Weight Loss“/>A certain type of Irishman carries weight in a way that some men carry briefcases with ease, almost as a matter of habit. For many years, Donal MacIntyre was among them. He once called himself a “chubby Irish potato”, using the effortless self-mockery that the Irish excel at. Because it was honest, the phrase stuck. The joke had lost its humor by the time a doctor sat him down and informed him that he was 17.5 stone, clinically obese, with high blood pressure and pre-diabetes circling like reporters outside a courtroom.
The next thing he did was something most people wouldn’t try or couldn’t do. He didn’t eat for twenty-three days. Not a biscuit smuggled at midnight, not a piece of toast. At an Austrian clinic run by a physician he later credited with saving his life, he was given only coffee and water under medical supervision. In three weeks, he lost about forty-two pounds, or three stones. It’s the kind of figure that makes tabloid editors grab for the front page and nutritionists cringe.
| Bio Data | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Donal MacIntyre |
| Date of Birth | 30 September 1966 |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Profession | Investigative journalist, broadcaster, documentary filmmaker |
| Known For | MacIntyre Undercover (BBC), A Very British Gangster, Dancing On Ice (2009) |
| Peak Weight | Approx. 17.5 stone (111 kg) |
| Reported Weight Loss | Around 3 stone (≈ 42 lbs / 19 kg) in 23 days |
| Method | Medically supervised water-and-coffee fast |
| Spouse | Ameera de la Rosa |
Since then, he has talked candidly about it, and it seems to me that he is still somewhat in awe of the entire situation. It turns out that the body is more accommodating than we realize, as long as a doctor is keeping an eye on your blood pressure, potassium levels, and the little, unglamorous mechanisms that prevent a starving person from falling. It’s not a diet regimen. MacIntyre has never pretended otherwise; it’s more akin to a controlled experiment.
A different chapter of the same story is told during the Dancing On Ice years. He lost two or three stones due to intense, rigorous training back in 2009, the year he put on skates and appeared on national television. And this is the detail he keeps bringing up in interviews, almost nostalgically: people stopped recognizing him on the street after the weight was removed. He claims that his face is forgettable in a good way, which allowed him to pursue an undercover career. Due to his thinness, he was more imperceptible than normal. Apparently, his brand was the plump Irish potato. The nods and double-takes came back as soon as he put the weight back on.
Admitting it is strangely moving. The majority of people would be delighted to slip a few stones and remain there. MacIntyre appears to be observing it with the objectivity of a reporter observing his own subject; he is intrigued, a little amused, and not quite sure how to interpret it. The more difficult question is whether the weight loss persisted following the 23-day fast. After six months, the media started asking, and the truth which no one wants to print in bold is that it’s nearly always more difficult to keep it off than to lose it.
That’s the reality that lies beneath every headline about a famous person losing weight. Before it became apparent that the meals were coming in hampers already prepared, Kate Garraway shed two stones with what appeared to be home-cooked virtue in the magazine spreads. His namesake but unrelated Michael McIntyre recently admitted to using Mounjaro after being called “obese” by a physician. The comedian had previously visited a clinic where affluent patients ran to the restroom in large numbers after drinking Epsom salts. He claimed to be depressed and perplexed when he returned home after losing a stone in just six days.
In light of this, MacIntyre’s strategy seems almost archaic. No GLP-1 prescriptions, no injections, and no rebranded fasting app that costs £79 a month. Just a clinic, a physician, and the harsh math of zero calories. It’s another matter entirely whether it’s wise. Prolonged fasting carries real risks and shouldn’t be attempted based solely on a newspaper interview, as doctors will correctly point out.
The man at the center of the story, however, is what makes it land. He is the same individual who entered football hooligan firms while carrying a covert camera and emerged unharmed. In that sense, discipline was never the issue. The issue was the same one that most of us recognize: a love of bread, companionship, and the little everyday pleasures that add weight to a person’s waist over the course of twenty years. You get the impression that he is still haggling with the plump Irish potato in the mirror when you watch him discuss it now, leaner but not gaunt. And that may be the most relatable aspect of it all, even more so than the three stones.
i) https://www.ladbible.com/entertainment/celebrity/michael-mcintyre-celebrity-mounjaro-weight-loss-health-844685-20251027
ii) https://www.bodychef.com/kate-garraway-and-martine-mccutcheon-diet-meal-plans/