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Mike Pompeo loses 90 pounds in 6 months, Internet says he 'wants to look less sinister'

Mike Pompeo has gone viral after his weight loss and says it has been 'a lifetime struggle'

Mike Pompeo, former secretary of state, said he lost 90 pounds in 6 months after hitting the gym and laying off the junk food. Losing weight has been "a lifetime struggle" and it became especially difficult after he was elected to Congress in 2010, said the potential 2024 presidential contender.

Pompeo says that his weight loss journey began after he stepped on the scale in June 2021 and saw he was approaching 300 pounds. He recalls telling his wife Susan, "Today is the day," indicating the start of his transformation journey. He said, "I started exercising, not every day, but nearly every day, and eating right and the weight just started to come off."

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The Kansas congressman also said there were no fad diets, expensive personal training, or intense workout regimes involved in his weight loss. "I tried to get down there five, six times a week and stay at it for a half-hour or so. And that was nothing scientific. There was no trainer, there was no dietitian. It was just me," Pompeo said. 

In an interview with The New York Post, Pompeo said that working in government and at a position like secretary of state involved long workdays and travel days with lots of food — especially cheeseburgers. "You can ask anybody on my team, they knew exactly what I was going to do: cheeseburger from room service. I went back to the room and kept working, and ate my cheeseburger. That was my pattern of life."

"For our family, food is where we gather. We are Italian and we like to get together around a good meal of pasta and bread and cheeses and dessert. We are still going to enjoy these big meals with family and friends except I am going to be the guy that says, 'Yeah, I'll have a salad'," said Pompeo.

The weight loss journey of Mike Pompeo started a discussion on Twitter after a journalist named Aaron Rupar posted a snap of a video of Pompeo and captioned it as, "Mike Pompeo has lost an incredible amount of weight".

A Twitter user wrote, "Well, he's no longer hosting those lavish Madison dinners at taxpayer expense. Guess he doesn't eat as much if he has to pay for it." Another wrote, "He's running! After he gets the ok from Trump, just in case Trump decides to run, at which point it will have all been for nothing." One person wrote, "you know what? Good for him!".

One user commenting on Pompeo's weight loss wrote, "I saw an article a month ago where plastic surgeons were asked their opinions. They agreed he appears to have had facial resurfacing and a subtle nose job, as well. He wants to look less sinister for his '24 run."