Cruise passengers learn diet trick that woman says made her weight loss finally stick

A cruise designed for people who follow low-carbohydrate diets is teaching passengers the eating approach one woman says helped her lose weight - and keep it off - after decades of trying.

Hubbs said this type of eating is "the only thing that ever worked for me."

"For the last 40, 50 years, that's what's made me feel healthy and strong," Hubbs told Fox News Digital. "I'm 73 years old, and I'm still scuba diving."

One of the members was a blogger with contacts in the ketogenic network. He offered to recruit speakers for the cruise and to speak himself.

The Low Carb Cruise has sailed 20 times. The company partners with a large cruise company that has "great conference spaces." Recently, most of the sailings have been on Royal Caribbean.

The sailings feature seminars that focus on reducing carbohydrates rather than following one specific low-carb plan.

"We play together, we dance together. We have costume parties together. It's like sailing with friends and family,' Hubbs said. 

The cruise attracts both newcomers and repeat attendees, Hubbs said.

Michelle Hall, a Low Carb Cruise committee member who also lives in Arizona, said many passengers are familiar with the frustration of trying diet after diet.

"I was on my first diet when I was 9," Hall told Fox News Digital. "I had weight issues basically my entire life. I did everything through my teen years. You name it, I did it."

"It was because of everything scary with COVID," Hall said. "That's really what scared me: If I get this thing, I'm probably going to die. That was enough."

Hall said when she found out about the cruise, she booked a trip for her and her husband immediately.

"The overwhelming response was the community," Hall said.

One fellow cruiser said, "Since my first Low Carb Cruise, the experience has been transformative."

The cruiser said sharing her story and completing her first 5K helped her discover her potential.

Another woman said the cruise inspired her to pursue her doctorate in health sciences.

"Our guts are our second brains," Hall said. "If our gut's not working right, nothing else is working right."

The Low Carb Cruise website says the event is "not recommending nor promoting any particular type of low-carb lifestyle."

Hall said organizers stress that passengers should not feel judged for how they eat while on vacation.

"There's no low-carb police," Hall said. "This is your vacation."