Finding a good diet and sticking to it has not only been a concern for many women across the world, but also for U.S. President William Howard Taft who was high-profile yo-yo dieter back in the day. Now a new report released Monday revealed Taft shed 60 pounds in the early 1900s after following a rigorous low-carb diet.
In an article published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, historian Deborah Levine, an assistant professor of health policy and management at Providence (R.I.) College, shared letters between President Taft and his doctor and diet expert, Nathaniel E. Yorke-Davies. Levine says this provides "a detailed look at patient care for obesity during this time."
"People today may be surprised that patients were seeking care for obesity as early as the beginning of the 20th century," Levine noted. Taft, 6 feet 2 inches tall, underwent yo-yo diets like many dieters today. He would often lose weight only to soon regain it again. His weight fluctuated between 350 to 255 pounds.
After reaching a breaking point with his weight, he reached out to Davies who suggested he try out a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet. This is the equivalent to today's modern diet, the Atkins Diet, which reality star and new mom Kim Kardashian attributes her rapid baby-weight loss to.
The candid exchanges between doctor and patient highlight the ups and down of weight loss. Taft kept a weight loss journal and would often send progress reports to Davies. Taft weighed himself almost every day and once a week his secretary sent copies of the weight records to the doctor, Levine says.
'I feel in excellent condition. I used to suffer from acidity of stomach, and I suppose that was due to overloading it,' Taft wrote at one point.
According to Levine, Taft lost from 314 pounds in December 1905 to 255 pounds in April 1906 during the first course of treatment. His weight-loss plan "seems quite similar to what we would call a low-carb diet, but people didn't even talk about carbs at that time."
