Weight Loss & Weight Gain

There's a simple solution for Zion Williamson's reported weight issues ... so says Kenny "The Jet" Smith, who tells TMZ Sports all the Pelicans star needs to do is focus and eat less.

Sounds easy enough, right??

There have been reports that the former #1 overall pick's weight has inflated to north of 300 pounds during the offseason as he battled an injury ... and even Kenny's "Inside The NBA" co-hosts Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley have been joking about the situation.

But, when we spoke with Smith at LAX this week, we got real about Zion ... asking how he can shed the extra pounds and get back to game shape by the time he's back to 100%.

"Every player in their career... they're going to get hurt at some point if you have a long career," Kenny told us. "In that time, you gotta figure out how to stay in shape and stay into a basketball body."

Kenny says he's confident the 21-year-old will figure it out ... and it won't be as hard as people think.

"The easiest part is he'll figure out how to eat less. It's not hard when it's your profession. He puts the hours in to become a great basketball player. He'll figure out those hours he needs to keep his body right."

"It's not hard, just eat less."

We also talked to The Jet about Scottie Pippen's recent comments about Michael Jordan only making "The Last Dance" doc to prove to the youngins that he's still the G.O.A.T over LeBron James ... and he sets Pip straight.

Social media star Lil Terrio is slimming down after making some big changes in his life ... and his weight loss journey is rooted in his improved diet and ramped-up workouts.

Lil Terrio's manager, Jon Barclan, and personal trainer, Kipp Luster, tell TMZ ... Terrio has lost a shocking amount of weight in the last 2 months. He's 231 lbs. now, down from 360 lbs.!!!

Nearly 130 lbs. lost in about 60 days, means dude's shedding just over 2 lbs. per day -- and Terrio's team says that's thanks to working out 6 times a week, sometimes hitting the gym even twice a day. He's also doing high-intensity interval training to get his heart rate up and burn fat.

We're told Terrio's also reaping the benefits of a custom meal plan curated by his trainer ... a diet high on protein and fiber, and low on carbs. Terrio's mostly eating seafood and chicken, plus a lot of fruits and vegetables, while staying away from beef and pork.

The results are happening pretty fast, we're told Terrio completely changed his diet starting Sept. 1 ... retraining his taste buds after being addicted to carbs and sugars and needing about 3 weeks to settle into his new diet.

We're told Terrio -- who rose to social media fame in part because he was young, funny and overweight -- wanted to make a big life change after getting to the age where he started understanding life and health and decided he wanted to get fit.

With a huge mass of followers, we're told he wanted to be a positive influence on kids and be the face of overcoming childhood obesity, and the changes go beyond the scale. We're told he's mentally and physically stronger, emotionally happier and more comfortable with himself.

Paulo Costa was 26 lbs. overweight just 3 days before his fight with Marvin Vettori, but despite the extra pounds, the UFC star tells TMZ Sports he's staying at middleweight.

"I will come back to 185. The very next one. I want to fight for the title and get the title," Paulo says.

FYI, Costa (#2 ranked middleweight) and Vettori (#5 ranked middleweight) were supposed to fight at 185 lbs., but PC told reporters he weighed 211 lbs. on Wednesday ... less than 48 hours before he was supposed to weigh in.

As for why he missed weight, Costa explained it like this, saying, "I came a little bit heavier than usual, and they suggest to make catchweight."

He never identifies "they."

It only takes one glance at Costa to see he's huge for the division. He's got muscles on top of muscles, so, cutting a lot of weight is nothing new for Paulo. But, to shed that weight in mere hours is all but impossible.

Despite the embarrassing situation, the fighters have verbally agreed to fight at a catchweight of 195 lbs. -- 10 lbs. over the originally contracted weight limit.

Costa intending to stay in the division is significant. With a win over Vettori, an argument for a rematch with Israel Adesanya (Izzy handily beat Costa in September 2020), although unlikely, could be a possibility.

If he moved up, Paulo would have to claw to the top of another division.

But, it might not be up to Costa ... 'cause the UFC could force him to move up after nearly losing the main event for the Fight Night card.

We also talked to Marvin (before the weight drama) ... and the 28-year-old fighter, who compared Costa to a fake Conor McGregor, had a message, albeit short and sweet, for his opponent.

Barbara Corcoran is NOT persona non grata at 'The View' -- because Whoopi Goldberg is already past the fat joke BC cracked at her expense ... saying it's water under the bridge.

We got the comic and talk show host Monday leaving ABC Studios in NYC, and just had to ask where things stood between her and her old 'Shark Tank' pal ... who got a little out of pocket last week in taking a crack a Whoopi's weight.

