Inside Billy Gardell’s Weight Loss Journey: All About the Comedian’s Life-Saving Transformation

Billy Gardell is determined more than ever to continue down a healthy path.

The Mike & Molly star has been on a lifelong journey with his weight ever since he was young, when he ate as a way to cope with his challenging childhood. As his comedy career began to take off, Gardell accepted being the “big guy” while struggling to stick to healthy habits.

However, his approach towards his health changed during the COVID-19 pandemic when he realized that he met several high-risk criteria, including developing type 2 diabetes. In 2021, Gardell took the first step by undergoing bariatric surgery.

Since that surgery, he’s maintained his weight with a balance of working out and monitoring his diet. In addition to the physical aspects of his weight loss, Gardell has also reflected on his future and wanting to be healthy for his wife, Patty, and their son, Will.

“They want me around longer, God bless them,” Gardell told PEOPLE in December 2025. “When a man knows what he’s fighting for, he’s capable of doing some amazing things. And those two are worth fighting for.”

Here’s everything to know about Billy Gardell’s weight loss journey and everything he’s said about his physical transformation.

Gardell struggled with his weight as a child

Gardell was born in Pittsburgh and split his time between Pennsylvania and Florida after his parents divorced. However, he called himself a “chubby” kid who struggled with his weight amid issues at home.

“I had a lot of responsibility heaped on me at 14 to help provide for the family, and the second stepfather that we had in the house was not a kind person,” he claimed to PEOPLE in December 2025. “I think I put on this extra weight as some kind of safety armor.”

Gardell elaborated on the alleged abuse he endured and explained that he gained weight as a means to protect himself.

“When my parents got divorced, I had a pretty abusive second stepfather … and so I started putting on weight,” he alleged on a December 2025 episode of The Adam Carolla Show. “I caught some beatings, and when you do that, you have to protect yourself.”

Although Gardell grew up and launched his career, he struggled to adapt his relationship with his body and food.

“I carried it for a long time, but it took me really 40 years before I really realized, you’re wearing this protection for a beating that is no longer coming,” he said.

Gardell added, to PEOPLE, “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.”

Gardell weighed 350 lbs. while filming Mike & Molly

Gardell scored his first major break in 2010 when he starred alongside Melissa McCarthy in the hit sitcom Mike & Molly. For six seasons, Gardell portrayed McCarthy’s character’s on-screen husband who fell for her at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting.

The stand-up comedian said the role “changed my life,” while also mentioning his weight and added, “the big guy is always funny.”

“I was the romantic lead at 350 lbs.,” he told PEOPLE. “Life is so strange.”

Even though his career was skyrocketing, he still struggled to find a way to lose weight that stuck.

“I tried everything, low-carb, keto, intermittent fasting — and by the way, all those things work — but I just couldn’t stay consistent with any of them. I was on a yo-yo thing,” he said.

He was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes

In early 2020, Gardell was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

“Like a lot of people who have type 2, I did not realize how long I had been walking around with it,” he told diaTribe in 2021. “It’s scary when you hear those words come out of your doctor’s mouth … My first reaction was shock, and then you kind of want to ignore it and pretend it’s not there. But the only way to overcome something is to face it.”

At the same time that Gardell was managing his diabetes, he was also dealing with several other health issues — including sleep apnea, asthma, high blood pressure and joint and muscle pain.

“I had gotten so big and so stationary that it hurt to stand up,” he recalled to PEOPLE.

In 2021, he underwent bariatric surgery and took Ozempic

Gardell faced a major breakthrough during the COVID-19 pandemic when he realized that he was more at risk of getting sick because of his weight, which was hovering around 370-380 lbs.

“When the first wave hit, and they punched up that list of high-risk conditions, I had all of them,” Gardell recalled to PEOPLE. “Overweight, sleep apnea, smoker, type 2 diabetes, asthma . . . It was really the perfect storm. 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 hell or high water, I’ve got to make a change.’ ”

In July 2021, Gardell took the first major step on his health journey by undergoing bariatric surgery. He spoke to PEOPLE about his decision in 2024 and noted that the procedure was “just the beginning” for him.

“I chickened out from it a couple times, but at some point you get sick and tired of being sick and tired,” he said. “I was so big that I was at the point where it hurt to exercise … I needed something drastic, but it wasn’t going to come until I was ready to surrender that even with the surgery, I was going to have to change my way of thinking.”

Gardell said that his surgeon, Dr. Philippe Quilici, “changed and saved my life”

“But what I will say about this surgery is it’s not the answer, it’s just the beginning,” he added.

Around the same time that he learned more about bariatric surgery, Gardell also started taking Ozempic to help change his “relationship with food.” However, he underwent the surgery in hopes of getting off the weight loss drug.

He has maintained his health by working out and eating a careful diet

Since undergoing the surgery, Gardell has lost approximately 170 lbs. and “fluctuate[s] between 210 and 215,” he told PEOPLE in December 2025.

“That’s comfortable for me,” he shared. “My diabetes is gone. I feel strong. I have energy. Losing weight saved my life.”

In order to maintain his weight, Gardell has prioritized exercise and a strict routine consisting of protein-filled meals, plenty of water and vitamins and supplements. He allows himself to occasionally enjoy bites of cake and pizza — instead of eating the whole thing.

“You’re never going to do it perfectly, but if you’re doing it eight out of 10 times, you’re going to win the battle,” he explained. “My thing is I meditate, and I pray for consistency. I pray for gratitude, and I pray to remember the things that I’ve learned.”

Gardell credits his wife, Patty, and their adult son, Will, for supporting him and being his motivation throughout the process.