Back in February of this year, Kevin Smith - director of the comedy classic "Clerks" and one half of the Jay and Silent Bob duo - came close to death after suffering what he described as a "massive heart attack".

The 47-year-old had just finished performing a stand-up comedy show in Glendale, California, and was due to perform another when he suddenly felt ill. He was rushed to the hospital, where he eventually found out that he'd had a potentially fatal heart attack.

In a tweet to his fans, Smith shared an image of himself in a hospital bed, but reassured them that he was still "above ground" following the scare.

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Now, four months on, Smith has shared another photo of himself - but, this time, he looks markedly different.

"Today, I am down a total of 43 pounds," the comedian wrote on Instagram. "Only 7 more pounds until I’ve shed the 50 my Doctor told me to lose following the heart attack!"

He continued:

"I wanna thank #pennjillette (the taller half of @pennandtellerlive) for his book #presto, @raycronise for the all-potato kick-start to my journey, and @weightwatchers for making it easy to lose some more while maintaining the weight loss!

"This #wwambassador is now at the absolute adult thinnest I’ve been since I finished high school! And while I may look a little better, I FEEL f**king fantastic! It’ll take a few weeks, but I’m ready to lose that final 7 pounds! And when I hit my goal, I’ll let you know where I started..."

And this is what he looks like after making such a major life change:

 

Though the star didn't have any known health problems that could have caused the heart attack, he was obviously quite overweight.

Smith himself has spoken openly about his size before, especially as he has rapidly lost - and regained - weight on past occasions (though not because of something as serious as a heart attack). His yo-yo dieting has reached extremes in the past, too. When he met his wife, for example, he lost a huge 50 pounds in order to look more trim for her, and in 2008, he lost almost half his body weight - going from 400 lbs to 210 lbs - by cutting out sugar from his diet and going on "juice fasts".

More recently, in 2010, he was famously kicked off a flight after being too large to fit into the seat, which motivated him to lose 65 lbs. After that point, however, he admitted to returning to his old habits and piling on the pounds again.

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According to Smith's daughter, the comedian has adopted a vegan diet since his brush with mortality earlier this year, and she says "He's the healthiest he's ever been" because of it.

Hopefully, the 47-year-old will continue to keep the weight off this time - not just for the sake of his health, but also for his family, who have been incredibly supportive of him throughout his journey to leading a better lifestyle. What's more, it's likely that his astounding turnaround will encourage others to switch to a more sustainable diet - so there was certainly a silver lining to his health scare.

 

If you've ever thought about changing something about your life, whether it's giving up smoking or cutting down on the amount of alcohol you consume, getting the motivation to actually do something and stick to it is the most difficult thing. However, as Kevin O'Connor's recent transformation shows, it's never to late to put those words into action. When he was 11-years-old, Kevin spotted a fitness magazine that read: 'Even at 39 you can still get a six pack'. Something about it stuck in his mind, and he always kept it in mind that one day he would make that change - he just had until the age of 40 to do it. Over the next 25 years, he tried various diets and exercise programs, but nothing really took. So when he saw his middle-age on the horizon, he knew it was now or never. "In February 2017 I turned 39. No six pack. No lean body and now I had my baby girl. I'd become a daddy. Now I had to do something about it. "I needed to make my commitments and stick to them. I decided to make it into a challenge. I was going to get motivated to go to the gym and eat well for 30 days - long enough, I'd read, that it will form a habit. "My hope then was the habit would take over where the motivation faded and that would keep me going. I decided to weigh myself daily and track everything I ate good and bad." It turns out that this particular tactic, along with his motivation to be a role model to his now-one-year-old little girl, was enough to keep him going. He has now lost five stones, a third of his body weight, and finally has that six-pack he always dreamed of. Despite dropping to 63kg from 95kg, a 36-inch waist to 28, and a drop in body fat from 21 percent to seven percent, Kevin claims he has done "nothing revolutionary". Kevin, who refers to himself as a "calorie sniper", recently spoke to the MailOnline about the change: "I didn't find it difficult, nor did I starve myself. I simply counted my calories, ate a balanced meal and worked out regularly

Whilst there's nothing inherently unique in this approach, why had I never been able to get in shape, despite having been to the gym over the years? What I think happened was the reason, or my why I wanted to get in shape became a driving force that was a pushing factor."