Watch Whoopi's reaction when he asked her about the incident ... she legit looks like she doesn't even remember it, which reflects how she feels about it -- literally, NBD.

Now, for the why ... Whoopi explains to us that Barbara has a unique sense of humor as it is -- see her funeral birthday thing as exhibit A -- and that she really didn't take offense to it all.

There's also the history between them, which WG also touches on -- saying their friendship of 20-plus years isn't going to crumble over a little quip like that ... especially since Barbara fully apologized for it right afterward. And, yes -- that means Barb isn't banned by any stretch.

Sounds like people made a bigger issue out of it than it actually was to Whoopi herself -- who, BTW, tells us she's feeling pretty good these days. Well enough to be "up," anyway.

Chumlee is a whole new man ... after practically losing an entire man's weight.

The guy from "Pawn Stars" tells TMZ ... he was tired of struggling with his weight, which constantly fluctuated 100 pounds at a time. He says it had been a years-long battle and he felt it was time to make a drastic change after getting all the way up to 350 pounds in January 2019.

That dramatic change started the following month when he went in for gastric sleeve surgery ... a popular weight-loss procedure in which a large portion of the stomach is removed to create a smaller stomach pouch.

This, of course, reduces the quantity of food one can eat while making them feel fuller even when consuming less food. The stomach size is brought down to about the size of a banana.

As you can see, Chumlee's looking slim at 190 pounds now. He says he went through the 160-pound transformation because he wanted to not only get healthy, but stay healthy ... unlike his years of yo-yoing.

Chumlee, who got the procedure done at Blossom Bariatrics in Vegas, says now that he's slimmed down he's committed to maintaining his weight by embracing a lifestyle change ... eating clean, healthy food and getting his sweat on.

Barbara Corcoran and Whoopi Goldberg together provided a cringe moment on "The View" ... the result of a fat joke Barbara lobbed at Whoopi.

Ya gotta see the video ... the roundtable discussion starts innocently enough, with the hosts and some 'Shark Tank' stars talking about new jeans, but it gets super awkward when Barbara chimes in and tries to get a laugh.

Whoopi's asking if the jeans in question will fit her COVID butt, and that's when Barbara says ... "and when you get finished with those jeans and decide you don't like them, give them to me, I'm going to make 2 pairs." 😲

Barbara did NOT stick the landing, and the joke fell totally flat. Whoopi immediately looked pretty pissed, and the rest of her 'View' co-hosts weren't too happy either.

It's a super awkward interaction ... but Ana Navarro had Whoopi's back, and clapped back at Barbara with a major fashion diss.

Ooohh, the backstage convos that must've gone down!!!

Brielle Biermann sounds like she's been through hell recovering from double jaw surgery -- both physically and mentally -- but she's staying positive ... with her sights set on Thanksgiving!!!

We got the "Don't Be Tardy" star at LAX, where she gave us an update on the gnarly procedure she had done in August to correct some major biting and breathing issues she's dealt with most of her life.

As you see ... Brielle's still in post-op mode with a splint in her mouth, and tells us she's several weeks away from being able to eat foods, like meatballs.

She says her limited diet's resulted in her dropping 15 pounds, but the silver lining -- if there is one -- is her doctor's instructing her to have a daily milkshake to get her weight back up.

Brielle says the recovery process has been incredibly challenging, and she's been feeling down lately ... what with missing her friends and socializing.

"The Mountain" is looking more like a sculpted rock ... 'cause he's lost a TON of weight over the past two years -- and check out his new bod, he's SHREDDED!!!

Hafthor Bjornsson -- who starred as the big beast on "Game Of Thrones" -- has transformed his body since retiring from strongman competition in 2019 ... moving to the boxing world, and the results are impressive as hell.

Just two days out from his big celeb tilt with arm-wrestling legend Devon Larratt, Bjornsson -- a 3x Arnold Classic and 2018 World's Strongest Man winner -- showed off all the progress he's made with his physique, revealing chiseled abs, pecs and arms.

6'9" Bjornsson told Muscle And Health earlier this month he's down to about 328 pounds -- roughly 120 pounds under the 450-or-so pounds that he used to tip the scales at when he was lifting competitively.

It's all been an effort to dominate in the ring ... with Bjornsson initially setting out to fight fellow strong man Eddie Hall -- his heated rival -- this weekend.

Hall, though, tore his bicep while training in July ... so Bjornsson is now scheduled to fight Larratt -- a dude he once lost to in an arm-wrestling competition.

