John Goodman, known for his comedic talent and memorable roles, has also been recognized for his significant weight loss journey over the years. His transformation is a testament to his dedication to health and well-being. Goodman's story is not just about losing pounds; it's about addressing underlying issues and making sustainable lifestyle changes.
Early Struggles and the Turning Point
Being a big teddy bear of a guy was part of the package when John Goodman starred on Roseanne in the 1990s, at one point “pushing 400” pounds, as he told David Letterman in 2010. Goodman's weight fluctuated throughout his career, and he openly admitted to struggling with unhealthy habits. In a 2016 interview with ABC News, he confessed, "I just got tired, sick and tired of looking at myself. You’re shaving in the mirror and you don’t want to look at yourself." He described his eating habits as "alcoholic," stating, "I just stopped eating all the time. I’d have a handful of food, and it’d go to my mouth. I was just eating alcoholically."
For Goodman, the turning point came when he addressed the deeper causes of his unhealthy habits. “I think you’re trying to fill a hole that can’t be filled unless it’s filled with goodness, some kind of spirituality, not saying religion," he shared. "But just a belief in something higher than yourself, a purpose. But instead of filling it with booze or cocaine or food, you just acknowledge that it’s there. You can’t fill it." This realization was a crucial step in his journey toward a healthier lifestyle.
Goodman Jumpstarted His Weight-Loss Journey When He Got Sober. During a 2012 interview with The Guardian, the actor explained why he decided to stop drinking in 2007. “It was getting to be too much,” he said. “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.”The actor addressed his sobriety again in 2018 while speaking with TODAY's Willie Geist, revealing that he used to drink on set and experience "slurred" speech. After enlisting the help of a rehabilitation facility, Goodman began to work toward sobriety.
The Initial Weight Loss
In the early 2000s, Goodman embarked on a healthier lifestyle, which led to a noticeable transformation. During the early days of his health transformation, Goodman began speaking out about his decision to stop drinking. While speaking with People in 2010, Goodman opened up about his recent 100-pound weight loss, explaining that his approach was quite simple. “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,” he said.
Read also: Judy Garland's Struggles
For Goodman, making an effort to get up and move around more made a world of difference as he embarked on his weight-loss journey. At the time, the actor was working out six days a week with personal trainer Mackie Shilstone. “I’m breaking a sweat but I’m not going nuts,” he said. Meanwhile, Shilstone told the publication that his client was “very agile” and determined to reach his health goals. “He remembers what it feels like to be extremely heavy and it’s something he doesn’t want again,” he said. Goodman also told People he cut sugar from his diet in an effort to eat healthier.
A Sustainable Approach
Goodman Continued His Slow and Steady Approach to Weight Loss. For Goodman, living a healthy lifestyle is an ongoing journey, not a race. In 2015, his personal trainer told the New York Post his client had been diligent about improving his health. “This didn’t happen overnight - it’s been an ongoing process,” Shilstone said. The personal trainer also noted that Goodman had found success following a “Mediterranean-style eating plan” that prioritized fish, fruit, vegetables, nuts and olive oil. When it came to his ongoing fitness routine, Goodman aimed to take 10,000 to 12,000 steps a day and relied on the treadmill and elliptical bicycle, per Shilstone. “There needs to be strategic planning,” he said. “This time, he really wanted to do it.”
As anyone who’s ever lost weight knows, it’s not a linear journey. Goodman understands that all too well, as he told AARP in 2018. “I don’t want to be an example to anybody when the weight comes thundering back on - when I start eating Crisco out of the can with a spoon and a side of confectioner’s sugar,” he said. During the interview, Goodman chalked his weight loss up to one simple thing: “It was basically just portion control, and ‘I don’t need it,’” he said. Before then, the actor said he “was just shoving everything into my mouth.”
The 200-Pound Milestone
Goodman Announced That He’d Lost 200 Pounds in 2023. During an interview with Rolling Stone in 2023, Goodman revealed that he'd lost 200 pounds in recent years. The star attributed simple activities, like walking his dogs, to helping him maintain his weight loss. He also said boxing was a go-to workout for quite some time, but admitted that he took a temporary break from the hardcore sport.
"I was boxing up until then and I haven’t been able to do that since Covid because I’m lazy. 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," he said. While describing his love for boxing, Goodman said he didn't really get into sparring but mostly spent his time "hitting the mitts." "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 explained. Looking ahead, however, the actor said he had a goal of advancing his skills. "But it’s usually just an hour, hour and a half of hitting the mitts, hitting the bags, learning footwork. “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,” Goodman shared. “But someday I’d like to get that far advanced. But it’s usually just an hour or an hour and a half of hitting the mitts, hitting the bags, learning footwork.
