‘Mike & Molly’ Star Billy Gardell on His 170-Lb. Weight Loss

Billy Gardell, 56, is opening up to People magazine about dropping 170 lbs. and keeping the weight off.

The “Mike & Molly” star explained he struggled with his weight since he was a teen and tried many times to lose it, but it kept creeping back.

Gardell said that as a young, up-and-coming comedian, “I was medicating my emotions and my fears with food, and I was also celebrating my victories with food. You’re eating to deflect your feelings when they’re bad or enhance them when they’re good, and both of those things are poison pills.”

By the time the pandemic hit in 2020, he had developed type 2 diabetes and was weighing around 370-380 lbs. 

He said of COVID, “When the first wave hit, and they punched up that list of high-risk conditions, I had all of them. Overweight, sleep apnea, smoker, type 2 diabetes, asthma... It was really the perfect storm. Between my blood numbers not coming back good, my blood pressure going up, type 2 diabetes and COVID — it was enough stuff to scare me to say, ‘Come hell or high water, I’ve got to make a change.’”

Billy decided to undergo bariatric surgery in 2021 and to change his mindset about food, too.

“It really came down to a shift in everything I think about food,” he said. “Food is fuel. It’s not reward, it’s not soothing, it’s not medication. I had to get beyond my emotional relationship with food.”

More than four years later, he’s kept the weight off through diet and exercise.

“I fluctuate between 210 and 215,” said the actor. “And that’s comfortable for me… My diabetes is gone. I feel strong. I have energy. Losing weight saved my life.”

Billy called his surgeon Dr. Philippe Quilici and nutritionist Teri Hlubik his “dream team,” noting he met with Hlubik weekly to change his food mindset.

“Every change you want to make in your life starts between your ears,” he said. “You have to learn to love yourself. You have to look at why you react the way you do to food and heal that, and then love yourself enough to do something good for yourself.”

He also shed light on his “Groundhog Day” routine that keeps him on track.

The “Bob Hearts Abishola” actor said he eats a turkey sausage breakfast sandwich each morning, and cottage cheese and fruit in the afternoon. For dinner he keeps it light and avoids fried or sugary foods. The star also drinks 75 oz. of water each day and works out three to four times per week.

He does have a treat from time to time, saying, “I’m able to have a bite or two of something decadent if I want. At a birthday party I took one forkful of cake just to taste it, and that was enough. I used to eat a whole pizza. Now I can have a slice and be satisfied.”

Gardell went on, “I feel like I saved my life; I really do,” as he revealed he’s now tried surfing and horseback riding. He continued, “I can fly in a middle seat on an airplane now. For a big person, that’s the unicorn! And I know it sounds silly, but I’m able to walk into a store and buy a shirt off the rack. That one brings me so much joy, I can’t even explain.”

He’s also getting more time with his wife Patty and son Will.

“They want me around longer, God bless them,” he said. “When a man knows what he’s fighting for, he’s capable of doing some amazing things. And those two are worth fighting for.”