Nick Watt dines with French nutritionist Patrick Leconte (Image Credit: ABC News)
I went all the way to Switzerland in search of the weight-loss holy grail: a diet that allows you to drink wine and lose weight at the same time. And when I got there I discovered Im 22 pounds overweight. Thats my headline.
I always thought I was buff. Im not. So how can I shift that holiday weight, which has been hanging around my middle since the holidays of 1997?
Well, according to the keepers of this apparently counterintuitive weight loss regimen: I can eat so much cheese for breakfast that it makes me feel sick; I can eat french fries for lunch; I can have a chunk of chocolate mid-afternoon; and I can have two glasses of red wine with dinner.
Ive been on this diet eight days, and Ive already lost nearly five pounds. By the time this story airs on 20/20 Friday night, Ill probably be even skinnier. How is all this possible?
Well, I learned all these secrets on the Slimness Goal Package at an absurdly swanky hotel, the Beau Rivage Palace, on the bonny, bonny banks of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. The place is money. Theres gleaming marble everywhere you look. A burger on room service costs $45. A little suite will run you $1,600 a night.
While checking in I eavesdropped on a conversation a fat man with monogrammed shirt cuffs was having with the concierge. Just have the car wait because Im not sure which flight Ill take to London, he said with nonchalance. Bear in mind that a simple airport transfer from the hotel to Geneva Airport (40 minutes) costs $500. This guy didnt even ask the price. He didnt care.
A suave French nutritionist named Patrick Leconte is the well-groomed centerpiece of the weight loss program. His favorite phrase is: It is no problemmm! spoken with a delicious French shrug.
The program is based on chrono-nutrition, so its more about when you eat than what you eat. You must eat certain food groups only at the same time of day as your body is producing the right chemicals to process them. You can eat fruit, but never for breakfast. You can eat bread, but never in the evening.
Well, I say never. My favorite part of Monsieur Lecontes program is that twice a week you can pull what he calls a Joker and eat whatever the hell you like. His diet is designed to make you lose weight as well as enjoy yourself. Its a diet you can stick to, he says. Its the diet that says to the wealthy women of Europe: You can look good on the Riviera in summer, and drink champagne.
Continue reading here:
The Wine and Chocolate Diet?