Freddie Combs -- the minister who became a fan favorite on the second season of "The X Factor" thanks to his heavenly voice -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

According to his wife Kay ... Freddie died last Friday surrounded by friends and family at a hospital in Florida. She tells us his death was not Covid-related, but the result of kidney failure.

Kay says Freddie was diligently working on his weight loss over the past 11 years -- he had weighed over 900 lbs, getting all the way down to 385 lbs. -- and she's very proud of him. Sadly, she says she knew he was going to pass the day before he did, adding ... "I have so much gratitude to be his wife for 25 years and to be his best friend."

You may recall ... Freddie wowed the judges and audience during his 'X Factor' audition in Season 2 of the U.S. series, as the 540-lb. minister belted out a beautiful rendition of "Wind Beneath My Wings."

Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid promised to back him if he promised to get healthy, lose weight and get out of his wheelchair ... and Freddie vowed to do so.

Though he was eliminated shortly after, his story inspired many folks because he'd already lost more than 400 lbs. since 2009 ... when he topped 920 lbs.

Freddie and Kay, who struggles with weight issues as well, were also featured on a 2010 TLC special called "Ton of Love."

He was 49.

The woman who claimed she got kicked off an Alaska Airlines flight because she was too fat has been doing some self-reflection... and now she's going under the knife to slim down.

Manager of Ray Lin Howard, Gina Rodriguez,  tells TMZ … ever since last week's incident, Ray Lin's felt uncomfortable and judged every time she gets dressed and goes out in public, and now she's making a change.

We're told she's traveling to Beverly Hills next week to get gastric sleeve surgery to remove the majority of her stomach ... and her goal is to go from 350 lbs. to about 160.

As we reported ... Ray Lin claims she got kicked off an Alaska Airlines flight for wearing a revealing outfit, and says she was also harassed and discriminated against because of her weight. She described the incident as the worst example of "fatphobia" she's ever encountered.

The WNBA has suspended Connecticut Sun head coach Curt Miller over an "offensive" comment he made about an opposing player during a game ... when he complained to a ref that she weighs "300 pounds."

The player he was talking about is Las Vegas Aces star Liz Cambage -- who says she weighs 235 pounds and was deeply offended by the comment.

Here's the backstory ... Cambage -- the #2 overall picking the 2011 WNBA Draft -- claimed Miller crossed the line when complaining to the refs about her during Sunday night's game in an effort to get a call against her.

Cambage claims she overheard Miller saying something like, "C'mon, she's 300 pounds!"

Cambage unleashed a fiery post on social media ripping Miller -- saying she's "very proud of being a big bitch" ... and "I will never let a man disrespect me, ever, ever, ever, especially a little white one."

Miller apologized Monday morning -- saying, "I made an inappropriate and offensive comment in reference to Liz Cambage's height and weight. I regret what I said in the heat of the moment and want to sincerely apologize to Liz and the entire Aces organization."

He added, "I understand the gravity of my words and have learned from this."

Now, the league has dished out punishment -- issuing a 1-game suspension against Miller and tacking on a $10,000 fine.

"I needed to make a change because I was tired of the way I was living."

That's 31-year-old former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz opening up about depression that literally brought him to his knees ... after losing his belts to Anthony Joshua.

TMZ Sports talked to Ruiz days before he makes his return to the squared circle on May 1 ... where "The Destroyer" will take on Chris Arreola.

When Ruiz starts letting his hands fly ... he'll look a little bit different than the last time we saw him in the ring with Joshua -- 'cause the 6'2" boxing star has lost nearly 60 pounds!!

"I think the weight loss is gonna be good and gonna be an advantage for me," Ruiz tells us.

"I think I'm gonna be a little faster, I'm gonna be able to slip more punches, bob and weave and things that we've been practicing in the gym and you know, I'm still not where I wanna be at but I'm still way better than I was before."

Of course, Ruiz SHOCKED the world and KO'd AJ in June 2019 ... one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight boxing history.

But, the December 2019 rematch didn't go nearly as well for Ruiz ... who stepped into the ring weighing 284 pounds, and looking out of shape in a unanimous decision loss.

After the fight, Andy says he was depressed and knew he had to change his life ... and that started with the drastic weight loss.

"There was just this one day that I was just depressed with myself and I was weighting 310 lbs. I thought losing weight would be the big issue and learning discipline, because I lacked discipline in my whole professional career," Ruiz says.

