- At a TV festival earlier this month, John Goodman posed for photos that showed off his dramatic weight loss.
- In a new interview, he reflected on the transformation, which took place over many years.
- The simple activity of walking was one of the few things that helped him make the change.
John Goodman’s dramatic weight loss is all the buzz since The Righteous Gemstones star appeared at the 62nd Monte Carlo TV Festival earlier this month. But despite what headlines imply, the 71-year-old’s transformation didn’t happen overnight.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Goodman said he’s lost over 200 lbs thanks to a mixture of lifestyle changes over the last few years—one of them being the simple habit of daily walks. “That was just getting out and walking the dogs,” he said. But ever since the world returned to bustling normalcy post-pandemic, he’s lost the time and energy to keep it up, he added.
“I was boxing up until then and I haven’t been able to do that since COVID because I’m lazy,” he said. “I haven’t been exercising, but I’m going to start a routine again this summer where I can get some stuff done. I’ve just let everything go just because I haven’t had the energy because of the jobs.” (And by jobs, he’s referring to Gemstones and his recurring role on the Rosanne spinoff, The Connors.)
Goodman told Rolling Stone that he’s grown to like boxing as another active pastime—though not one he’s ever competed in seriously. “I dug it. Yeah. Nobody’s going to get hurt, but it’s just hitting the mitts and trying to learn,” he said. “I never got good enough where I would trust myself to spar because once I get whacked in the face, I don’t know if I wouldn’t lose it.”
He added that he’d like to eventually grow “more advanced” at the sport. “But it’s usually just an hour, hour and a half of hitting the mitts, hitting the bags, learning footwork,” he said. “It’s great.”
Goodman has opened up about his weight loss journey in the past. In 2010, he told People he dropped 100 lbs by cutting sugar and alcohol from his diet and working with health coach and trainer Mackie Shilstone. “I’m breaking a sweat but I’m not going nuts,” he said, referring to his previously more sedentary lifestyle.
In 2015, Shilstone told The New York Post that Goodman continued his progress by adopting the Mediterranean diet, which consists of lots of fresh vegetables, olive oil, and fatty fish. (An overwhelming amount of research shows it can lead to sustainable weight loss, improve heart health and brain function, and even prevent chronic conditions like diabetes and cancer.)
After a past of yo-yo dieting, the changes helped Goodman find stability and energy to continue to work into his 60s and 70s.
“In the old days, I would take three months out, lose 60 or 70 lbs, and then reward myself with a six-pack of bud or whatever and just go back to my old habits,” he told ABC News in 2016. “I’m getting to the age where I can’t afford to sit still anymore. And it gives me the energy to work, ‘cause work is very draining.”
Kayla Blanton is a freelance writer-editor who covers health, nutrition, and lifestyle topics for various publications including Prevention, Everyday Health, SELF, People, and more. She’s always open to conversations about fueling up with flavorful dishes, busting beauty standards, and finding new, gentle ways to care for our bodies. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ohio University with specializations in women, gender, and sexuality studies and public health, and is a born-and-raised midwesterner living in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband and two spoiled kitties.
