Jim Gaffigan’s Weight Loss: How Mounjaro and Gardening Helped Him Drop 50 Lbs.
The comedian said knee pain and high cholesterol inspired him to make healthy changes
Contrary to some celebrities who avoid disclosing whether they used medication to help them lose weight, Jim Gaffigan released a whole stand-up special, The Skinny, about his personal experience. The comedian lost 50 pounds taking Mounjaro, and made his health evolution a central point of the Hulu special. Here’s everything we know about Gaffigan’s weight loss and why he’s opted to be candid about his methods.
Jim Gaffigan’s weight loss with Mounjaro
In a 2024 interview with People, Gaffigan revealed that he decided to embark on a weight loss journey after reaching 270 pounds. And since dropping 50 pounds while taking Mounjaro, Gaffigan said his overall health has significantly benefited.
“I feel good,” he told the publication. “I’m just grateful because it’s such a better life.”
The comedian was admittedly hesitant to use Mounjaro, which contains active ingredient tirzepatide. It’s FDA-approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, but is often prescribed off-label for weight management.
“I had very low expectations, because I did know someone that had tried it and they were like, ‘Oh no, I was just nauseous for a week,’” he said. “And then I thought my true joy of eating would overpower anything.”
When Gaffigan’s doctor recommended he take a medication that could help with weight management, he ultimately decided he wasn’t opposed to giving it a try. “My knees hurt and my cholesterol was kind of not great,” he recalled.
Jim Gaffigan struggled with weight loss in the past
While discussing his weight loss with Men’s Health, Gaffigan reflected on the perpetuated belief that people who are overweight should simply stop eating so much.
“The reality is, we can’t,” he responded. “Maybe our brains are a little wonky or whatever. I think that in some ways, the appetite suppressants are this justification for people who have compulsive eating, that they’re not weak—that some of it can be fixed.”
“I would eat when I was hungry and I would eat when I was happy and eat when I was sad, and I would just eat,” he said. “It was my reward.”
And on the topic of Mounjaro in The Skinny, Gaffigan quips: “Weight-loss drugs aren’t ‘cheating,’ I’m just a fat guy trying to not die.”
He wants to break the stigma around weight loss meds
Gaffigan told People he made a point to discuss his experience with Mounjaro in his special because he doesn’t agree with the way weight loss drugs have been stigmatized.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it,” he said of people who take medications like Mounjaro and Ozempic. “It’s just whatever gets you through.”
“It’s weird because we live in this society where people who eat too much are told that they just don’t have any self-control,” he told Us Weekly. “There are people that just have no ‘off’ button to eat, right?”
He also made an observation, which he called “really fascinating,” that people are more likely to be empathetic toward those struggling with other addictions, but there’s “less sympathy” for people with the tendency to overeat.
He fears he won’t be able to maintain his 50-lb. weight loss
Gaffigan also hasn’t been shy about his doubts regarding maintaining his new weight. In fact, he joked to his The Skinny audience that even after his weight loss, he planned to hold on to his “fat clothes.” He adds later: “I’m trying to enjoy being thin, because I know I’m going to be fat again. This is not sustainable.”
He told Men’s Health he wasn’t in pursuit of any more weight loss, and wasn’t sure how long he would stay on Mounjaro.
Jim Gaffigan’s new diet and exercise routine
Gaffigan’s fears of rebound weight gain haven’t stopped him from trying to make healthy adjustments to his lifestyle. He noted that he was making an effort to stay active by walking around New York City, where he lives with his wife, Jeannie, and their five kids.
“I’m not exercising as much, but it’s very much a walking city,” he noted to Men’s Health. “And I have the Apple Watch, so I make a point of closing all my rings [for step counts] every day.”
He also adopted a very low-carb diet similar to keto, and eventually began intermittent fasting as well. During the summer of 2024, Gaffigan said he shocked himself by picking up a gardening hobby.
“Growing vegetables makes you more interested in consuming those vegetables, which makes you healthier, which makes you kind of look at what you’re consuming, which makes fast food look like the crap that it is,” he told Men’s Health.
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