“Since I’ve dropped some lbs, the old name feels like false advertising”
On September 4, 2018, Kevin Smith announced on social media that his beloved FatMan on Batman podcast would be renamed to Fat Man Beyond.
“Since I’ve dropped some lbs, the old name feels like false advertising,” posted Smith.
Though “some lbs” is a bit of an understatement. Smith has lost more than 50 pounds since suffering a near-fatal heart attack while filming a standup special in February.
“I’m sure I’ll be facing some lifestyle changes (maybe it’s time to go Vegan),” posted Smith from his hospital bed six months ago.
Smith’s doctor told him that the best thing he could do for himself would be to lose 50 lbs; advice that he took to heart. He jump-started his weight loss by reading Penn Jillette’s book Presto!, which turned him on to a program by Ray Cronise. Smith lost 20 pounds in thirteen days.
“Ironically, this heart attack was the best thing that ever happened to my health!” posted Smith on March 30.
In 27 days, Smith had shed 30 pounds.
“If this constant weight-update is not why you signed-up to follow my feed, I apologize,” Smith shared with his Instagram followers. “But sharing this info is an important part of my process: it keeps me accountable, which keeps me away from chowing down. Thanks for your patience!”
Keeping with that accountability, Smith shared a photo of himself taken 10 years ago as a reminder to keep going.
“Next time I gotta stare down a meal the old me would’ve inhaled, I’ll look at these two images of me out on control and me under control.”
At this point, Smith teamed up with Weight Watchers, announcing that he had been selected as an ambassador for the program.
The 14-year-old me who weighed-in weekly at the church on the highway in Atlantic Highlands cannot believe it! But back then, I was shamed into quitting the program. Even though I was getting results, some of my 1984 friends made fun of me for being the only guy in the #weightwatchers room who wasn’t someone’s Mom. But it’s a way different story today! When the news broke that I’m a #wwambassador, there was nothing but support from family, friends and fans, both old and new.
Smith has solid support for his healthier lifestyle from his family. His daughter, Harley Quinn, told W magazine, “I’ve been trying to get him to go vegan for a while, and now he is. It only took a heart attack.” Adding, “...it was a wakeup call and he’s had a total lifestyle change.”
Kevin and Harley share a vegan Father's Day brunch.
On August 26, Smith posted on social media that he had met his doctor’s recommendation of losing 50 pounds.
I started at 256 and now I weigh 205. This is the lightest I’ve been since high school! My hope now is I can slowly lose another 10 with #weightwatchers and get down to my birth weight of 195! But for now, I’m ecstatic to have reached this chunky milestone! I wanna thank #pennjillette for his book #presto, @raycronise for getting me started with his potato famine, and the good folks at #weightwatchers for their app-based program that made it easy to keep track of and control my eating! And I also wanna thank my kid @harleyquinnsmith - the little vegan astronaut who explored this meatless/milkless galaxy ahead of me, leading by example. Since I never wanted to see the inside of a hospital ever again, I simply copied the Kid. So this wasn’t a diet: these results came from a total lifestyle change of eating solely plant-based foods (which is tough because I hate vegetables). But mostly, I wanna thank all of you as well - for the kind and encouraging words along the way. Never underestimate the power of positive feedback: you folks telling me I looked better or healthier helped me stick with it. An encouraging word can really make a difference in someone’s life and your compliments kept me going! And just look where I went!
We’ve seen where Smith went, and now we’ll see him go beyond.
