Ethan Suplee has shared that only one method for shedding pounds worked for him after attempting numerous diets over the years.
The actor, known for his roles in films and TV shows for more than three decades, including appearances in Mallrats and Chasing Amy, has undergone a noticeable transformation in his physical appearance.
He has previously acknowledged his wife, Brandy Lewis, for her support in his weight loss journey, helping him slim down from his peak weight of 536 pounds to a weight in the 200s.
Despite years of trying to lose weight, nothing seemed to be effective until he had a critical realization.
The star of My Name Is Earl took to Reddit to share his story, stating: “My name is Ethan Suplee, I’ve lost 300 lbs and maintained my current weight for about three years. AMA [Ask Me Anything].”
He recounted being “first put on a restrictive diet in 1981” and mentioned that he and his mother experimented with diets like the ‘Beverly Hills, blood type, Fit for Life, cabbage soup, Adelle Davis, Optifast, every ‘80s fad in circulation’ that never really stuck.
He shared that in the mid-90s to early 2000s, he stopped dieting entirely, which led to further weight gain.
In 2002, he embarked on several diets, including ‘keto, paleo, Master Cleanse, a 3-shakes-a-day liquid thing loaded with vitamins and fiber pills, 1st personal diet, 4-Hour Body, Ideal Protein, HCG, gluten-free, lectin-free, blood type (again), Gundry, you name it’.
Eventually, he discovered the ‘only approach that actually stuck for me’.
According to Suplee, what worked best for him involved “Counting calories, prioritizing lean protein, and taking intentional maintenance breaks to practice eating in a way that maintained my weight.”
For Ethan, everything finally fell into place.
When questioned about his passion for cycling, Suplee surprisingly explained why exercise alone wasn’t effective for his weight loss.
“It took me a long time to really understand how inefficient exercise is for weight loss,” he shared.
“I’m not knocking exercise, I love to exercise, and it can complement weight loss, but really the key is what you eat.
“Every time I tried to lose weight, with exercise as the major component, I wound up reverting very quickly, or I got injured, or exhausted to the point that I couldn’t exercise anymore and the weight quickly came back.”
Ultimately, he believes that while ‘movement and exercise is really beneficial,’ it shouldn’t be the primary focus for weight loss; diet is the main factor in successful weight loss.