Read also: Inside John Stamos' Fitness Regime
Lessons and Insights from Other Celebrities
Goodman's journey is not unique; many other celebrities have also shared their weight loss experiences and the lessons they've learned.
Tammy Slaton
“I’m down 500 pounds now, around 500,” the 38-year-old said in a confessional on an April 2025 episode of her show. “When I was at my heaviest, I was 700-plus pounds. “Tammy has consistently demonstrated her dedication to making sustainable lifestyle changes to maximize the benefits of her surgery,” Dr. Eric Smith told People in October 2024. “I've emphasized the importance of making small, daily adjustments to ensure not only her continued progress but also her long-term success.
Jelly Roll
“I started at 540 pounds and I was 357 pounds this morning,” the singer born Jason DeFord told Pat McAfee in April 2025 during the ESPN host's Big Night Aht live show. The 6-foot-1 artist admittedly needed to overhaul his relationship with food to get where he wanted to go. "I've always said that I believe obesity is directly connected to mental health," he explained on an October 2024 episode of On Purpose With Jay Shetty. "I'm learning, I'm being very diligent with it,” he said. “My mantra is ‘something is better than nothing,’” he told People in a June 2025 interview. Surgery is “not the end,” he advised.
Travis Kelce
All of which is part of his retirement plan. “I feel like for some reason, 250 to 260 feels like I'll be still big and be happy with the way I look without having a six-pack,” Kelce told GQ in June 2024. Then weighing in at 277, “my back already feels better,” he shared. “My knees already feel better.
Sherri Shepherd
The former View cohost had recently gone shopping for better-fitting clothes in Dublin. “I’m one of those people,” she said, “who's always had a weight issue and now that I'm a size large, instead of an XL or a 2XL, I find it shocking.”
Read also: John Rhys-Davies' Health Secrets
Jazz Jennings
Jazz Jennings embarked on a diet-and-fitness journey in 2022, explaining on Instagram two years later, “I finally care about myself after years of neglecting my health. I had truly let myself go when it came to eating.
Christopher Schwarzenegger
“It’s not an overnight thing, but it took a lot of trial and error,” he shared in May 2025 at the Inaugural Beacher Vitality Happy & Healthy Summit, noting that just giving up bread made a big difference. Meanwhile, Christopher did not let a certain seven-time Mr. “I could never go and say to him, 'You’re overweight,'” dad Arnold told The Times in June 2025. "We just kept introducing healthy foods. We introduced him always to the gym and all of that kind of stuff. And then, out of nowhere, he decided that he wanted to be lean. And now he is. So that is of course fantastic, the self-discipline and the self-motivation.
Chrissy Metz
To Metz, aging gracefully means “staying strong and flexible,” so she tries to be active every day.
Kathy Bates
“My doctor brought it up,” he explained. “I went in for my yearly checkup. My doctor had noticed that I had gained weight, and she offered it as an option. I had done a movie where my knees were kind of shot and I was kind of doing the elliptical, but barely. My family [history includes] - I think it's just in the genetic makeup - compulsive eating. And my experience is like, Oh, that stuff doesn’t work on me. “A few years ago, I was diagnosed with diabetes,” Bates shared with AARP. “It scared the crap out of me. “I was at 245 pounds,” she continued. “Over a period of about six years, I lost 80 pounds. There’s something in the brain that sends a message to our stomachs when we’re hungry, then you eat.
Lizzo
“Even at the end of my weight loss journey, I'm not going to be considered thin by any means,” Lizzo said. “Let this be a reminder that you can do anything-anything-you set your mind to,” she added. “Now I guess it’s time to set new goals.”
Oprah Winfrey
Her goal with the special, Winfrey explained, was to “start releasing the stigma and the shame and the judgment-to stop shaming other people for being overweight or how they choose to lose or not lose weight-and more importantly to stop shaming ourselves."
Maintaining the Progress
After embarking on a healthier lifestyle in the early 2000s, John Goodman is still maintaining his weight loss nearly two decades later. Despite a recent hip injury the 73-year-old sustained in the U.K. earlier this year, the “Conners” star still looked sleek and slim while attending the Los Angeles premiere of the new “Smurfs” movie on July 13. The actor has experienced many ups and downs in his weight-loss journey over the years, and once weighed close to 400 pounds. As he's progressed, Goodman has been quite open about the secrets to his success and the setbacks he's encountered along the way.