[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEaw_wy_c_8]] He began to see his weight drop after he paid attention to the calories and having daily weigh-ins. He restricted his daily calorie intake to 1,700 in March last year (men are allowed 2,500), but still treated himself to a cheat meal of pizza on the weekends as a reward. "I made a promise to myself and I needed to stick to it because I've had 27 years to do it. If I didn't, then I would have really let myself down. My daughter was just born and I wanted to pick her up. I don't want her to have an old fat dad on the playground picking her up. There's enough of them already. I want to do this for her, be a role model for her, and because of the promise I made to myself as a child." His usual dinner has remained quorn sausages, cottage cheese and broccoli. His breakfast was walnuts, raisins, a banana and a yogurt pot. And for lunch, he would have a fried egg and mushroom sandwich, for which he would use a low calorie spray to cook. He tried to have vegetables with most meals, but doesn't stress if he couldn't do it that time. Developing a 35-45 minute workout routine to put into action throughout the week, he got on track and finally became what he wanted to be. He has since put together 'Kevin's Challenge' - a 30-day free programme that helps people get motivated for long enough to make it a habit, with support from him and other clients on message boards. If there's anything to learn from Kevin's story, it's that it's never too late to reach for your goals.

Back in February, fans were upset to hear that Kevin Smith had suffered a heart attack. Writing on Instagram from his hospital bed in Los Angeles, the actor wrote that he had faced his "greatest fear" when he was rushed to a medical facility where doctors found one of his arteries was 100 per cent blocked.

"I threw up a little but it didn’t seem to help. Then I started sweating buckets and my chest felt heavy. Turns out I had a massive heart attack," he wrote. "The Doctor who saved my life at the #glendale hospital told me I had 100% blockage of my LAD artery (also known as “the Widow-Maker” because when it goes, you’re a goner). If I hadn’t canceled the second show to go to the hospital, the Doc said I would’ve died tonight."

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Revealing that his father had lost his life to a heart attack, the 48-year-old also spoke of the "sense of calm" he was filled with in hospital as he believed that he was about to die, writing: "As I stared into the infinite, I realized I was relatively content. Yes, I’d miss life as it moved on without me - and I was bummed we weren’t gonna get to make #jayandsilentbobrebootbefore I shuffled loose the mortal coil. But generally speaking, I was okay with the end, if this was gonna be it. I’ve gotten to do so many cool things and I’ve had so many adventures - how could I be shitty about finally paying the tab. But the good folks at the Glendale hospital had other plans and the expertise to mend me."

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Thankfully, the Clerks director survived. However, after his near-death experience, he was told to change his lifestyle and eating habits by doctors, or suffer the consequences.

Now, six months on and Smith has taken to social media once again - but this time, rather than posting from a hospital bed, he is celebrating, having lost 51 pounds! Uploading pictures to Instagram of his weight transformation, the comedian looked like a new man as he revealed that Weight Watchers had helped him reach a healthier weight.

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Writing on Instagram, he put: "This @weightwatchers Ambassador is thrilled to announce that I’VE LOST 51 POUNDS! Six months ago from right now, I was in the hospital recovering from a heart attack I’d had the night before. When I went to my Doctor a week later, she told me “The best thing you can do for yourself now is to lose 50 pounds.” Half a year later, I can report that I followed Doctor’s orders: I started at 256 and now I weigh 205. This is the lightest I’ve been since high school! My hope now is I can slowly lose another 10 with #weightwatchers and get down to my birth weight of 195! But for now, I’m ecstatic to have reached this chunky milestone!"

Equating his weight loss to "a total lifestyle change of eating solely plant-based foods", Smith gave shout-outs to his friends who helped him along the way, as well as his fans whose encouragement inspired him.

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"Never underestimate the power of positive feedback: you folks telling me I looked better or healthier helped me stick with it," the 48-year-old wrote. "An encouraging word can really make a difference in someone’s life and your compliments kept me going! And just look where I went!"

Congratulations, Kevin! You smashed it!

