The actor’s trainer John Goodman has shared the divisive story of his total body transformation.
Goodman hasn’t provided an abundance of information on how he’s managed to lose so much weight over the years, but he’s thought to have lost a total of 90kg. His trainer, Mackie Shilstone, revealed how he motivated the actor to make the switch.
In an interview with the New York Post, Shilstone, who has known Goodman for years and lives near him in New Orleans, recalled that just before Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the actor lost 38 kg with his help. .
A slimmed down Goodman on stage this month. Image: Getty
A heavier Goodman in the 90s.
After the devastating storm passed, he “really fell” and came back into full swing.
Shilstone explained: “John decided he was going to commit. I’ve known John for a long time, and 85 lbs (38 kg) come off and then get back on, it didn’t work. So I said, ‘What am I going to do?’ “
While Shilstone had no acting experience, something Goodman was hugely known for at the time, he recalled thinking, “John was my friend and neighbor, so I thought, ‘Let me become an actor for a while.'”
With this tactic in mind, he decided to take the Roseane star at a cemetery.
Goodman’s trainer says it took a trip to the cemetery to help change his mindset. Photo: AFP
Shilstone brought a shovel and drove Goodman to an empty area with exposed dirt, then began his intervention.
“I said, ‘John, here’s a shovel. You told me you were going to recommit and follow that plan,” Shilstone recalled. “I said, ‘I want you to dig your grave. Until you dig your grave, you won’t understand what it means to live.
After that, his acting exercise became clearer: he had decided to play the role of Death.
Shilstone said to his friend, “John, do you really know who I am? Do you have any idea who you are next to? Notice there’s no wind? And there are no birds, nothing, no noise, you can’t even hear the cars.
‘I am death,’ he continued, ‘and I have come to give you a second chance. You can dig your grave now and I’ll cover you and we’ll be done with this, or you can use this shovel and cover it and go on with your life and take it back.
At his heaviest, Goodman weighed around 177 kg.
He says cutting out alcohol and sugar has helped him control his weight. Photo: AFP
Continuing the role play, Shilstone said: “John, you have a lovely daughter, you have a lovely wife and you’ve made it, but you’re not going to make it. I want you to close your eyes and think that you will never be able to say a word to your daughter and your wife again. It’s finish. I’ve taken this from billions of people over time. I’ll give you one more chance.
“I said, ‘John, just remember this. I’m still there. I always know where you are. I can find you anytime, your day will come. But not now.’
Wrapping up the memory, Shilstone said, “I haunt it. And that’s the real story.
Shilstone uses a body scanner, also known as dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), to show her clients’ body composition during their weight loss journey.
“DEXA can show dividing your weight loss into categories,” Shilstone, the author of Stop Praising Your Health, told Fox News Digital. He explained that 15 kg could actually represent ten kg of body fat and five kg of lean tissue, which is not the goal.
“That lean tissue is your metabolically active tissue,” the trainer, who also worked with Linda Hamilton for the terminator movies, explained. “It’s the ball game. Lean tissue is what carries you and body fat is something you carry.
Goodman once said of her body transformation, “I just stopped eating all the time.” Photo: AFP
While Goodman has previously said he weighed around 180kg before he started losing weight, Shilstone claimed his exact weight was 177kg.
“People think it happens overnight, but most people are helping with weight management, but they’re not committing to it,” he told the New York Post.
“Engagement rather than contribution. Everyone can lose weight. It takes a smart, committed person to keep it going, especially as you get older.
Shilstone said Goodman was “committed to living his life. For me, it is a model. »
In a 2016 interview with ABC News, the actor opened up about his method of losing weight, saying simply, “I just stopped eating all the time. I had a handful of food and it was pissing me off. in the mouth. I just ate all the time. I just ate alcohol.
“I used to take three months, lose 60 or 70 pounds (27-31 kg), then reward myself with a six-pack of Bud or whatever and just go back to my old ways,” he told the outlet. “Then this time I wanted to do it slowly, move, exercise. I’m getting to the age where I can’t afford to sit still. And that gives me the energy to work, because that the work is very exhausting.
In 2010, Goodman told People he worked with Shilstone and they cut sugar from his diet and added six workouts a week to help Goodman get in shape and lose weight.
“I sweat, but I don’t go crazy,” the actor said at the time.
He also admitted, “It takes a lot of creative energy to sit on your ass and figure out what you’re going to eat next… I wanted to live better.”
This story originally appeared on FoxNews and is republished here with permission.