The essence of his self-designed strategy: Eat less. Work out regularly.
"There is no way to reduce weight without reducing the way you eat, unless you run six or seven miles a day," the 5-foot-11 Rendell says as he cools down on the treadmill in the basement of the governor's mansion after his morning workout.
Diet and nutrition experts say they approve of Rendell's strategy and applaud him for what they call a "significant" achievement.
"Sixty pounds in 14 months is quite an accomplishment," says Thomas Wadden, director of the Center for Weight and Eating Disorders at the University of Pennsylvania. "Many things he's doing are right out of the textbook on weight control."
Rendell, 66, says he runs on the treadmill 30 minutes a day, six days a week, and has cut in half the portions he eats.
No Atkins diet. No personal trainer. No diet docs. No calorie counting. No appetite suppressants.
Gary Foster, director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University, says that if the governor's program works for him, then it's the right one.
"What's elegant about the approach is its simplicity," Foster says. "Many people get tripped up by the complexity of calories, carbs, sodium, cholesterol, and we end up asking patients to go through mental gymnastics every morning."
Tuning in
Rendell starts his regimen at 8:30 Thursday morning, tuning in to MSNBC's Morning Joe, where on Tuesday he took President Obama to task for agreeing to go on The View.
In T-shirt and green running shorts, Rendell pounds the treadmill at a steady pace - his workout room covered with photos of Philadelphia sports teams - as he watches the pundits debate.
Rendell briefly ponders a question as he nears the two-mile mark: Can he claim victory in the battle of the bulge?
"It's a lifetime issue," he says. "The goal was to change habits. The question is, can I stay in good shape for life?"
