American magician and libertarian Penn Jillette lost 105 pounds and 10 pants sizes in four months. It was his medical condition that pushed him to do it.

The six-foot-seven atheist reports that his blood pressure was so high that, despite being on on six “very powerful meds” he was nonetheless hospitalized. His doctor said his weight needed to come down, but provided only a relatively modest target of 30 or 40 pounds. His condition would then be easier to control, he was told.

Then the doctor held out the clincher: If Jillette was able to get his total body weight down to 230 pounds, he just might not need any medication whatsoever. Thus motivated, he went about radically changing his life and began a super-low-calorie diet. From December of last year into March, Penn Jillette ate approximately 1,000 calories a day and watched his weight drop just under a pound a day.

Goal achieved, free-market capitalist no longer keeps up the extremely low calorie diet but does follow the so-called Nutritarian eating plan publicized by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. The diet focuses on maximizing micronutrients per calorie and avoids processed grains, animal products and added salt and sugars.

Jillette is now back to eating a lot, saying he eats “unbelievable amounts of food” only that it is “very, very, very healthy.” He would probably do okay if he had a steak or donuts every couple weeks, he says, but that he simply has not wanted to. There is very little temptation because he feels so very much better than before.

Exercise is part of his new life. In addition to cycling, weight training and jogging, Jillett does the “scientific seven-minute workout” published by the New York Times.

Penn Jillette has led a varied career, from columnist in a tech magazine to actor / magician to  film producer. In 2008, Penn Jillette was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars.