If you’ve been following Vice President JD Vance since his “Hillbilly Elegy” days, you’ve likely observed quite a transformation. In a past CNN interview with Jake Tapper, he confessed he wasn’t initially a Trump supporter, but he understood why residents of his hometown, Middletown, Ohio, were drawn to him. Fast forward to the present, and not only is he backing Trump, but he’s also fully aligned with Trump’s agenda.
However, Vance’s changes aren’t just political. Back in 2016, he was clean-shaven and a bit heavier. Nowadays, he sports a beard and appears significantly leaner — 30 pounds lighter, to be precise.
In the era of Ozempic, many speculated whether he was using semaglutide for weight loss. Even former Rep. George Santos commented on X, asking, “Can anyone confirm Vance is on Ozempic? He’s looking thin and good!”
As it turns out, the answer is no. “I haven’t taken any drugs,” he disclosed to the Daily Mail. Vance began losing weight after becoming a U.S. Senator in early 2023 — and he achieved it the traditional way: through diet and exercise.
Vance skips breakfast
Vance mentioned he wanted to lose weight because he found it challenging to keep up with his three young children. On the 2024 campaign trail, then-VP nominee Vance shot a promotional video at a Pennsylvania grocery store, expressing outrage at the cost of eggs. Pointing to his sons, he remarked, “These guys actually eat about 14 eggs every single morning” (via Independent). While five eggs daily for a child might have shocked the internet, those eggs weren’t for Vance. “I tend to skip breakfast, whereas before I would have, like, you know, three waffles and scrambled eggs and bacon,” he shared with the Daily Mail.
Skipping breakfast might be an easy way to cut calories, but it could have drawbacks. A 2020 meta-analysis in Obesity combined the results of seven studies examining the effect of skipping breakfast over about eight weeks. Although breakfast skippers lost a little more than a pound on average, they didn’t experience significant changes in body fat compared to those who ate breakfast. Breakfast skippers also saw their LDL cholesterol (the “bad” kind) rise by 9 points.
Vance also credits his weight loss to eating “better.” This is a wise choice for maintaining weight loss, as per a 2020 review in Obesity Reviews. Among several weight loss registries, some of the most effective strategies for maintaining weight loss include eating more vegetables, keeping healthy food at home, and reducing sugary and high-fat foods.
Vance finds time for exercise
Despite his hectic campaign schedule, Vance mentioned he started running and going to the gym to help shed some weight. While he didn’t share specific details about his running distance or workout routines, exercise can play a significant role in weight loss. A 2021 article in Obesity Reviews found that regular exercise can lead to an average weight loss of over 7 pounds. It also improves body composition by reducing nearly 6 pounds of body fat. If you lift weights, you might even gain up to 2 pounds of muscle while losing fat. Exercise also helps reduce visceral fat — the unhealthy type that surrounds your organs.
While brisk walking can aid in weight management, Vance’s choice to run might be more effective for losing weight. If running seems tedious to you, sprint intervals are a great alternative. In a 2014 study in Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, women ran on a treadmill three times a week for six weeks, performing four to six 30-second sprints with four-minute rest periods. By the end of the study, participants had lost 8% of their body fat, reduced their waist size by 3.5%, and increased their muscle mass by 1.3%. The best part? They didn’t change their diets.
