Written by Finlay Mead

American television and movie star Ethan Suplee has taken to social media to share shocking before and after pictures of his massive weight loss, impressive muscle gain, and overall body transformation.

We’ve covered our fair share of body transformations here at DMARGE, but this one is an absolute showstopper: Ethan Suplee — famous for brilliant roles in American History X, My Name Is Earl, and Remember the Titans — has sent shockwaves through Hollywood and beyond with his astonishing weight loss. The once-familiar face from the films of Kevin Smith has shed over 90kg (200lbs) and gained a shedload of muscle as the result of an inspiring shift of mindset.

Suplee’s Instagram post featured a classic ‘before and after’ side-by-side comparison, showing an image of himself at his heaviest with a shirtless snapshot from his recent vacation in Italy. The jaw-dropping photos speak for themselves, making plain the immense dedication and hard work that propelled him along this transformative path.

WATCH: Post Malone shares the secrets behind his recent body transformation.

Embracing Change

Accompanying the post was a profound reflection that hints at Suplee’s new mindset, quoting Greek philosopher Heraclitus:

“The only constant in life is change… I am aware of change as much as I am aware of the sun rising and setting. What shapes how we change? Is it some divine force, our environment, the chemistry within the meat sacks we use to navigate this mortal plane? Change is guaranteed, whether active or passive is up to me.”

Ethan Suplee

The Ups And Downs Of Body Transformations

Unsurprisingly, this weight loss journey wasn’t without its struggles. In a candid 2020 essay for Men’s Health, Suplee shared his highly relatable experience of diet culture’s dangerous cycles, explaining how he became caught in the downward spiral of dieting and shedding pounds only to regain them all over again:

“I now understand that early on in my life, I developed a bunch of bad habits. These habits basically broke my body’s ability to tell me when to stop eating.”

Ethan Suplee

Suplee’s New Outlook

As with so many people who manage to transform their bodies in this way, Suplee’s main goal has now moved beyond simply wanting to cut weight, instead focusing on the cultivation of a truly sustainable and healthy lifestyle.

“The biggest change was understanding how food works… the more I feel that I understand, scientifically, the more power I have over it.”

Ethan Suplee

Suplee’s story, just like the once-“world’s fattest man” and 70-year-old Polish grandfather before him, is an inspiring story of mind over matter. By confronting their issues with food and learning to treat nutrition and exercise as a mental-wellbeing endeavour, rather than a purely aesthetic pursuit, has helped them find long-term happiness in themselves and with the wider world.