JD Vance has opened up about the disciplined eating plan behind his striking weight loss, after his noticeably leaner appearance drew attention inside the White House briefing room.
The 42-year-old Vice President said in 2024 that he had lost 30 pounds since his 2022 Ohio Senate campaign, and he has since continued to showcase the results of his physical transformation.
On Thursday, as he led a White House press briefing, Vance appeared slimmer than at any point in recent memory.
Almost as soon as he began taking questions from reporters, the focus turned to his trimmer frame, prompting Vance to offer fresh details about how he managed to lose the weight.
‘You lost a lot of weight lately. How much sauerkraut do you eat in a day?’ one reporter quipped, alluding to the so-called ‘sauerkraut diet’ reportedly embraced by several members of President Donald Trump’s cabinet.
Vance laughed off the question, joking that the fact his weight loss came up first said more about how ‘fat’ he must have been before.
‘When you’re Vice President and the first question at a press conference is about how much weight you lost, you must’ve gotten very fat. That’s one thing I take from that question,’ he said.
He went on to say that after deciding to cut out all sugar for Lent, he sought guidance from his friend Robert F Kennedy Jr.
JD Vance has revealed the strict diet that helped him achieve his impressive weight loss transformation while hosting a White House press briefing on Thursday
The Vice President, 42, revealed back in 2024 that he had dropped 30lbs since his 2022 Ohio Senate campaign, and since then, he has continued to flaunt his remarkable weight loss. He’s seen in 2022
Health Secretary RFK Jr, 72, has been very open about the fact that he is on what’s known as a ‘carnivore diet,’ previously revealing he lost 20lbs in 30 days by ‘only eating meat and fermented foods.’
‘I’m a devout Christian, so I try to take Lent very seriously, I try to do some kind of self-denial each year,’ Vance explained.
‘[It was Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent started] and I decided, I think I’m going to give up sugar.’
‘So I call Bobby Kennedy and I’m like, “I know you’re really into health. I’m thinking about giving up sugar. What do you think?”‘ Vance continued.
‘Bobby Kennedy says, “No, no, no. I’ve got something that’s way better than that and way more intense.”
‘Basically, I eat a lot of high protein stuff and I eat a lot of sauerkraut. And let’s just say, that if that was Fat Tuesday, Fat Wednesday never came.’
Vance ended the question by jokingly sharing some advice to others who want to shed some pounds.
‘My advice to you is that if you want to lose weight, call Bobby Kennedy. And if you want to enjoy what you eat, do not call Bobby Kennedy,’ he said.
Vance is seen left in 2021 and right last month
On Thursday when he hosted a White House press briefing, he looked slimmer than ever
He then went on to explain that he turned to his pal Robert F Kennedy Jr for advice after he decided he was going to give up all sugar for Lent, who introduced him to the ‘carnivore diet’
Vance has denied taking GLP-1s like Ozempic in the past, insisting a strict diet and exercise routine helped him slim down.
Back in April, Trump, 80, praised Vance’s weight loss while addressing guests at an Easter lunch.
‘Where is JD? He’s lost weight. He got a little thinner,’ the President said of Vance. ‘I’m looking for a heavy-set gentleman, and now I find a perfect-looking specimen.’
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that in addition to Kennedy and Vance, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy were also following the carnivore diet.
The diet was created by Dr Sean O’Mara, who recommends that his patients eat grass-fed steak and fermented vegetables, which includes sauerkraut and kimchi, to reduce visceral fat.
He argues the diet gives adherents a more robust microbiome, which aids digestion.
He has also claimed that it can strip away visceral fat – the most dangerous type of fat, which surrounds internal organs – and potentially improve longevity.
