“It doesn’t matter what age you are. If you are willing to do something a day at a time, you can change anything,” Gardell said of his weight loss
Billy Gardell is feeling a lot healthier these days.
In an interview published Monday, the Mike & Molly alum opened up to Entertainment Tonight about losing 150 pounds as he now “floats between 205 and 210.”
“I think you got to find peace with yourself and at some point, look in the mirror and go you know, it’s probably time to take care of you. Then I didn’t get that note early on,” Gardell, 53, shared. “So I’m a big believer that when you get it, you get it. It doesn’t matter when. As long as you get it.”
While the sitcom star joked about the “little things” he didn’t like dealing with because of his new weight, he said that “for the most part, [it’s all good.]”
One advantage is the ability to shop at more clothing stores, the actor said. “It’s been a real gift, on top of all the health stuff. That was the big thing,” he added.
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Gardell revealed that his type 2 diabetes is now “gone. No diabetes, resting heartbeat went from 113 to 68. Walking around pretty healthy these days.”
To maintain good health, Gardell told ET that he asked his producers to put a weight bench and some adjustable weights in his trailer so he can exercise when he has the opportunity on set.
As for his diet, the Bob Hearts Abishola star said, “I go small, but I eat very healthy. I eat like all the people I used to make fun of, to be honest.”
But Gardell isn’t missing on any of the foods he used to consume, telling the outlet, “I’ve got my fill and now I’m at the place where I can have a couple bites of something decadent if I want.”
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However, Gardell said he continues to receive criticism no matter his weight: “Of course, there’s always people online that when I was heavy, they’re like, ‘You’re too heavy.’ And now it’s like, ‘Are you sick?’ Can I just walk through the Earth please?”
On what he has learned since striving for a healthier lifestyle, Gardell told ET, “Self care is important, and I think I finally got there. My last vice I got left is I’m still smoking cigarettes, but I’m working on that one.”
“I have a child, and as you hit 50, you start doing that dad math, like, ‘If I can live 25 more years, then he’ll be 40. So I want to be here for him,” he noted.
As a result, Gardell believes his relationship with his son William, 20, has changed by becoming a role model for him in this capacity.
“I’ve been an example in a lot of good ways for my child, but I feel like it wasn’t a good example of health for him,” the actor shared. “And so I want him to see that it doesn’t matter what age you are. If you are willing to do something a day at a time, you can change anything. That’s the message I wanted him to get.”
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Gardell then revealed that he underwent a gastric bypass operation two years ago, after backing out twice before. “The only thing I would say is understand that the operation is not the end, it’s the beginning,” he told ET.
“Because what you have to commit to on the other side of it is what you need to look at … if you’re not willing to commit to that routine. Don’t do it,” Gardel explained. “But if you’re ready to commit to that on a daily basis, proof’s in the pudding.”
When asked why he couldn’t undergo the weight-loss surgery the first two times, Gardell recalled, “I couldn’t even get my head around that. But as my knees started to hurt more, as my blood numbers started to get worse and worse; you know, in this life, sometimes you have to surrender.”
He continued, “Asking for help is the thing people are most terrified about, but is it is the very thing where strength is born in my opinion. When you get when you are strong enough say, ‘I can’t do this on my own,’ then the troops come up over the hill.”
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Source: News