Kathy Bates Says Her 100-Pound Weight Loss Has Given Her a ‘Tremendous Amount of Energy’

Kathy Bates speaks onstage at the "Matlock" Presentation Q&A during the CBS Network portion of the 2024 TCA Summer Press Tour in Pasadena, Calif., on July 13, 2024. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

For actress Kathy Bates, losing 100 pounds was a game changer.

During an interview with Variety, published on Sept. 11, the 76-year-old Bates shared her experience portraying attorney Madeline “Matty” Matlock in the coming CBS drama series “Matlock.” She noted that her recent weight loss helped her keep up with the demands of leading the show.

“It’s helped me tremendously that, over the last six or seven years, I’ve lost 100 pounds.” the “Misery” star said. “I don’t think I’ve been this slim since I was in college.”

Bates was at her heaviest in 2011 while starring as attorney Harriet “Harry” Korn in the NBC drama series “Harry’s Law.” She revealed that the role physically challenged her, as her stamina wasn’t at the level it is now.

“I had to sit down every moment that I could. It was hard for me to walk,“ she said. ”I’m ashamed I let myself get so out of shape, but now I have a tremendous amount of energy.”

However, Bates said that not being a “beauty queen” in Hollywood has given her an advantage.

“I always knew going into this business that it was going to take me a while because I wasn’t a beauty queen,” she said.

“I have to say I give an inner wink when I see friends who have been beauty queens who are no longer working because of ageism, and in my case, I’ve been able to continue working for many years because I don’t look like that. I don’t think I would have gotten the role in ‘Misery’ if I had been a beauty queen.”

In 2019, the “American Horror Story” alum told Extra about her 60-pound weight loss.

“This is the best health I’ve been in in years, and I’m so grateful—it’s a miracle,” she told the outlet. “I was facing diabetes—it runs in my family—and I really didn’t want to live with that.”

Bates also shared the valuable lesson she learned from her niece about controlling her food consumption.

“After you eat for 20 to 30 minutes, you experience an involuntary sigh,” the award-winning actress explained. “It’s communication between stomach and brain telling you you had enough… and what I discovered is if you listen to that sigh and push that plate away for just five minutes, you realize you’re satisfied, and you don’t have to eat more.”

That same year, she told People that her 60-pound weight loss helped relieve her symptoms from lymphedema, a chronic condition that causes the body to swell due to a buildup of lymph fluid.

“I’m feeling great,” Bates told the magazine. “I’ve lost a lot of weight, and it’s really helped with my symptoms. I just still have to wear compression sleeves or guard against nicks and bug bites because that can lead to sepsis.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, obesity, or excessive body fat, “increases the risk of many other diseases and health problems,” including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer. Those diseases are among the leading causes of death in the United States, according to the CDC.

Obesity is prevalent across the United States, found in 41.9 percent of U.S. adults 20 years or older from 2017 to March 2020, the CDC reported. 58 percent of adults with obesity also have high blood pressure, while 23 percent have diabetes. During that same period, studies found that 9.2 percent of U.S. adults had severe obesity, a body mass index of 40 or over.

Ways to combat obesity include consuming healthy foods and beverages, maintaining an active lifestyle, getting adequate sleep, and managing stress levels.