The astonishing metamorphosis of the Mayor of Lausanne after 10 months of dieting
Article translated from Lausanne Cité 09.04.2014. Written by Charaf Abdessemed
https://lausannecites.ch/lactualite/eclairage/le-syndic-gagne-son-pari
Subjected to a strict diet for 10 months, Daniel Brélaz has won his incredible bet.
- At the end of June 2013, he weighed 172 kilos. In a few days, he will stop his diet. He will weigh 88.
Lausanne Cités: Your diet is at the end of its lifespan. How are you feeling?
Daniel Brélaz: I followed a diet based on proteins, green vegetables and salad, but without sugars, except for an apple in the morning. It's still a balanced diet, so it's going pretty well. I feel good, my breathing has improved, I don't have any more back pain, despite a slight fatigue effect. At the end of this month, I'll start to get off the diet, when I reach my goal of 88 kg. So now I'm going to get down to the task of renewing my wardrobe.
What was the hardest thing for you?
The real problems were mostly the first ten days I had them, the time it took for my body to adjust. It was especially important to avoid the pitfalls by avoiding sweeteners, for example, which, by giving the body the impression of having sugar, maintain the feeling of hunger.
Have you ever been tempted to throw in the towel?
No, because I found that it worked and I started to lose weight in the first week... 5 kilos! And then acupuncture was a great support to contain the joint or back pain. The main thing is to follow food prescriptions scrupulously and avoid hidden sugars...
Nearly 80 kilos lost in a few months, it's violent all the same...
The doctors who followed me were trained in both Chinese and Western medicine. They followed me very closely to ensure that there were no deficiencies. The good news is that I was treated for high blood pressure, which I was able to suppress as my blood pressure normalized. On the other hand, because of the diet, I have too much iron in my blood and if this continues, I will have to resort to the good old recipes: donate blood!
How did you decide to start this diet?
By chance, when I was invited last June to inaugurate the new Sinomédica medical practice in Lausanne. That day, one of the doctors there told me: "I can make you lose weight!" And my doctors had just sounded the alarm when they informed me of an imminent risk of developing diabetes... I was thinking of opening a business and the next day I started my diet!
You talk about this diet without any taboo and with a lot of freedom...
Because I'm not ashamed of what I do! Neither as a man nor as a politician for that matter. Besides, there's an educational aspect. Even though each case is different, I discovered that a diet could work, even though I had long thought that a genetic factor was involved. I find it normal to let people know that there is hope... Not to mention the financial dimension of this diet, which is ten times cheaper than surgery.
Isn't the challenge today to avoid a possible relapse?
The doctor following me does not rule out a relapse, of course, even if regaining full weight is extremely rare. We'll see in two years, but it's clear that there's a risk of regaining weight. If by some misfortune I have to put on more than 100 kilos again, because of a trip or stress, I know exactly what to do: I am no longer condemned to eat like an idiot after having known how to eat for 10 months.