Actor Walton Goggins recently revealed that he followed what he described as an “extreme” diet to perfect his role in the HBO series “White Lotus.”
The 52-year-old is appearing in the third installment of the anthology series, which was filmed in Thailand.
While skipping breakfast defies conventional eating habits, it can provide simplicity for some, according to Dr. Marschall Runge, executive vice president of medical affairs at the University of Michigan and CEO of Michigan Medicine.
“The effectiveness of this regimen are exactly what they need to shed pounds,” Dr. Runge told The Epoch Times. “Goggins’s diet mirrors the principles of the popular keto lifestyle.”
The Keto diet, short for ketogenic diet, is a high-fat, moderate-protein, and low-carbohydrate diet.
Goggins is known for movie roles such as Billy Crash in “Django Unchained” in 2012, Clay Hawkins in “Lincoln” in 2012, Captain Nokes in “Miracle at St. Anna” in 2008, and more recently the TV series “Fallout.”
“White Lotus” follows the adventures of guests and employees at a resort chain as their personality dysfunctions emerge. The series also stars Parker Posey, Michelle Monaghan, and Patrick Schwarzenegger, son of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“You eat every meal together,“ Goggins said about being on set with his castmates. ”You’re sequestered in these five-star hotels, these golden handcuffs—if you will—and you get to know each other very well. It’s very rare in the life of an actor to get the opportunity to live in the place where you work. And so it was a little jarring at first, very convenient just to wake up and walk five minutes to the set.”
“It’s going to be longer, bigger, crazier,“ White said. ”I don’t know what people will think, but I am super excited, so at least for my own barometer, that’s a good thing ... I’m super excited about the content of the season.”
In addition to eating light meals, the movie and TV star also avoids carbs for most of the day.
Carbs are found in many foods, such as starchy vegetables, grains, and sugar.
“My White Lotus diet often centered around not eating until around one o’clock in the afternoon,” he said. “But I’m always like that when I work, and [I] only [have] two nine-minute boiled eggs.”
Eating disorder specialist Kyla Fox said that nine-minute eggs likely refers to how long Goggins cooks them.
“That’s a high-protein, high-fat meal,” Fox told The Epoch Times.
Goggins’s practice of skipping breakfast may not be ideal for everyone, she said, because it can slow the body’s metabolism and could lead to binges later on.
“Eating breakfast sets the tone for the day,” Fox said. “It activates and supports the brain and body to work efficiently and leads to regulated eating, stable metabolism, and a stable mood.”
Although Goggins exercises, he did not disclose his gym routine.
Mini-fasting, also known as intermittent fasting (IF), involves avoiding meals entirely for a set period of time.
According to Elizabeth Brown—a registered dietitian nutritionist, certified personal trainer, and certified holistic chef—following an IF diet, even a few days a week, can put someone in a calorie deficit and may make it easier to obtain and maintain a lean physique.
“For someone trying to stay in a calorie restriction, intermittent fasting, with an 8–10 hour window of eating, is an easier way to restrict calories without counting calories or macros,” Brown told The Epoch Times.
Brown owns The Kitchen Vixen, a nutrition consulting group in Los Angeles.
Macros, also known as macronutrients, are carbohydrates, fat, and protein.
“No bread, nine-minute boiled eggs with avocado,” Goggins said. “That’s what I do and then a sensible dinner around five o’clock that involves some protein.”
Two hard-boiled eggs contain about 155 calories and half an avocado has about 130 calories.
Goggins’s diet is easy to do and can lead to weight loss, according to Dr. Christine Sauer, author of “Eating for Vibrant Health and Explosive Energy.”
“Our ancestors already fasted intermittently in variable intervals,” Sauer told The Epoch Times. “Our body is equipped to do this if we are healthy—and humanity would not have survived without this mechanism of switching your metabolism from carb burning to fat burning and vice versa.”
