Bruce Tucker Interviewed by Sherry Bruck
SB: So we have a mutual friend Thom Kleiner who showed me a photo of you and him campaigning last fall, before you started the Can’t Lose Diet, and to me you didn’t look that heavy. What motivated you to want to lose weight?
BT: Well, the last time I had lost weight was when I was 50 and I did it on my own. Since then, I had put some of the weight back on and I was feeling heavy and unhealthy, but when I tried to lose it on my own, what worked for me at 50 wasn’t working anymore. So, I searched for a weight loss program on the internet and found Pat Hall’s Can’t Lose Diet. When I did my due diligence, I was impressed by the reviews people had posted.
SB: I heard that your wife also encouraged you to clean up your eating habits.
BT: Yes, that too. She was concerned with some of my eating habits, particularly when it came to processed foods. It’s amazing how much sugar is in processed foods. Pat taught me it’s not the fat in foods that’s the problem—it’s the sugar! The body actually needs some healthy fats every day, so besides losing the weight, the Can’t Lose Diet program taught me how to eat healthy. It’s an added bonus.
SB: So, you started the program on March 1st and then COVID hit! You had to transition from in-person weekly consultations with Pat Hall to remote sessions. How did that work?
BT: It really wasn’t too much of an issue. Rather than me going to the office, weighing in and having a conversation in-person, I would weigh myself at home and then have a weekly call. What I quickly realized was that being on the diet during COVID worked out advantageously for me because the shutdown eliminated dining out at restaurants. The diet does allow eating out, but it takes planning and diligence because it’s hard to control what chefs put into their dishes—spices that may have sugar, oils, butter—etc. Because of the shutdown I didn’t have to worry about the food temptations that comes with socializing.
SB: You’re the mayor of Piermont, NY, so I’m sure, like all other officials at that time, you had a lot of responsibility during COVID.
BT: It was a tough time, there’s no doubt about it. We had to pretty much shut down the village, close off parks, and make sure people were wearing masks. We came through it okay, but we are still dealing with how to handle visitors because Piermont is a very charming village with a beautiful waterfront and long pier out into the Hudson, and people love to spend the day here. We’re not out of the woods but things are going okay.
SB: How did you feel coming out of lockdown?
BT: Personally, I came out of COVID down 27 pounds with 25 pounds of that being fat, because of Pat and the Can’t Lose Diet. And just as the website promised, I was never hungry. Pat changed my life in a bunch of different ways, but I think the funniest story is the fact that when I walked into my first appointment, I said to her “If I can’t drink on this diet, I might as well just leave now because I like an occasional drink” and Pat responded, “You can only drink three things on this diet—gin, vodka, and red wine.”
Then I said, “Well, you hit two of them, so let’s go.”
“I love telling people that story because it’s kind of funny.”
In-Person & Remote Dieting Options
Local dieters in and around our headquarters location in Westchester County, New York come to the office for an initial weight loss consultation and weekly sessions while on the program. Dieters across the 50 U.S. states follow the program remotely via weekly phone (or video) meetings. In the age of COVID-19, many local dieters choose the remote dieting option as well.
