Mike and Molly star Billy Gardell shares unbelievable weight loss transformation

Mike and Molly star Billy Gardell has opened up on his 170-pound weight loss after undergoing gastric bypass surgery.

The TV sitcom, starring Gardell and Melissa McCarthy as the titular characters, follows a heartwarming love story between the Chicago cop Mike Biggs and schoolteacher-turned-author Molly.

It ran for six seasons, first airing on CBS in September 2010, with its series finale taking place in May 2016. And now, the former comedian and show's star, 56, has lifted the lid on his weight-loss journey in a new interview with People Magazine, including how he lost 170 pounds since 2021.

He recalled how every year he would make himself the promise he'd lose weight, telling the publication: "Every year. I’d say I’d start on Monday. Or the first of the month. Or New Year’s Eve. That was always my routine."

Sometimes, he explained, it did work, and he would diet and work out; however, he would find it hard to keep the weight off and stick to it.

Mike and Molly star Billy Gardell has opened up on his weight loss journey (Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)

By 2020, his weight was 370-380 lbs., and he had developed type 2 diabetes, with doctors warning him that he was putting his life at risk, which was only made worse due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Gardell said: “When the first wave hit, and they punched up that list of high-risk conditions, I had all of them.

"Overweight, sleep apnea, smoker, type 2 diabetes, asthma... It was really the perfect storm. Between my blood numbers not coming back good, my blood pressure going up, type 2 diabetes and COVID - it was enough stuff to scare me to say, ‘Come hell or high water, I’ve got to make a change.’"

The change came in the form of bariatric surgery in July 2021, the first step in his weight-loss journey.

Since undergoing the surgery, he pays careful attention to his diet, does regular workouts and has changed the way he thinks about food.

The Bob Hearts Abishola star explained: "It really came down to a shift in everything I think about food. Food is fuel. It’s not reward, it’s not soothing, it’s not medication. I had to get beyond my emotional relationship with food."

Gardell managed to drop 170 lbs, and now his weight fluctuates between 210 and 215lbs, which he described as 'comfortable' for him.

He starred alongside Melissa McCarthy on the show for six seasons (CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)

His health issues have also thankfully dissipated, including his diabetes, as he told the publication he 'feels strong, has energy' and essentially, losing weight 'saved his life'. “

He explained how his relationship with food first became 'complicated' in his teen years after his parents divorced.

"I had a lot of responsibility heaped on me at 14 to help provide for the family, and the second stepfather that we had in the house was not a kind person," he recalled. "I think I put on this extra weight as some kind of safety armour."

At 17, he left home to follow his dream of becoming a stand-up comedian, but he piled on the weight at the same time.

Gardell recalled: “I was medicating my emotions and my fears with food, and I was also celebrating my victories with food. You’re eating to deflect your feelings when they’re bad or enhance them when they’re good, and both of those things are poison pills."