"I lost 100 lbs in 10 months"

Like so many of us raised on SpaghettiOs and McDonald's, Kori Clark constantly craved processed food as an adult. “My hunger level was always high and I struggled with my weight,” says the California mom, 55. “I’d throw myself into diets, but I could only hold on for so long.” Menopause made matters worse. Kori regained the 100 pounds she lost on WeightWatchers, her health spiraling. “I felt 20 years older than my actual age. I was desperate to turn things around.” She was back at WeightWatchers when a Netflix documentary set her on a new path. Today, Kori is 125 pounds lighter and thriving. “My gynecologist says I’m her only patient to have weight-loss success during menopause. She asked if I’d talk to all of her patients!” We asked Kori to talk too. Here, she shares her secrets.

- BY ALLISON NEMETZ

Kori flipped on the documentary What the Health because it promised to shed light on how diet was causing her high blood pressure, arthritis, prediabetes, heart arrhythmia, sleep apnea and more. If she'd known the film was about plant-based eating, she might have skipped it. “At that point, I doubted I could feel full without animal protein,” she recalls. But she was drawn in. People on screen ate all they wanted and lost weight. And the food was healing their bodies. “When it was over, I told my husband I was going plant-based. He rolled his eyes,” she says. “Honestly, I wasn’t convinced I could do it either. But nothing else had stuck, so it was worth a shot.”

Tweaking WeightWatchers

To get started, Kori just made plant-based picks on her WeightWatchers plan. She relied heavily on 'zero point' plant foods allowed in unlimited amounts, including beans, oats, popcorn and most fresh produce. If she wanted avocado, whole-grain wraps or any food that wasn't a freebie, she measured and tracked it. “It helped me feel confident I would keep losing weight as I figured things out,” says Kori.

And she figured a lot out. For example, chickpeas and air-fried tofu were tasty and hearty substitutes for meat in her usual dishes. She discovered she still loves pizza without cheese. She also noticed she could eat large bowls of popcorn daily and still make great progress. “The scale was dramatic. I was dropping 10 pounds a month,” says Kori. Plus, she suddenly found it was far easier to make healthy choices.

Total food freedom

Why did Kori feel relief from her old urges to eat-eat-eat? Experts from What the