Followup article 1.

New diet fits the Bill

Julie Smyth, National Post

Saturday, September 06, 2003

link to article

Bill Clinton's appetite seemed to be endless, not only for women but also for McDonald's hamburgers and fries. The latter were more likely to bring him down in the long run.

Clinton, who was often lampooned for his fast-food indulgences while president, has lost considerable weight after following the latest health craze in America: the South Beach Diet. His new regime, based on a book of the same name by a Florida cardiologist, Arthur Agatston, allows him to eat good carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, whole grain cereals and bread, whole wheat pasta), but limits bad carbs (processed white breads, cakes and regular pasta). Clinton's beloved greasy hamburgers (bad fat and bad carb) are not on the diet, but he is allowed as much lean meat, oily fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel), eggs, nuts, low-fat cheese, yogurt and milk as he desires.

Senator Hillary Clinton is also on the diet, although her weight loss has not been as dramatic, say those who have seen the couple recently. Some reports have speculated she put him on the diet to keep him off junk food.

Clinton's many weight swings have been well documented, from his 226 pounds during the 1992 election to the exercise regime that helped him shed 20 pounds years later. The White House doctor was often trotted out after his regular physicals to inform the press of his latest weight fluctuation and exercise routine, be it swimming or jogging. We heard about the ice cream he ate in Rhode Island and the pizza slice he devoured on Martha's Vineyard just before dinner with the Kennedys.

Arsenio Hall, a late-night television host, once remarked on the anniversary of the Big Mac: "It may not be a big deal to you and me, but this is the first thing Bill Clinton has had to be excited about since he got elected."

Now that Clinton is heading for 60 (he turned 57 last month), his weight has apparently become a sensitive issue and not one the Clintons want to discuss publicly. Tammy Sun, his spokeswoman at his Harlem office, replied in an e-mail when asked about his new diet: "Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to help you get an interview with the former president on this topic. Sorry, but I won't be able to talk about his health/fitness either. Thanks for your interest. Best, Tammy."

The Washington Post got a similar response when it reported this summer that Clinton was spotted eating a plate full of healthy salmon at Café Milano, the city's famous Italian eatery. Jim Kennedy, a spokesman for Clinton, told the paper: "I only comment on weighty matters."

Hillary Clinton's handlers have been equally cagey, though one reluctantly admitted during a telephone conversation that "they look great," before quickly hanging up, insisting he was unable to discuss it further.

Their diet has become New York's worst-kept secret. At Hillary Clinton's book launch this summer at New York's fashionable restaurant The Four Seasons, many of the luminaries sipping cocktails and buying autographed copies of her memoir, Living History, were chiefly interested in how she and her husband looked. Bill Clinton told one of the restaurant's partners that he had already lost 30 pounds.

The June party, one of the Clintons' first major outings in New York since starting the diet six weeks earlier, turned into their coming-out event as the new, slimmer Clintons.

Under the headline "Power Lunch: Beach Bubba," New York magazine's gossip columnist, Marc Malkin, reported: "We doubt Bill Clinton will ever give up his McDonald's completely. But he's trying. Sources tell us that Bill and Hillary are on the South Beach Diet, the weight-loss program that's become all the rage among the body-conscious. One of our spies overheard Bill crediting the diet when someone complimented him on looking so good at Hillary's book party ... He also said all his friends in Hollywood are on it.

"We're told that the Clintons were hooked shortly after a friend gave them copies of the book."

"Bill has looked good," Malkin said in an interview. "If you look at pictures of him from now compared to a few months ago, he has definitely lost some weight." Malkin said a mutual friend of the Clintons and Dr. Agatston introduced them to the diet.

The South Beach Diet has been compared to the phenomenally successful Atkins diet -- both books were written by doctors, focus on low-carbs and promise hunger-free weight loss. Agatston is critical of Atkins, saying his own diet is "humane" and allows people to eat some pasta and bread. It also let them splurge occasionally on a chocolate bar or french fries.

He calls South Beach the "accidental diet" because it was originally designed to help his patients ward off stroke and heart disease. But, like Atkins, it is on its way to becoming a dieting empire. The book has sold more than one million copies and has been on The New York Times bestseller list for weeks. There is a Web site (with a fee attached) that gives users a "weight tracker," meal planner, "shopping list generator," personal journal and message board to chat to other dieters. A cookbook is also in the works.

The diet has three stages. Clinton has already passed phase one, a strict initiation where he was deprived of such things as rice, pasta, potatoes, alcohol and fruit for two weeks. A typical breakfast in this stage is two eggs and lean bacon. In phase two, dieters can add a couple of favourite foods until they reach their ideal weight. Phase three involves a reasonable maintenance plan with three balanced meals and snacks -- normal helpings of protein, good fats and good carbs.

Agatston promises dieters consistently dramatic results (dropping eight to 13 pounds in the first two weeks). "Best of all, as you lose weight, you'll lose that stubborn belly fat first," he writes, adding he has helped "countless women and men ... get down to string-bikini and Speedo-swim-trunks shape."

Asaad Farag, general manager at The Regent Wall Street Hotel and Spa in New York, was so impressed with Clinton's new figure that he went on the diet, put his chef on it and has introduced a South Beach menu at his hotel with such dishes as grilled tuna, Asian pear salad and Mediterranean couscous salad with spicy yogurt dressing.

In June, the former president expressed his love of the diet at a function at the hotel for the National Albanian American Council. The chef served filet mignon (the leanest cut of meat and South-Beach-approved). "He shared that with me at an event he was attending here," Farag said. "He had been on it for 60 days and was in phase two. I can tell you my observation: He looked fantastic, absolutely great. The looks, the face, the shape, the way he carries himself -- he looks fantastic," said Farag, who is in phase two and has lost 17 pounds.

"It is entirely refreshing, frankly. It is causing a huge buzz in the city," he said.

But like others keen on protecting Clinton's privacy, he was reluctant to go into too much detail. The phone mysteriously cut off twice during the interview and he never called back. His parting words: "I really don't want to go through that much information. He happened to share this with us at the hotel, including myself, but I am not comfortable spitting it out like that. I hope you understand."

One former campaign aide for Clinton, who declined to be identified, said the diet seems to be working.

"In the 91/92 campaign, he put on a lot of weight. It is hard to eat healthy food on a campaign; it's all chips and dips. Dunkin' Donuts is a great place to campaign. The last time I saw him, he was looking good."

John Brademas, a former Democrat congressman who is now president emeritus of New York University, saw Clinton at an event last month in London at Westminster Hall. "The speakers included Nelson Mandela and Tony Blair and Bill Clinton. He looked fine, is all I can tell you ... He looked in good form," he said.

"I saw Hillary on television recently and I thought she looked terrific. I should also tell you that on the 7th of August, Al Gore was here [at the university] speaking and he looked terrific," Brademas said. "Maybe they are all on the South Beach Diet."

Part one of a six-part series. jsmyth~nationalpost.com