Academy Award winner Kathy Bates is making a splash in the CBS reboot of Matlock. But aside from her on-screen comeback, she’s also opening up about her personal life—particularly her impressive weight loss journey. The 76-year-old actor recently shared in an interview with Variety that she’s lost an incredible 100 pounds over the past six years. “It’s been a game changer for me,” she said. “I honestly don’t think I’ve been this slim since my college days.”
Bates is clearly feeling great, and she’s also been open about how this transformation has impacted her life. Here’s a closer look at how she made it happen and the steps she took to get where she is today. (Also read: Forget gym for weight loss! This simple daily habit burns 20x more calories than walking )
How did Kathy Bates lose weight?
Before shedding weight, Bates noticed how carrying extra pounds affected her work, especially while filming Harry’s Law in 2011. “I had to sit down every chance I got. Walking became really difficult,” she recalled. “I’m embarrassed that I let myself get so out of shape, but now I have a tremendous amount of energy.”
As Kathy has pointed out, her transformation was a gradual process. Back in 2019, she shared with Extra about reaching a milestone of losing 60 pounds. “I was facing diabetes—it runs in my family—and I really didn’t want to deal with that,” she said. At the time, Bates expressed how much better she felt, stating, “I’m in the best health I’ve been in for years,” and described her weight loss journey as “a miracle.”
How conscious eating helped her weight loss
Kathy Bates’ weight loss journey continued, and a big part of her success came from a simple but effective mealtime mindfulness exercise she learned from her niece. “After eating for 20 to 30 minutes, you experience an involuntary sigh,” Bates explained to Extra. “It’s your body’s way of telling you that your stomach and brain are communicating—you’ve had enough.” She discovered that by paying attention to that sign and pushing her plate away for just five minutes, she felt satisfied and didn’t need to eat more. This small adjustment made a big difference in her approach to eating.
In addition to boosting her stamina, Kathy Bates revealed to People in 2019 that her weight loss significantly helped with managing her post-cancer lymphedema, a condition that leads to swelling and fluid retention in the limbs. According to the Mayo Clinic, this swelling is a common result of lymph node surgery, which Bates referred to as an unwanted “souvenir” from her cancer treatments. She battled ovarian cancer in 2003 and breast cancer in 2012, and losing weight made a noticeable difference in managing the effects of lymphedema, further improving her overall health.
In addition to mindful eating and cutting out junk food and soda, Kathy Bates shared with Us Weekly that patience was the key to her weight loss success. “It took a few years,” she explained, emphasizing that it wasn’t a quick fix. “You have to be really patient … I don’t like the word willpower, but I prefer the word determination.”
For Bates, staying committed and focused over time was what made all the difference in her impressive transformation, proving that slow and steady truly wins the race.