"Mike & Molly" star Billy Gardell is sharing how his dramatic weight loss following his bariatric surgery in 2021 has changed his life.During a recent appearance on the "Breaking Bread" podcast, the 57-year-old actor said his decision to undergo the surgery "probably saved my life" and described the circumstances which led to him deciding that was the right route for him.He explained that he had developed type 2 diabetes, as well as "some cholesterol stuff, some heart stuff," joking that his doctor told him that "after 50 the warranties start running out.""You can't outrun those.I think the only reason I was able to survive as long as I did is one, I got decent genetics, and two was I played some sports when I was younger.
So I was a big fat guy, but I was a pretty solid fat guy, and I could carry the weight for a long time, but eventually you can't outrun that."Gardell credits his weight loss surgery for saving his life.(Getty Images)'REMEMBER THE TITANS' STAR ETHAN SUPLEE SAYS ONE HARD TRUTH FUELED HIS 300-POUND WEIGHT LOSSAfter a certain point, Gardell said his doctor approached him and said, "You have to do something.""I got to the point where I hurt my knee and I couldn't even walk for exercise, and I was like, I have to do something drastic," he said.
"So I got the surgery, and it's been a couple years now and I probably saved my life.I'm not on any medication.
Diabetes is gone."Five years after the surgery, the actor explained he has "to be real selective" about what he eats, because he only has "12 ounces to work with," but said the issue with that is "the fat Hulk is still running around" in his mind wanting to overindulge.Aside from saving his life, the surgery and resulting weight loss also allowed him to do things he couldn't do before, including hiking with his wife and buying something "off the rack" when shopping at the mall.Gardell is enjoying the little things in life since losing weight.(Michael Simon/Getty Images)GET ENTERTAINMENT SCOOP DE...