Ted Cruz’s 2026 game plan: Lose weight, skip the drinks, read the Bible daily

EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Ted Cruz has three New Year’s resolutions — and he’s making it his 2026 mission to stick to them.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Cruz, R-Texas, laid out his 2026 promises.

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“The first is one that a lot of people make in the New Year, which is hard to deliver on — to lose some weight,” Cruz said. “In particular, to drop 30 pounds this year.”

Cruz told Fox News Digital he weighed in at 236 pounds Jan. 1, 2026.

“My goal by January of next year is to be 206,” he said.

“When I graduated from college I was 135 — skinny as a rail,” Cruz continued, joking that some say he is “twice the man I used to be.”

“Dropping 30 pounds is something that would be good to do, so I’m going to work on diet and exercise,” Cruz said.

Cruz told Fox News Digital he is focusing on a ketogenic diet to start.

“I’m cutting out carbs and focusing on eating meat and cheese and vegetables,” he said. “Keto can be tough to do, but it can produce real effects.” 

Cruz’s second New Year’s resolution is to stick to “dry January,” meaning no alcoholic beverages for the month of January.

“I’ve long enjoyed red wine with dinner, and you can have fun at dinners and laugh a lot, but at the same time, wine is filled with calories, and if you’re trying to drop 30 pounds, pouring grape juice into your midsection is not exactly conducive to that objective.” 

Cruz said he’s replaced that red wine with sparkling water with lime, vitamin water and more.

“You know, drinks that taste good and that I enjoy,” he said. 

“I’ve been amazed at how many friends of mine are doing dry January,” Cruz said. “We had good friends who came to the house. They brought a six-pack of nonalcoholic beer, and we had that beer and cheese and meat charcuterie board. It was just a good chance hanging out with friends, but I didn’t know they were doing that, but it turns out, we all were.” 

And finally, Cruz’s third resolution for 2026 is to read the Bible every day.

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“This is something I’ve done during different times of my life. With all the demands of work and family and kids, it is easy to get pulled in different directions and lose that discipline,” Cruz said.

Cruz recalled that he and his wife, Heidi, would do an “evening devolution” when his daughters, now 17 years old and 15 years old, were younger, but told Fox News Digital that as they have gotten older, it has been more difficult to stick to.

“I want to read the word and reflect on it and have your spirit open to listen — listen to the Holy Spirit. Let the words of Jesus impact your daily life,” Cruz said. “It is something I’ve always wanted to do, and in fact, after I made my resolutions, my pastor texted me and suggested we’d spend a Sunday afternoon a month and spend some time together in prayer and in Bible study together.”

Cruz said faith and Bible study has “been a part of my life since I was a kid.”

“There are different times in life where you have more or less discipline and consistency,” he said.

“Every day, we should start with Jesus first, and that has remained true in my prayer life, but at times, the demands of the moment have distracted me from reading the word consistently every day and I’m going to return to that.” 

It’s been 21 days into 2026 and Cruz says he is going strong.

“Its going well,” he said.

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As for the diet, he said he has been “keeping to it,” and is going to be working more exercise into his routine.

“I already play basketball twice a week,” he said. “I’m going to be working in daily pushups.”

As for other priorities for the new year, Cruz said he and his wife are focused on their daughters.

“Our girls are 15 and 17 — one is a senior in high school and one is a freshman. They are teenagers getting ready to go off to school,” he said. “You reflect on the limited number of days they’re going to be home much longer.”

He added: “When they leave for school, I’ll go into their bedrooms and just cry. I love my girls.”

“The days that the girls are home and not out in the world are rapidly dwindling, and that makes you want to make sure you’re carving out time right now,” he said. “Because the time right now, today, will never be back tomorrow.” 

As for a potential 2028 presidential run, Cruz told Fox News Digital that his “focus right now is representing 31 million Texans, and it is an incredible privilege to serve them and represent the great state of Texas in the U.S. Senate.” 

“That is my priority right now and my sole focus,” Cruz said.