How The General Patton Diet Helped Shed 60 Pounds

The late Patrick Henry Winston, a renowned professor, embarked on a remarkable personal journey to reform his health and eating habits. His efforts culminated in a stunning transformation where he lost 60 pounds in just 100 days. You can see the incredible difference in his before photo and his after photo.

One of his key realizations was the importance of mindful eating. He noted, "I learned to eat and drink veeeeeery slowly at the table meant for eating, not in front of my computer screen. I used to cram in a day's worth of calories in a few minutes, before my body had any idea I was eating anything, which experts say takes 20 minutes."

While the original description of his diet is no longer on his MIT homepage, a saved version reveals the comprehensive strategy he called the "General Patton Diet."

The Wake-Up Call

In the fall of 2012, Winston weighed 255 pounds. A year later, he was down to 195. The motivation was stark. He recalled, "My doctor said I had three choices: take blood pressure medication, lose weight, or drop dead. My wife said I had turned into a fat blob." After contemplating this for a couple of years, he decided to take decisive action.

Introducing the General Patton Diet

Previous attempts to lose weight had failed because they were piecemeal. Inspired by a scene from the movie “Patton,” where the general proudly spoke of attacking in all directions at once, Winston decided to apply the same philosophy to his health. Thus, the General Patton Diet was born—an all-out assault on unhealthy habits from every possible angle.

A Multi-Pronged Attack on Weight Loss

Winston's strategy was a combination of several small, consistent changes that created a massive daily calorie swing and shifted his entire relationship with food.

• Cut Out Liquid Calories: His first move was to quit drinking cream in his coffee. As a heavy coffee drinker, this simple change cut out 400-500 calories per day. While black coffee tasted terrible at first, he quickly adapted.
• Embrace Daily Exercise: He started exercising almost daily, beginning with fast walking and light jogging. This accounted for another 400-600 calories and provided an endorphin boost. Together with the coffee change, this created a 1000-calorie swing each day.
• Practice Mindful Eating: He stopped eating in front of his computer and learned to eat very slowly at a proper table, allowing his body the 20 minutes it needs to register fullness.
• Smart Snacking: To combat intense 5 pm hunger pangs, he replaced sugary, hypoglycemic snacks with fruit like apples. This stabilized his blood sugar and eliminated the problem.
• Go Raw: Winston reasoned that cooked food is partially pre-digested, allowing for faster calorie absorption. To counter this, he began substituting raw fruits and vegetables for some of the cooked foods he used to eat.
• Incorporate Micro-Workouts: While his coffee brewed, he would lift dumbbells. He noted these brief, frequent exercises seemed to keep his appetite down and his metabolism up.
• Mind Over Matter: He constantly repeated two powerful quotes to himself: “food is an addiction” from his friend Jay Keyser, and “no man ever regretted eating too little” from Thomas Jefferson. These mantras helped him push away food after he was already satisfied.

The Surprising Results and A Final Word

The transformation was so rapid that it caused some confusion. Winston shared a story about a friend who, upon seeing him, hadn't mentioned the weight loss. When confronted, the friend explained with relief, "he hadn't said anything because he thought I must have contracted something terrible to lose 60 pounds in 100 days."

Winston successfully maintained his weight a year later. However, he was careful to add a disclaimer: what works for one person may not work for another. It is essential to talk to a doctor before beginning any significant weight loss plan.

You can learn more about Patrick Winston's work and thoughts on his MIT homepage.