The four habits behind John Goodman’s 14st weight loss

Emily CraigTue, September 29, 2026 at 2:34 PM UTC

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Left, Goodman in 2004; right, at the premiere of Digger, having lost nearly half his body weight

John Goodman, known for playing rotund characters such as Fred Flintstone and greedy real estate lawyer Ocious P Potter in The Borrowers, now looks dramatically slimmer. The 74-year-old was pictured on Monday at the LA premiere of Tom Cruise’s new film, Digger, with a silhouette much more akin to that of the Mission: Impossible star than the caveman cartoon character.

How has he done it? In the age of Ozempic, there will be speculation that weight-loss jabs have played a part. But there’s no suggestion that Goodman has turned to the drugs.

In fact, he’s previously been open about his old-fashioned approach to weight loss after he hit 28st 7lb at his heaviest in 2011 and struggled with yo-yo dieting for years, losing and regaining 5st.

Goodman in 1990 - Getty Images/Vinnie Zuffante1. Cut out snacking – and reduce your portions

In 2016, The Big Lebowski star tackled his compulsive snacking habit. “I just stopped eating all the time,” Goodman told ABC News. “I’d have a handful of food and it’d go to my mouth. I was just eating all the time. I was just eating alcoholically.”

Smaller meals were also key. “It was basically just portion control, and ‘I don’t need it’,” he said. “I was just shoving everything into my mouth.”

Goodman had previously said in a 2010 interview that he had cut out sugar from his diet and worked with health coach Mackie Shilstone to overhaul his diet. Shilstone was later quoted as saying that he had Goodman follow a “Mediterranean-style eating plan”, rich in vegetables, fruit, nuts, whole grains and olive oil.

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2. Walking and boxing

The Roseanne actor has also adopted a consistent exercise routine, rather than relying on a drastic diet alone. “I wanted to do it slowly, move, exercise,” he said. “I’m getting to the age where I can’t afford to sit still anymore. And it gives me the energy to work, ’cause work is very draining.”

Goodman as Dan Conner in the hit US sitcom Roseanne - Getty Images/ABC Photo Archives

More recently, he told Rolling Stone in 2023 that walking his dogs had contributed to his slimmed-down stature. Shilstone said that he had Goodman hitting 10,000 to 12,000 steps per day and that he had also used an elliptical bike and treadmill to get his weight down.

Goodman had previously taken up boxing but fell out of the routine. “It’s usually just an hour, hour and a half of hitting the mitts, hitting the bags, learning footwork. It’s great,” he told the US music magazine.

3. Quitting alcohol

Goodman stopped drinking alcohol in 2007 after three decades of alcoholism. “It was getting to be too much,” he told The Guardian in 2012. “It was 30 years of a disease that was taking its toll on everyone around me and it had got to the point where, every time I did it, it was becoming more and more debilitating. It was life or death. It was time to stop.”

Before he quit alcohol, it contributed to his weight gain. “In the old days, I would take three months out, lose 60 or 70 pounds and then reward myself with a six-pack of Bud or whatever and just go back to my old habits.”

4. Finding a reason

Goodman told ABC News that he became motivated to change his appearance. “I just got tired, sick and tired of looking at myself,” he said. “You’re shaving in the mirror and you don’t want to look at yourself.”

Goodman became motivated to lose weight after growing ‘sick and tired’ of looking at himself - Getty Images/David Jon

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”