Pizza diet helps man lose 94 lbs.

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - A New York City chef turned to the Mediterranean diet and margherita pizza to drop nearly 100 lbs.

Pasquale Cozzolino, 38, of Ribalta Restaurant says the pizza served as his lunch while other meals were smaller in size than he had been accustomed to eating.

They were also heavy on vegetables and olive oil and moderate amounts of protein.

"It helps you to stay away from junk food,” he told the NY Post. “When you eat a pizza, you don’t need anything else," said Cozzolino.

Margherita pizza is loaded with fresh tomato sauce, a thin layer of mozzarella cheese and basil.

The native Italian also cut out sweets and soda entirely.

Another trick to a diet-friendly pizza is using dough made from very finely milled wheat flower from Italy used to make traditional Neapolitan pizza.

Cozzolino, who started dieting in June 2015, now weighs 276 lbs., down from 370 lbs.

He posts photos of his evolving physique on Instagram at @chefcozzolino.