Alexandria Wyckoff
Kathy Bates has been sharing more about her 100-pound weight loss.
The most important moment for her wasn’t the number on the scale, but being able to wear a dress she would’ve never reached for.
She shared with Variety in September 2025, “I just started crying and crying. I’m still figuring out what it’s like to be without all of that weight. What was I hiding myself from? What are the emotions that are pouring out because I don’t have that armour?”
Bates was able to achieve her figure through diet, exercise, and a little help from Ozempic.
Diabetes Diagnosis
Kathy Bates didn’t start her health transformation until a health scare in 2017. The actress was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, a disease that affected many members of her family.
She shared with People in 2024, “I ate because I was afraid, and I ate because it was a FU to my self-esteem. [Diabetes] runs in my family, and I’d seen what my father had gone through. He had had a leg amputation. One of my sisters is dealing with it very seriously, and it terrified me, it scared me straight.”
This was the moment Kathy Bates set off on a gradual, deliberate change in her lifestyle.
Using Ozempic Later
While many people believe that Kathy Bates relied on Ozempic to lose the weight, it’s not true. Bates was able to lose 80 pounds through lifestyle changes alone before ever considering using a GLP-1 drug. Ozempic aided her in the final 15 to 20 pounds, getting her to where she is now.
She shared with Variety, “People say, ‘Well, it was the Ozempic.’ It took me years to do this.”
Bates used a straightforward approach, cutting out “burgers and Cokes and pizza,” not eating after 8 pm, and walking regularly. She also learned how to tune into her body with advice from her niece.
“There’s a hormone released when we’re hungry, and another when we’re satisfied,” she said to Woman’s World. “The way I recognize that second hormone is that I have an involuntary sigh. The trick is, you have to push your plate away. I eventually went from a 3X to a size 10.”
Improved Lymphedema Symptoms
Another huge plus of her weight loss is the effect on her lymphedema symptoms. Bates was diagnosed with the condition in 2012, after a double mastectomy due to her breast cancer diagnosis.
Lymphedema causes swelling in the body due to the buildup of lymph fluid.
When thinking about her lessened symptoms, Kathy Bates shared, “It’s been a tremendous benefit for me. I’m lucky that I don’t have to wear my compression sleeves every day. It’s such a thrill to be able to put my arm into a jacket and it fits.”
Mindset Shift
Beyond her dietary changes and increase in walking, Bates credits her weight loss to a mindset shift.
“You know, they always say, ‘Oh, you don’t have enough willpower.’ I just changed that word to determination. It was my choice,” she said on The Drew Barrymore Show.
Bates also stressed the importance of patience as “it took a few years” to get where she is, and that was through consistency, not speed.
Kathy Bates has shown that it doesn’t matter what age you are; it’s possible to find your dream body and shed those pounds through dedication and hard work.