2016 was a big year for actress Chrissy Metz.
The NBC show she stars in, This Is Us, premiered and was met with instant success.
Metz's character Kate, a woman who works for her brother and is struggling through her
personal weight-loss goals, is vulnerable — and viewers are given a close look into
her day-to-day life.
With the show in the spotlight, Metz has had the opportunity to open up about her own struggle
with weight loss.
She keeps it real, which feels like a breath of fresh air in an industry that does not
always do the same.
Let's take a look at Metz's journey of weight loss, fame, and undying gratitude for it all.
Childhood struggles
Metz's weight is something she has dealt with her entire life.
She told The Hollywood Reporter:
"My friends could eat whatever they wanted to, but I knew that as a kid if I ate certain
things I would totally gain weight.
I had to be really cognizant of what I ate."
She also reminisced about her childhood with People magazine, telling them that she was
chubby at a young age, in large part to how her family perceived food.
She says,
"In my family, we're German and Irish and Italian, and so food is love, and food is
like, when you're sad, 'Oh here, eat.'
When you're happy, 'Have some!'"
Things got even tougher when she hit puberty.
Apparently, her mother remarried and had two younger, slimmer daughters with her new husband.
When back-to-school shopping came around, she couldn't ignore the thought that her mom
enjoyed trying on clothes more with her sisters than with her.
Being on a show with flashbacks to her character's childhood has been difficult for Metz.
She explained to The Hollywood Reporter,
"Rebecca just wants her daughter to be happy and of course not be made fun of and just
live a normal life.
No matter what, somebody is going to pick on you for something.
It's a complicated dynamic and it is heartbreaking."
Panic attack
Metz has been determined in the past to lose the weight, and a few years before This Is
Us premiered, she took it to an extreme.
She shared with People that before moving to Los Angeles, she lost 50 pounds on the
recommendation of her then-manager.
She then gained back 100 pounds due to depression and because she was, in her words, "eating
my feelings."
It took a trip to the hospital on her 30th birthday due to a panic attack to make her
rethink her strategy.
She told the magazine,
"I was so gung-ho, I lost 100 pounds in less than five months … All I did was eat a 2,000-calorie
diet and walk 20 minutes a day."
Not long after, she snagged her role in American Horror Story.
Her character required her to wear a fat suit.
She says,
"It was sobering … I thought, 'What if I become that heavy and can't walk around or
get stuck in the doorframe?'
I was like, 'I don't want this for me.'"
This awareness has led Metz to become a voice for those who may be uncomfortable talking
about body image issues.
81 cents in the bank
Even though acting was what Metz knew she wanted to do, getting to where she is now
was not easy.
After her big break on American Horror Story, the role ended and she was back where
she started.
She told Glamour about the incredible support system that helped her get through tough times.
"I kept auditioning, with no savings and no money, credit card debt gaining interest … I
went on unemployment.
I bought ramen noodles at dollar stores ... I moved in with a roommate who told me, 'Stay
with me until you can afford rent.
Don't give up.'"
When she booked the role on This Is Us, the actress had 81 cents in her bank account.
And then life changed quickly.
But Metz’s attitude did not.
She told the magazine,
"You may think, 'Ooh, you're on TV, you're a millionaire!'
No.
It's definitely a lot more than I was making, but I still live with my roommate — though
I pay my proper share of the rent now."
Her most recent splurge after she repaid her friends and paid her credit cards off?
A pair of Alexander McQueen shoes.
Nice.
Fate plays a part
Although Metz has had to go through some tough times and struggles to get to where she is
today, she has no regrets.
As a matter of fact, she firmly believes everything happens for a reason — and that her journey
with weight loss, and putting the weight back on, and losing it again, is all a part of
this.
She told The Hollywood Reporter,
"The trajectory is that Kate will be losing weight just as I will in real life to reflect
the character in her arc and her journey."
She points out though, that she wouldn't have gotten this role if she’d already lost all
the weight.
In her eyes, she is, and had been, exactly where she’s supposed to be.
With such a positive and open attitude, the actress is ready to tackle the tougher issues
on the show.
She tells The Hollywood Reporter, that she knows from experience that losing weight isn’t
the end of the story.
She says,
"I have friends and I know that when you do lose weight, you're happy and it's exciting
but there are other things going on.
There are other things that make us want to eat or overspend or fill a void with something."
Some foreshadowing, perhaps?
This show is my life
What makes Metz and her show This is Us so special is all of the characters’ vulnerability.
This display of emotion gives the audience a chance to see these characters, Metz included,
for who they are — and to realize they are relatable in both their good and bad moments.
Speaking with ET about this about this very topic, Metz said,
"I think everyone has shame about something, whether it's a lack of a relationship with
a child or maybe their weight or a lack of communication within their marriage … Everyone
can relate to that because we all have something that we're like, 'God, I can work on that
or I wish I was better at doing this.'"
Open and honest, as always, fans flock to Metz because they finally found a woman who
isn’t afraid to show her flaws.
As she told Glamour, she’s had women of all ages and sizes tell her that Metz’s
role has changed their lives.
She says,
"That makes all the struggle, all the ramen noodles, all the times when I couldn't pay
my bills, all the times where I was like, 'I can't do this,' worth it."
But don’t think that all this fame, praise, and Alexander McQueen shoes are going to change
Metz.
She's grounded and intends to stay that way.
She told the magazine,
"Sometimes I cry on the way to the set still.
There is something that happens when you are grateful: You continue to keep receiving blessings.
So I will always be grateful."
And now, we need a tissue.
Thank you, Chrissy, for keeping it real.
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