Librarian Credits ‘Starbucks Diet’ For 80 Pound Weight Loss

What if I told you that in order to lose weight, all you need to do is drink Starbucks coffee? In what will likely amount to the best freebie-PR move for the coffee giant ever, a librarian admits that she lost 80 pounds on a self-designed “Starbucks diet.”

Christine Hall confessed that she lost up to 80 pounds over a period of few years without ever even going to a grocery store to load up on supplements or healthy foods. Instead, she ate every meal of the day at her local Starbucks. Hall, a law librarian with two jobs, went from 190 to a trim 114 pounds on the “Starbucks diet,” eating every one of her meals at a Starbucks near her work.

“I have a busy schedule, so it just works for me,” says Hall, 66. “I know exactly what I’m getting. I can plan my day in advance because I’ve memorized the calories in everything.”

A conscious calorie-counter, Hall said that even her doctor signed off on the “Starbucks diet.”

“It’s not like I’m having a bagel every day,” she said. “I’m mixing it up and making sure I get protein, fruits and vegetables.”

Hall’s weight was never an issue in her regular check-ups, even at a high of 212 in 2009. When she expressed interest in donating a kidney, she was rejected over her weight.

“The kidney doctor was the first who had the nerve to say, ‘Let’s talk about your weight,’” Hall said.

She started a food diary and counted her calories, eating all of her meals at Starbucks. She lost 40 pounds by 2010, enough to finally become an altruistic kidney donor, reports Today. One dietician expressed little surprise that Hall was able to attain her weight loss goal on the “Starbucks diet” but stressed that she did so because of her attention to nutritional balance.

“It’s one thing to choose foods that are low in calories, but it’s another thing to choose low-calorie foods that are nutritionally balanced,” said Jamieson-Petonic, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

For Hall, there’s no turning back:

“I want to keep it [her BMI] at 20 or below for the rest of my life, and that’s a very healthy place to be,” Hall said, contrasting her current level of health to her former struggles with obesity. “I had sleep apnea and I was tired all the time,” Hall said. “My joints hurt. It hurt to stand up. I was in trouble.”

“I’m so blessed with good health,” she said. “I sleep like a baby and I have tons of energy. It’s great.”

Would you do the “Starbucks diet?”