Andy continued ... "Like I said, I was depressed, I had got on my knees, I started praying and started telling God for a new change, a new mentality, and the next day I woke up and I woke up like a brand new man and that's when I messaged Canelo and told him if he could open the doors for me, and here we are now."

If the new, improved Ruiz beats Arreola (and he's a massive favorite) ... Andy could potentially face Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury, Dillian Whyte or even Joshua for a third time.

Sarah Paulson's slipping her slim frame into a fat suit in order to play Linda Tripp ... and it's got lots of folks pissed off over Hollywood's casting decisions.

The actress was all done up as Linda this week on the set of "Impeachment: American Crime Story," and her need for a fat suit is triggering critics ... including a journalist who says Tinseltown is doing plus-sized actors dirty.

The criticism, in a nutshell, is that roles for bigger actresses are few and far between in Hollywood, and it shows the industry's fatphobia when slim actresses like Sarah are cast to play a role like Linda Tripp.

Journalist Kristin Chirico wrote, "This could have been a fat actor. This could have been their big breakout role. This could have been their Golden Globe or their Emmy nod. This could have been their paid off student loans or their first house. Instead it's Sarah Paulson in a fat suit."

Another person tweeted, "So here’s a reminder: fat suits are incredibly anti-fat and perpetuate anti-fat bias. Here’s what you should do instead: hire an actual fat person!"

On the other hand, Sarah is a vet on the 'American Crime Story' anthology ... she was also cast as prosecutor Marcia Clark in 'The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story', and just as she's doing with Linda, nailed the look.

Rob McElhenney was born at the wrong time, because in earlier days he'd surely be one of Michelangelo's muses.

The "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" star is showing off his incredible physique in this month's issue of "Men's Health," while also describing the journey his bod's been through and what's motivated him ... and it's not what you think.

In a wide-ranging interview with his buddy and business partner, Ryan Reynolds, 'Always Sunny' Mac says he's fascinated with the human body, so for the show he wanted to satirize the body-image culture by building his into something "absolutely ridiculous and truly impossible to keep up unless you devoted your entire life to it."

And, that's what he did for Season 13 of the series in 2018 -- this just a few years after he purposely packed on 50 lbs. to play Fat Mac -- and though he says his workout regime is not as insane today ... he's still jacked to the max.

Also worth noting -- he didn't do this for the ladies. Rob tells Ryan ... "The people who were most fascinated by my body when I was in great shape were dudes. Women could give two s***s."

He says his own wife -- 'Sunny' costar Kaitlin Olson -- didn't like the way he looked and thought he was trying too hard ... to which he says, solid point.

Tekashi 6ix9ine has been on the rollercoaster of a lifetime, but his latest ups and downs are all about yo-yo'ing big time on his weight ... and we found out why.

6ix9ine got into the nitty-gritty of his recent weight gain/loss Wednesday on 'TMZ Live' -- where he dished on how exactly he ended up a full 70 pounds heavier within a few months of getting out of prison.

Ya might've heard ... Tekashi says he hit a whopping 204 lbs. during home confinement last year -- he was about 130 lbs. when he left the pen -- but miraculously dropped the poundage in record time ... something he alluded to recently on social media.

He explains he was able to get himself back down to around 140 lbs., adding this in celebration ... "In the chaos of everything that is going on in your life, tell yourself 'I control what happens in my life' do NOT let anyone tell you that things you want it’s not possible, that’s FALSE!"

So many questions here, which Harvey and Charles dug into with Tekashi -- such as, what the hell was he eating to gain so much weight -- and perhaps just as important, how'd he lose it all so quickly???

Tekashi's got the answers ... and his solution might be a bit more primitive than any fad diet out right now. Turns out, the answer to tons of Chinese food is ... sweat and misery.

Pope Francis is way too kneedy ... he eats too much pasta, and his doctors want him to drastically change his diet ... from A to Ziti.

The pasta-loving Pontiff's being advised to lose at least 4 lbs to help ease his sciatica and avoid a trip to the operating table, and now pasta and pizza are off the table ... according to The Sun.

It's not just carbs ... the Pope's also being told to steer clear of cakes. His doctors reportedly want him to chow down on fruits, vegetables, fish and olive oil, complemented by small bowls of rice.

Imagine telling his holiness to eat more greens. Wonder what his mother's thinking from up above.

Pope Francis has apparently been getting plump, and it's taking a toll on his body and changing the way he operates ... he reportedly sat during Thursday's meeting with cardinals, apologizing for not being able to speak standing up and blaming his sciatica.

The good news for Francis ... he should be fine if he eats healthier and follows his doctors' advice.