An iconic sitcom actor is flexing his muscles online, sharing before and after pictures of a dramatic weight loss transformation that left him unrecognisable and he says changed his life.
My Name Is Earl actor Ethan Suplee, 46, began an intensive exercise and diet regimen nearly 20 years ago when he reached more than 550 pounds (250kg). The star has taken to sharing his health journey online and in a podcast, American Glutton, where he preaches self-love and the freedom that can come from radical life changes.
Over the weekend, Suplee shared a dramatic before and after shot showcasing his toned new physique.
“Once upon a time, the whole world was an impossibility. Conquering all of it is still impossible, so I’m just concentrating on today,” he captioned the post.
“If today becomes too much, I will focus on right now. Right now, I’m OK, I will beat right now.”
Suplee regularly shares with his followers posts about his past issues with weight alongside inspirational messages.
During the premiere episode of his podcast in 2020, the actor revealed that he adopted unhealthy binge-eating habits at just five years old, and was put on a diet by age 10 when he weighed more than 200 pounds (90kg).
At his heaviest, Suplee said he could only be weighed on industrial-style scales. He said he used food, alcohol and drugs to “numb” himself throughout his teenage years, he said, before getting sober in 2002.
The actor has previously credited his wife, Brandy Lewis, as the inspiration behind his weight loss journey. The pair met as teenagers and became close friends, before reconnecting later in life.
He says his journey began in 2002, when he had been seeing Ms Lewis for about a year.
“I became, for the first time in my life, kind of interested in the future and having experiences with her. Like spending a day walking around a museum or going on a trip or hiking that I just wasn’t physically able to do,” he told People last year.
“For the very first time, I wasn’t getting a deep concern from somebody about my health and I felt totally accepted for who I was versus what I looked like. That, I think, was kind of the bedrock that I was successful with my goals at.”
Suplee says his new-found happiness comes not from the weight loss itself, but rather from “achieving goals”.
“I cannot say that actually losing weight has made me happier. I don’t think that’s true,” he told the publication.
“I just think that achieving something I set out to achieve has given me this volume of happiness that is pretty great.”
In October, the Mallrats star said his goal was to obtain a six-pack.
“I’m not far off. Pretty f***ing close actually,” he shared.
“So it’s an utterly vain goal. I don’t care. Who cares? I’ve never had a vain goal like that before.”
