If there’s one person whose weight loss I really want to hear about, it’s a comedian and dad of five. Thankfully for everyone, Jim Gaffigan is telling the story of how he dropped pounds with his signature combo of wisdom, and his ability to laugh at himself. He’s so relatable he even lives in a two-bedroom unit with said five kids!
Besides playing Tim Walz on Saturday Night Live, Gaffigan has a standup comedy special that is about to premiere on Hulu. The humorous star has similar observational humor to Jerry Seinfeld (so it makes sense the two are touring together). He has more than a few things to say about losing weight.
How did Jim Gaffigan lose weight?
Gaffigan told Us Weekly that he used Mounjaro and lost weight. He called food his “reward,” and said, “I’m kind of like a square Midwesterner. I will never look super thin.” He also shared that he decided to see if he could drop some pounds when he weighed 270. This approach is awesome because if you’re going to focus on being “thin,” that’s a dangerous game to play and you might never feel like you’ve lost enough weight. As the Mounjaro website explains, taking this drug “decreases food intake” and “improves insulin sensitivity.”
Careful attention to his diet also appears to be how the comedian lost weight. According to Mashed, Gaffigan said in 2020 that he is still a big fan of candy and potato chips (aren’t we all). But he ate pickles and fruit, and also did what he could not to consume carbs and sugar.
Gaffigan said, “I’m trying to not eat bread or sugar. So it’s rather depressing, but I would say I cheat, you know what I mean?” The star told Mashed he still ate buns at dinnertime, so he wasn’t totally off bread. This is the guy who wrote the memoir Food: A Love Story, after all. It wouldn’t make sense for him to say goodbye to sourdough, or his bread of choice, forever.
As is clear from the title of his stand-up special The Skinny, Gaffigan talks about dropping weight, so fans will definitely want to check it out to hear more about what he did. With his typical sense of humor — he really doesn’t take himself too seriously at all — he said people would talk to his wife about his weight loss because “it’s more likely that I’m sick than that I would ever have any self-discipline.” Gaffigan also said in the special, “I’m normally a fat guy, but since I’ve lost all this weight, now I’m just arrogant.”
Gaffigan’s comedy is so special because he has a lot to say about his daily life with his family, but even when he seems to be making fun of himself, he manages to sound compassionate, too. He approached his weight loss the same way. He wisely pointed out to Us Weekly that many don’t approach binge eating with any care or understanding, which is also why there has been a controversy surrounding using Ozempic and other substances to lose weight.
Fans might not be surprised Gaffigan is talking about his weight loss now considering he has discussed food throughout his career. He traveled to Spain and Canada to try out various dishes for the TV show Jim Gaffifan: The Pale Tourist and, according to Mashed, enjoyed jamon, tapas, and gazpacho.
Curious to hear even more about Gaffigan’s weight loss? You can watch his Hulu special The Skinny on Nov. 22, 2024.