How Did 'Lost' Star Jorge Garcia Lose Weight: His Transformation From Morbidly Obese To Fit

Jorge Garcia stays under the radar these days, which makes it all the more surprising that he was once one of the biggest names on television. 

Jorge was a featured cast member of the science-fiction adventure drama series Lost. His character, Hugo "Hurley" Reyes remains one of the most beloved characters ever crafted for television, and Garcia deserves credit for his turn as the loveable giant.

But his struggles with his weight has garnered as much controversy as the season finale of Lost. 

Jorge's Weight Loss For Lost

Jorge is a self-professed foodie- he loves eating! 

So it came as a surprise to no one when he started putting on weight.  

When Jorge was offered a prominent role in JJ Abrams' supernatural sci-fi series, Lost, Jorge became self-conscious and decided he needed to shed weight to appear on national television.  

In an interview with Maxim in 2006, Jorge revealed that he lost 30 pounds for his Lost role. A snippet from his interview reads:

 "I can afford to not live on rum and burritos and take better care of myself. Besides, there were enough people who were waiting for my character to lose weight as a result of being stranded on a desert island."

His Friends And Family Were Worried That He Might Die Due To His Weight

Despite losing weight initially, Jorge's obsession with food eventually caught up with him. By 2014, Jorge was as big as he had ever been and weighed around 400 pounds.

Obesity is known to be the harbinger for a litany of different health problems, most of which could be fatal, like a heart attack or a sudden stroke. 

Things got so bad for Jorge that his friends and family were worried that he was one day going to drop dead due to his weight. Some people even suggested gastric bypass surgery.

Thankfully, Jorge saw the error of his ways, and he didn't need to resort to surgery.

How Did Jorge Garcia Lose 100 Pounds?

After Jorge took stock of his life, he tried his best to adhere to a strict diet and an exercise regimen.

The first step he took was to go vegan. Meat is one of the chief contributors to obesity, so Jorge cut meat completely from his diet. He went so far as to cut dairy from his diet altogether. 

His diet also included a Nooch diet. Nooch is the colloquial term for nutritional yeast. The deactivated yeast contains tremendous health benefits and is a staple of a vegan diet.  

Coupled with a strict workout routine, Jorge was able to lose around 100 pounds by 2017. 

Jorge Garcia As He Is Now

Currently, Jorge is living a healthier life, and despite not being svelte, he seems as fit as he has been in a long time.

He is married to his longtime girlfriend, Rebecca Birdsall and while his career has taken a backseat to his personal life, Jorge still makes appearances on film and television. Fans can see him in the upcoming movie, Running Out of Time and When We Were Pirates.