Trump's weight loss diet means taking half the bun off his post-golf cheeseburger

Following his (perhaps surprisingly) positive health assessment in January, President Trump committed to losing 10 to 15 pounds on the recommendation of his doctor. Officially measuring at 6-foot-3 and 239 pounds at the time of his physical, Trump was just on the cusp of obesity, so he decided to make a few tweaks of diet and exercise.

With a White House "Sport and Fitness Day" upon us, CNN checked in on the president's new regimen. Trump has reportedly made changes including: eating his post-golf cheeseburgers without the top bun; ordering a $64 fish dinner at the Trump International Hotel instead of his usual ketchup-slathered, well-done steak; and permitting White House kitchen staff to serve meals with fewer calories and more vegetables on his plate.

Does Trump actually eat those vegetables? Maybe!

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Nutritionists emphasize that changes to diet and exercise habits must be gradual if they are to be realistic long-term, and on the exercise front, the president's progress has been so gradual it is all but imperceptible. This may be because Trump believes giving speeches is good exercise and reportedly thinks every human body is born with a finite amount of energy, like a battery, so exercise is a sure means to a premature death. In that light, the president's enthusiasm for golf, his main athletic activity, is all the more remarkable: He is willing to go to an early grave to get a little more time on the links.