American doctor lost 56 kg after many years of ‘eating to relax’

At the age of 38, Kevin Gendreau is currently an obesity treatment expert, having helped more than 3,000 patients regain their shape. However, few people know that this doctor himself reached a weight of 138 kg and was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, blood lipids, fatty liver and sleep apnea when he was a young resident doctor.

Gendreau’s weight gain journey did not happen overnight but accumulated over many years of stress, starting when his father had terminal skin cancer. Faced with work pressure, long shifts and family psychological shock, he turned to starchy foods and processed foods as a defense mechanism to soothe his emotions. “At that stage I was just in survival mode, trying to get through each day but not really living,” he recalls.

The turning point came when Gendreau’s older sister discovered ovarian cancer at the age of 32. Witnessing the fragility of life, the male doctor realized he had to be healthy to take care of his grandchildren. He decided to change with the philosophy: “Tomorrow is no longer obvious.”

Instead of applying extreme methods, Gendreau leveraged medical knowledge to build a sustainable roadmap. He eliminated processed foods, switched to a low-carb diet, prioritizing protein, healthy fats, green vegetables and berries. The male doctor does not count calories rigidly but learns to listen to his body, only eating until he is full instead of straining his stomach.

In addition to food selection, Gendreau applies a limited eating time frame of 6 hours a day (16:8 intermittent fasting) to stabilize blood sugar and reduce insulin resistance. Regarding exercise, he does not exercise too much but commits to walking 10,000 to 15,000 steps a day by integrating it into his daily activities.

After 18 months of perseverance, Gendreau successfully lost 56 kg. Previously harmful health indicators returned to normal levels without the need for medical intervention. According to him, the biggest change is not in the body but in the mind. He believes that sustainable change does not come from hating yourself, but from believing that you deserve a better life.

From personal experience and actual treatment, Dr. Gendreau concluded that weight loss is a combination of biological, environmental and psychological factors, not simply based on willpower. He advises people to determine their true motivation, because when the reason is big enough, the numbers on the scale will automatically change.