Nutrition

Eating My Way to the Top

How a sugar-free diet helped advertising’s It man lose 250 pounds

By: Chris Strauss
[ Updated: Aug 21, 2008 - 4:59:15 PM ]

Utter the phrase “larger than life” on Madison Avenue and everyone within earshot will likely think of the same man: Peter Arnell. For more than two decades, the 48-year-old brand inventor has uniquely reshaped the very concept of brand marketing, revitalizing the identities of companies such as Reebok, Banana Republic, and Samsung. But until a few years ago, his supersize reputation wasn’t based solely on marketing genius.

“This is from when I weighed 350 pounds,” says Arnell, holding up a size-60 suit jacket. He had already lost 50 pounds by the time he purchased it in 2001. A lifetime of skipping exercise and eating “Caesaresque” portions of knishes and tongue sandwiches had padded his 5-foot-9 frame with a blubbery 400 pounds. “It was embarrassing,” says Arnell. “I used to leave meetings wondering what people were thinking of me.”

Fed up, he sought the help of Louis Aronne, M.D., director of Cornell’s Comprehensive Weight Control Program. The diet doc’s advice was threefold: Arnell had to reduce his caloric intake to 1,800 calories a day, eliminate sugars and starches from his diet, and organize his meals around complex carbs like vegetables and whole grains. Dr. Aronne hoped to stabilize Arnell’s blood sugar levels, preventing the spikes in insulin that cause food cravings.

Of course, Arnell also had to exercise, working his way up to 45 minutes a day three days a week. And the diet and fitness plan worked. “People don’t believe me when I tell them how much I weighed,” says the 150-pound Arnell, who recently teamed up with Muhammad Ali to create the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) brand of vitamin-rich, low-calorie snacks for kids.

The Plan
What Peter Arnell eats to keep the weight off

Breakfast: 7 a.m.
• ½ cup All-Bran cereal with
4 oz. soy milk
• 20 oz. water

Snack: 10 a.m.
• 10 oranges
• small plate of seaweed