Today on the podcast:
Ethan Suplee is a Hollywood actor and the host of American Glutton podcast.
Ethan has established himself over the past few decades as an actor of considerable talent and accomplishment. His diverse and eclectic resume ranges from hilarious roles in such comedies as Mallrats (1995) and My Name Is Earl (2005) to hauntingly dramatic performances in intense features such as American History X (1998), Blow (2001), Cold Mountain (2003), The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013) and Deepwater Horizon (2016).
His breakthrough performance as a young football player in Disney’s Remember the Titans (2000) with Denzel Washington garnered him critical acclaim.
He also has one of the most incredible physical transformations I’ve ever seen going from 550 pounds to 255 pounds, all of which we unpacked in today’s podcast.
As someone who is a big fan of Ethan’s work (on and off screen) – this was one of my most enjoyable podcast episodes I’ve recorded. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed recording it.
Episode Outline
- 08:17 Being forced to diet as a kid and how it affected his food relationship
- 20:48 Getting over the guilt and shame cycle that came with failing diets
- 24:54 Removing your “failures” from diet and not self-identifying with it
- 29:01 How to stop using food as a coping mechanism
- 31:23 The role physical activity played in his body transformation
- 35:31 How some of his movie and TV roles helps to temporarily alleviate some of his self-imposed weight loss pressure
- 41:53 Catching yourself when you feel the urge to binge
- 44:21 The hardest part about keeping the weight off
- 48:57 How long it took for Ethan to reach his weight loss “sweet spot”
- 52:47 Being okay with not being at your “ideal” look/weight every day
Key Points
- If you have felt guilt and shame in the past due to failed diets, you will not lose those feelings immediately upon finally achieving your weight loss goals. Gaining confidence in yourself is a work in progress. You will probably even need to derive some of that confidence from external factors such as the diets themselves and the promise of the end result. Ultimately, losing weight is a big step towards boosting self-esteem; but, it’s not the end-all, be-all.
- There is no magic pill or diet. The reality is that losing fat comes down to consuming fewer calories than you use during the day. The diet you choose will depend on your personal preferences, how your body reacts to carbs versus fats, lifestyle, etc.
- Come to peace with the fact that you will never be as lean as you want to be at all times. It will take significant effort to bring your body fat down to single digits, much more to keep it in that range. If it’s giving you anxiety to do that day after day, it may be time to take a step back and celebrate what you have achieved rather than stress over what you haven’t.
Powerful Quotes by Ethan
- Even when a diet failed, it wasn’t the diet’s fault. It was my fault. I put my faith in diets, but I didn’t put faith in myself.
- Any time you achieve a goal that you’ve had to struggle to achieve is a state of grace.
- Be okay with not being as lean as your mind says you should be, at all times.
- If we’re just garbage, why should we try to do anything? If we have a voice in our head saying, “Try to achieve this goal,” then you have to be willing to acknowledge when you do achieve something and to own it.
Guest Info
Ethan Suplee