John Goodman's major diet overhaul that led to 200lb weight loss
At one point in his life, John Goodman, The Big Lebowski favourite, weighed more than 28 stone (117.8kg)—and it apparently took him ‘a lot of creative energy’ to maintain.
“I know it sounds sappy, but it was a waste. It takes a lot of creative energy to sit on your ass and figure out what you’re going to eat next. I wanted to live life better,” Goodman, 74, said in a 2010 interview with People Magazine.
It wasn’t until his 50s that Goodman decided he no longer wanted to yo-yo diet; he ceased wanting to ‘reward himself with a six-pack of Bud’ for losing a little bit of weight.
Instead, he wanted to improve his health and fitness for good.
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Understanding that living a balanced, healthy lifestyle would be an ‘ongoing process for the rest of [his] life, the Roseanne icon decided to tackle his weight transformation journey slowly but surely.
“This time I wanted to do it slowly – move, exercise. I’m getting to the age where I can’t afford to sit still anymore.
“And it gives me the energy to work, because work is very draining,” he said in a 2016 interview with ABC News.
Everything John Goodman did to lose weight
First, Goodman struck up a partnership with Mackie Shilstone, a premier sports performance manager and career extension specialist, as per the Tulane School of Professional Advancement.
It was Shilstone who not only got Goodman moving but apparently advised the actor to start eating like people who live in Blue Zones.
This was a ‘Mediterranean-style eating plan’ which included indulging in fatty fish, vegetables, fruit, and olive oil, as reported by Men’s Health.
Goodman also began cutting out sugar from his diet while controlling how big his portion sizes were.
"It was basically just portion control and 'I don't need it’,” he claimed in a 2018 chat with AARP Magazine.
"I was just shoving everything into my mouth.”
Alongside his eating plan, Goodman and his coach devised a regimen that had him working out six times per week.
His regular methods of exercise included walking between 10,000 and 12,000 steps per day, boxing, using the elliptical bike and pounding the treadmill, according to the New York Post.
When asked if boxing was his ‘sport of choice’, the father-of-one told Rolling Stone: "I dug it ... Nobody’s going to get hurt, but it’s just hitting the mitts and trying to learn.”
Goodman initially debuted his 200-lb weight loss in 2023.
At the time, he appeared on the red carpet at the 62nd Monte Carlo TV festival, cutting a slim, suited figure.
John Goodman does not drink alcohol
Goodman has been sober since 2007, admitting his addiction was ‘getting to be too much’.
“It was 30 years of a disease that was taking its toll on everyone around me and it had got to the point where, every time I did it, it was becoming more and more debilitating. It was life or death. It was time to stop,” he explained to The Guardian.
More sober celebrities
Tom Holland
Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s leading man has been open and honest about his root to sobriety.
"I didn't one day wake up and say, 'I'm giving up drinking.' I just - like many Brits - had had a very boozy December. Christmas time, I was on vacation, I was drinking a lot,” the 30-year-old told Jay Shetty on his *On Purpose* podcast.
As a result, he embarked on a ‘Dry January’ challenge—and he’s not looked back since.
“I could sleep better, I could handle problems better - things that would go wrong on set that would normally set me off, I could take in my stride,” *The Odyssey* star said.
Anne Hathaway
It’s been more than seven years since actress Anne Hathaway opted to quit drinking.
She vowed to cut out alcohol when her ten-year-old son Jonathan was just a toddler.
“I'm going to stop drinking while my son's living in my house just because I don't totally love the way I do it, and he's getting to an age where he really does need me all the time in the morning,” she said during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
She added that she experienced a hangover while dropping her child off at school: "That was enough for me. I didn't love that one.”
Daniel Radcliffe
Broadway darling and Harry Potter alumnus Daniel Radcliffe decided in the early 2010s that enough was enough; his alcohol dependence needed to come to an end.
Having used booze to cope with the intense anxiety and pressure of global stardom for years, the 37-year-old claimed it took a ‘couple of attempts’ before he was able to kick the habit for good.
“As much as I would love to be a person that goes to parties and has a couple of drinks and has a nice time - that doesn't work for me,” he said, as per I Am Sober.
“I do that very unsuccessfully. I'd just rather sit at home and read, or go out to dinner with someone, or talk to someone I love, or talk to somebody that makes me laugh.”
Mary J. Blige
‘Family Affair’ singer Mary J. Blige once admitted she was ‘dying’ after going cold turkey on feeding her alcohol and drug addictions.
“I just — it was either put up or shut up. It was two choices. It was: You want to live or you want to die?” she said, as reported by Vice.
“And so I prayed and I was like, ‘Lord, you’ve got to help me, you’ve got to send me someone that’s going to help me or send me a friend or something’.”
Her saving grace was apparenly her husband at the time, Kendu Issacs.
“And here he comes. And he just started questioning me and challenging me and not being afraid to go against me in a positive way up against that negative stuff.”
Ella Scott