Josh Gad Reveals How Much Weight He's Lost on GLP-1 Medication

GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy have had a transformative effect for those struggling with weight loss. Many celebrities have joined the ranks of those who swear by the medication, including Josh Gad, who opened up about his experience for the first time this week.

Gad revealed that he was taking the drug for weight loss while appearing on the latest episode of Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast on Monday, Jan. 27. He traces his body image issues back to when he attended Carnegie Mellon College of Fine Arts, where he lost 100 pounds and dyed his hair blonde. Gad said that he underwent a "complete body transformation" at the time by substituting his food addiction for sex and alcohol.

"I felt like a stranger in my body. I was not used to being attractive. I was not used to being sought after,"he explained. "I didn't know how to operate in that body, and I also didn't know how to play the roles in that body."

"And by the way, I think it's why I continue to struggle with weight at this point in my life, because I really didn't know how to be that guy," the 43-year-old continued. "Now, for health, I want to lose weight, and desperately trying to. But that was really, really strange."

Gad then revealed that he had started taking a GLP-1 for weight loss, and that so far he had lost 40 pounds on the drug. When asked whether the medication has "limited his joy" when it comes to food, he said that it has "suppressed" the noise.

"When I wake up, I feel hunger pains, and so much of that is psychological. What this does is it takes away that signal," he revealed.

"It is a miracle drug. It truly is, yeah. I was on a different drug that caused me diverticulitis," Gad said, referring to an inflammation of small pouches that form in the wall of the large intestine. "OK, no good. I had lost 40 pounds. I was really bummed out because it was working incredibly for me and I had to switch. I'm figuring out this new one, and it is life-changing."

However, he also stressed: "But it also doesn't negate the fact that it can't be in the place of having a healthy relationship with food, and it can't be in the place of having a healthy relationship with exercise."

Later, Gad admitted that part of him was worried that losing weight would cause his identity to shift, but said that he's been trying to take things in stride.

"I've always been the funny fat guy. Can I be the funny skinny guy? Can I be the hot leading man?" he asked. "I know I could be those things. I don't know that people would accept me as those things. That's always really hard. We get typecast. We do a thing and people see us as that thing. I've been very blessed that I continue to challenge to not be typecast, to do things that nobody expects."

"I also think I have a healthier relationship with my brain than I did I bet then," he added. "Now, I think as I go on this journey of weight loss, I'm not as worried about that because my primary goal is I want to be there for my kids. Everything else is bulls--t."