Jim Gaffigan is getting candid about his weight loss journey — and how deciding to use the drug Mounjaro has helped.
“I was so paranoid that I was going to be nauseous that I kind of put it off, but then it kind of worked,” Gaffigan, 58, exclusively told Us Weekly while attending the 18th annual Stand Up for Heroes Gala in New York City on Monday, November 11. “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. … There are people that just have no ‘off’ button to eat, right?”
The stand-up comedian went on to explain that it’s “really fascinating” how people have “empathy” for those struggling with other addictions, but there’s “less sympathy” for somebody who battles with “too much eating.”
“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. It was my reward,” he shared with Us, noting that it’s “odd” that there’s a “negative stigma” surrounding the decision to use weight loss drugs. “It’s obviously personal, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. But then again, anonymity is a thing surrounding a lot of struggles like that.”
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Gaffigan added that he was “probably 270” pounds when he realized he wanted to make a change regarding his weight.
“I’m kind of like a square Midwesterner. I will never look super thin,” he joked with Us.
Gaffigan is planning to share more about his weight loss journey in his new Hulu special The Skinny, which drops on November 22.
“We’re a country that’s struggling with the obesity epidemic,” he explained. “And then there are these appetite suppressants that do wonders, so The Skinny is a bit about processing society’s take on that.”
While the special mainly focuses on weight loss, Gaffigan noted that The Skinny will also touch on parenting. (Jim shares Marre, 20, Jack, 18, Katie, 15, Michael, 13, and Patrick, 12, with wife Jeannie Gaffigan.)
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“The Skinny is a little bit about being a parent at this point,” he shared. “I’ve always talked about my kids and the different kinds of insights that I have acquired from them.”
Aside from keeping busy with his weight loss journey and his decades-long stand-up career, Gaffigan has also gotten into selling small batches of bourbon — which his wife inspired.
“It’s not like a celebrity thing, but we just sell a couple thousand bottles of bourbon,” he shared with Us. “We do it every six months. We’ve only done it twice.”
With reporting by Andrew Nodell