Jason Booker
26, Toronto
Pounds dropped: 60
My turning point: About a year and a half ago, my mom started seeing a naturopathic doctor – she was told she might have a gluten intolerance or sensitivity, which might be genetic.
We both decided to give up wheat for two weeks, and see how we felt afterward: After the first week, I felt like a different man. A month after eliminating wheat, I felt physically like I was 12 again: I was able to pick up and run without collapsing, climbing stairs without pain etc.
That was my turning point: not so much about dropping pounds, but about feeling like a kid again.
My method: My weight loss was entirely about changing my diet. I eliminated wheat from all meals, all of the time. It's been a huge learning process. After those two weeks, I learned everything I should have known about food 20 years ago over three months, and continue to learn.
I try to eat simple and fresh foods as often as possible: Vegetables, protein and fruit are my friends. I still eat carbohydrates – things like rice and potato – but now I know exactly how my body processes carbs and what it will do if there are too many carbs: store it as fat.
I gave up wheat entirely – it wasn't easy. To me, we as a society have stopped seeing wheat as a food, and more as a vehicle to facilitate meals: Try to think about sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs without buns.
Think about soup without crackers, dips without crostinis, salads without croutons, traditional sauces and gravies without a roux to thicken them. Desserts without traditional pie crusts, or cakes without flour – the list goes on. It's been a difficult transformation in my diet, but entirely worth it.
I have never looked back after those two weeks. Now a year later and 60 pounds lighter, I feel great and continue to lose weight. Exercise has never been part of my weight loss: I did not have to work out regularly to drop the pounds.
My kryptonite: I love – really love – chocolate bark. A slab of dark chocolate messed up with cashews and Himalayan pink salt that is absolutely irresistible.
This interview has been condensed and edited.
Tell us how you lost it: tgam.ca/weightloss
Amberly McAteer