David Harbour is learning the hard way that some things aren’t easier the second time around!
After opening up about his impressive — albeit a bit controversial — weight loss for season 4 of Stranger Things, the actor is back with an update on his health after “ballooning up” for a different film project! In a vulnerable Instagram post on Thursday, the 47-year-old gave some more details about his “physical transformation from season 3 to season 4,” crediting his trainer, David Higgins, for the tips and tricks he learned along the way to drop “over 75 lbs.” He wrote:
“My trainer @davidhigginslondon worked with me for 8months to make the transformation, and then another year to keep it through the pandemic. All told it was a difficult and exciting ride, changing diet and exercise plans (or lack thereof).”
Hah! Relatable!
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He was about “265 – 270” pounds when he filmed season 3 of the hit Netflix series and was able to go “all the way down to 190 when [they] shot” the latest episodes. Earlier this month, he told British GQ he lost weight by intermittent fasting and Pilates. But his biggest “secret” was just not really eating at all! He revealed:
“That was a hard process. It’s not easy, it’s a lot of not eating when you lose that much weight, and being hungry… That’s the secret, if you’re curious about the diet secret, it’s just not eating food.”
Just a bit problematic…
(c) Netflix
After losing SO much weight, you’d think he would have continued with his healthier regiments, right?!
Instead of sticking to his new lifestyle, David gained ALL the weight back to star as Santa Claus in an upcoming Universal film, Violent Night. And it has been VERY difficult for him to shave off the extra milk and cookies this time around. He continued on IG:
“Recently ballooned up again to play jolly ole st. Nick in a flick I can’t wait for you to see this holiday season, so I am struggling to fight back down towards a good weight for wherever hopper ends up in season 5. All this up and down is not good for the body, and I’ll have to give it up soon, but it is such a fun part of the job to live in a different version of your skin for a while.”
“Fun part of the job”?? Most people would probably disagree! And it sounds like this second weight loss journey even has him second-guessing his health since he told British GQ:
“I don’t think I’ll ever do that again. I have this Santa Claus movie [Violent Night] coming out for Universal in December and I gained [it all back]. But now, yeah, never again. The prosthetics are too good.”
LOLz! So, if the Duffer Brothers have dreams of Hopper’s dad bod returning, we have a feeling his belly won’t be real! Just saying!
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Along with his post, the Black Widow lead shared some candid before and after photos of his jaw-dropping transformation, including a photo taken during his first workout session with his trainer and one on the set of Stranger Things where his ripped muscles (sans CGI scars) were on display for all to see. Ch-ch-ch-check it out!
Wowza!
As the actor mentioned in his full caption (above), in an effort to be completely transparent about his fitness journey, both of the Davids appeared on Instagram Live for an honest Q&A about their work together on Friday. You can watch the whole convo (below)!
We gotta say, while his fasting methods likely wouldn’t be recommended by any nutritionist, it’s pretty cool that he’s hosting these kinds of conversations and making his resources somewhat accessible to fans. Thoughts, Perezcious readers? Share your take on this weight loss journey (below)!
[Image via WENN/Avalon & David Harbour/Instagram & Netflix Nordic/YouTube]
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