Billy Gardell Details His Incredible 150-Pound Weight Loss

Billy Gardell, who plays Bob Wheeler on the CBS sitcom Bob Hearts Abishola, has lost an incredible 150 pounds since the start of the pandemic and has “found peace” with himself.

Chatting to Entertainment Tonight‘s Kevin Frazier on the set of his popular CBS sitcom, Gardell explained that he “floats between 205 [pounds] and 210 [pounds],” adding that “self-care is important, and I think I finally got there.”

Gardwell, who is known for his roles as Mike Biggs on Mike & Molly and the recurring part of Lyle Winkler on Sullivan & Son, once weighed over 370 pounds. In 2022, he was encouraged to undergo bariatric weight loss surgery to minimize his risk COVID risk. Since then, he’s focused on creating a better and healthier relationship with food.

“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.’ And I didn’t get that note early on,” he shared. “But I’m a big believer that when you get it, you get it. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as you get it.”

Robert Voets / ©CBS / courtesy Everett Collection

Since the bariatric surgery and changing his diet, Gardell said he no longer suffers from Type 2 diabetes. His resting heart rate has also dropped from 113 to 68. Despite this, he still has to deal with trollish comments.

“Of course, there’s always people online that, you know, when I was heavy, they were like, ‘You’re too heavy!’ And now it’s like, ‘Are you sick?’ Can I just walk the earth, please?!” he said.

Gardell also confessed that a big motivation for his weight loss was his son, William III.

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“When you hit 50, you start doing that dad math, like, ‘If I can live 25 more years, and he’ll be 40,’ … You know what I mean? So I want to be here for him,” he stated. “I’ve been an example in a lot of good ways for my child, but I feel like I wasn’t a good example of health for him. 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.”

There is still one vice Gardell has yet to kick, though, and that’s cigarettes. However, he is working on giving them up too.

“I’m still smoking cigarettes,” he admitted. “But I’m working on that one. A buddy of mine told me, ‘Knock them down in the order they’re killing you.'”

Bob Hearts Abishola, Mondays, 8:30/7:30c, CBS