Many male comedians slimmed down this year, including Drew Carey, Jason Alexander and John Goodman. The trend even spread to the U.K., where Ricky Gervais is looking trimmer. The comedian, actor and radio host credits his long-time girlfriend Jane Fallon with helping him lose 20 to 22 pounds. “It wasn’t so much about the weight. It was more that I was a fat, lazy, out of shape slob, to be honest,” Gervais told People magazine in October.
Gervias credits most of his weight loss to more exercise, having taken up running around their neighborhood in Hampstead Heath, London. “I stick to the paths,” he added. The couple runs about three or four miles.
Fallon has also lost weight, and between herself and Gervais they have lost about 40 pounds. “I was trying to lose weight as well,” she said. “So I was cooking healthier versions of what we were eating. He didn’t realize that I was probably feeding him less calories at the same time he was running.” Gervais says he didn’t change his diet dramatically, but he did stop eating snacks late at night.
Gervais says there’s only one downside to his weight loss. “Now I’ve got to stop making jokes about fat people, which is annoying,” Gervais said. “When I was fat, it was okay.”
