Vance credits Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for diet that shed 20 pounds in 20 days
The White House held its first official press briefing since July 23 on Thursday, with Vice President JD Vance fielding questions on Iran, oil and gas prices, inflation, and Republican midterm messaging before the session turned…
Key takeaways
- Vice President JD Vance said he lost 20 pounds in 20 days and 40% of his visceral fat within a month after switching diets.
- Vance credited Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who steered him from simply cutting sugar toward a high-protein, sauerkraut-based dietary overhaul starting around Lent in February.
- Kennedy described his own regimen as a carnivore diet built entirely on animal products like meat, dairy, and eggs, excluding vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes.
- Vance disclosed the weight loss during Thursday's press briefing, the White House's first official briefing since July 23.
- Vance acknowledged some benefits could be attributable to the placebo effect.
The White House held its first official press briefing since July 23 on Thursday, with Vice President JD Vance fielding questions on Iran, oil and gas prices, inflation, and Republican midterm messaging before the session turned to personal health. It was also the first such briefing since former press secretary Karoline Leavitt's departure last month. Vance, conducting his third briefing, said Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had redirected him away from a plan to simply cut sugar and toward a more intensive dietary overhaul beginning around Lent in February.
Against the backdrop of the administration's return to regular briefing operations, Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked Vance about his noticeable weight loss. Vance's response was dry. "When you're the vice president of the United States and one of the first questions at a press conference in the White House is how much weight you've lost, you must have gotten very fat," he told reporters.
The substance traced back to a phone call with Kennedy. Vance said he had called the health secretary intending to give up sugar. Kennedy talked him out of it and offered something better and more intense: high-protein foods and sauerkraut. "If that was Fat Tuesday, Fat Wednesday never came," Vance said. His advice for anyone considering the program: call Kennedy to lose weight, do not call Kennedy if you want to enjoy what you eat.
Kennedy's carnivore diet and the numbers Vance reported
Kennedy described his own approach in a January interview with USA Today's "The Excerpt" podcast as a carnivore diet, built entirely on animal products such as meat, dairy, and eggs. The program excludes vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes, drawing criticism from advocates of plant-based eating. In a podcast interview, Vance cited his own results: he said he lost 40% of his visceral fat within a month and dropped 20 pounds in 20 days after switching. He also noted improved mental clarity. Visceral fat surrounds the internal organs and carries elevated cardiovascular risk.
Vance was careful on the mechanism. He acknowledged that some of the benefits could be attributable to the placebo effect.
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