Christopher Schwarzenegger opens up about drastic weight loss as he reveals 'one rule' he swore by

Speaking at the Inaugural Beacher Vitality Happy & Healthy Summit in Los Angeles on May 10th, Christopher Schwarzenegger shared details of his five-year fitness journey.

The son of Maria Shriver and bodybuilding and action movie legend Arnold Schwarzenegger joined Shriver, Kelly Osbourne, and host Jeff Beacher in a panel discussion about weight loss.

"I started in 2019 when I was living in Australia,” he said. “I was on this big trip. I made it a big [deal] like, 'Oh, I'm going to go out and do all this stuff, be in Australia,' and I just saw how much my weight was prohibiting me from doing the everyday activities."

Schwarzenegger (right) with his family in 2016 (Lester Cohen/Getty Images)

Sharing an example, he said: "I was like, 'I want to go skydiving.' And my friends were like, 'Yeah, no shot.' I was like, 'Yeah, I can't skydive.'"

Christopher, 27, explained that his insecurities around his weight reached as far back as his high school days where he would bring specialised lunches to school in the hopes of eating more healthily.

"I tried everything. I was doing meal delivery things in high school, and I remember feeling like a weirdo when I was bringing weird lunches to school," he said, before making a heartbreaking admission about comparison photos.

"It's not an overnight thing, but it took a lot of trial and error. And even still to this day... when you're saying, oh, before and after photos...I don't feel like I'm an ‘after’ yet. I don't feel like I'm at the point."

Christopher with brother Patrick (left) at Oktoberfest in 2022 (Hannes Magerstaedt/Contributor/Getty Images)

The panel marked one of the first times that Christopher has spoken publicly about his weight, with fans having taken note of his weight loss last month when he was photographed having dinner with his brother Patrick, star of The White Lotus.

Apparently, he made a breakthrough by giving up just one food item for Lent, losing 30 pounds in just two months.

"Weirdly enough, I gave up bread for Lent," he said. "I don't know if anyone's Catholic in here, but I gave up bread for Lent.

"I was like, 'Well, if I'm giving up bread, I might as well just take the opportunity and I'm a good Catholic boy, so I'm not going to break it,'. And that was my one rule. I was like, 'I'm not going to break Lent.' And so I lost 30 pounds just through that."

Chris speaking at The Beacher Vitality Happy & Healthy Summit in 2025 (Cassidy Sparrow / Contributor/Getty Images)

Cutting bread is a common and often effective option for losing weight, especially if you’re partial to a few slices a day. Healthline notes that a 2014 study found that people who ate 120g of white bread per day were 40% more likely to become overweight or obese.

Schwarzenegger didn’t share just how much bread he was eating before he gave it up for Lent, but the approach has certainly had a dramatic effect on his weight loss journey.