HEALTH'Mike & Molly' Star Billy Gardell Looks Unrecognizable as He Reveals Dramatic 170-Pound Weight-Loss Transformation That 'Saved' His Life: Photos
Billy Gardell has shed 170 pounds since 2021.
Dec. 9 2025, Published 3:08 p.m. ET
Mike & Molly alum Billy Gardell is opening up about his massive weight-loss transformation.
The actor, 56, spoke to an outlet in an interview published on Tuesday, December 9, about losing around 170 pounds after deciding to "make a change" in 2021.
Gardell underwent bariatric surgery in July of that year following a type 2 diabetes diagnosis and has since gone from 380 pounds to a little over 200.
COVID-19 Led Billy Gardell to Get Serious About Losing Weight
Billy Gardell lost the weight after finally realizing his health was seriously at risk.
The stand-up comedian told the publication he'd always pushed off losing the weight, explaining, "I’d say I’d start on Monday. Or the first of the month. Or New Year’s Eve. That was always my routine."
Then, when COVID-19 arrived in 2020, he got serious about his health.
"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," he admitted. "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 h--- or high water, I’ve got to make a change.'"
Billy Gardell Had to Stop Viewing Food as a 'Reward'
'Losing weight saved my life,' the actor said.
Gardell explained that after having the weight-loss procedure, he started to look at his relationship with food differently.
"It really came down to a shift in everything I think about food," he shared. "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."
The Bob Hearts Abishola star continued, "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."
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Billy Gardell's Diabetes Is 'Gone' Now
Billy Gardell said he feels 'strong' and has 'energy' again.
Gardell, who also maintains his weight with regular workouts, said he will still "fluctuate between 210 and 215," but he's "comfortable" with that.
"My diabetes is gone," he revealed. "I feel strong. I have energy. Losing weight saved my life."
Billy Gardell's Former 'Mike & Molly' Costar Has Also Lost Weight
Melissa McCarthy showed off her 95-pound weight loss while hosting 'Saturday Night Live' on December 6.
Melissa McCarthy, who starred alongside Gardell on the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly from 2010 to 2016, has been showing off her own dramatic weight-loss transformation recently.
McCarthy looked slimmed down while hosting Saturday Night Live on December 6 as she displayed her 95-pound weight loss in a curve-hugging black velvet jumpsuit.
