reason I gained so much weight", he said.
The politician himself was inspired by his family, in particular, the prospect of becoming a grandfather.
"My son's getting married in July, and I wanted to be healthier and be around for what I hope the Lord will bless us with as grandkids before too terribly long. I'm not supposed to talk about that, I'm told", Pompeo said.