In a world where diet trends come and go faster than you can say “keto", one man from Scotland quietly — and unbelievably — set a record that’s still unbeaten almost 60 years later.His name was Angus Barbieri. And for 382 consecutive days, this ordinary man from Tayport lived without solid food.No cheat days. No breaks. No fruit, no snacks, no meals. Just black coffee, tea, soda water, vitamins — and a level of willpower that continues to leave people baffled.From Fryer to Fasting: Angus Before the DietBorn in 1939, Angus lived a normal life working at his father’s fish-and-chip shop in Scotland. But by the age of 27, his weight had reached a staggering 456 pounds, the Daily Mail reports.Desperate to take control of his health, he voluntarily checked into the Royal Infirmary of Dundee in June 1965 with a simple plan: do a short fast to drop some pounds.What followed was anything but short.The 382-Day Fast BeginsDoctors originally expected Angus to fast for only a few days — but he wasn’t interested in half-measures. Under constant medical supervision, he committed to a long-term fasting plan that defied every known diet, science, and expectation of the time.For over a year, his diet consisted of, per The Courier:Tea and coffee (sometimes with small amounts of milk or sugar)Soda waterVitaminsYeast for essential amino acidsElectrolytesThat’s it. Zero solid food. Zero calories from meals.Despite working around food at his dad’s chip shop, Angus made the tough decision to quit to avoid temptation. He was permitted to come and go from Maryfield Hospital, with doctors monitoring him during each visit.Shedding the WeightBarbieri’s transformation was nothing short of jaw-dropping. He lost an average of nearly a pound a day — about 22 pounds per month. His goal was to drop to 180 pounds, and on July 11, 1966, 382 days after he began, he reached that target. By the end of his fast, Angus had dropped a jaw-dropping 276 pounds. He became unrecognizable and could famously able to fit two people inside his old pants.His first bite of food in more than a year?A boiled egg. Bread and butter.“It went down OK. I feel a bit full, but I thoroughly enjoyed it,” he told the crowd of reporters waiting to witness his first post-fast meal.His story went global, making headlines in the US and Europe alike. Researchers at the University of Dundee launched a detailed study into the effects of prolonged fasting, and his treatment was published in the Postgraduate Medical Journal in 1973.“Extended starvation therapy must be used cautiously,” the study warned, acknowledging the uniqueness — and danger — of Angus’ case, per History Defined.The Science, the Skeptics, and the ShockAs the weight dropped, doubts piled up. People asked the same question then that they still ask now: how could a human being go more than a year without food and survive?Skepticism surrounded the feat, especially after records revealed five deaths linked to long-term fasting attempts. Critics feared for Angus’ health, while others accused him of cheating. But his doctors confirmed: Angus stuck to the plan, and remarkably, no ill effects were observed.The doctors concluded that despite the severity of the fast, Angus emerged mentally and physically sound. Five years after the fast ended, he reportedly maintained a healthy weight of 14 stone (196 pounds).A Record That May Never Be BrokenIn 1971, Angus’ feat earned him a spot in the Guinness Book of Records for “the longest fast without solid food.” The only person who came close was Dennis Galer Goodwin, who went 385 days without eating — but he was force-fed, disqualifying him from taking the crown.Today, Guinness no longer tracks or endorses fasting records due to the obvious risks. A spokesperson confirmed: “Due to its specialist nature, the record title is not generally open for applications. We may defer verification or reject submissions entirely to avoid promoting dangerous practices.”The Man, the Myth, the LegacyAngus Barbieri lived quietly after his historic fast, raising two sons and eventually moving to Warwick.He died in September 1990 at the age of 51, leaving behind a legacy that still fascinates dieticians, researchers, and anyone who’s ever stared down a scale.His story isn't just about weight loss. It's about discipline, survival, and the extraordinary capacity of the human body and spirit. Whether seen as a marvel or a medical anomaly, one thing’s for sure: Angus Barbieri didn’t just set a world record. He rewrote the limits of what’s humanly possible.Featured image credit: Kseniya Ovchinnikova/Getty Images

Mark Wahlberg has revealed that he consumed a diet of 11,000 calories in a bid to quickly pile on the pounds for a movie role.

During an appearance on The Tonight Show on Thursday, July 15 to promote his upcoming drama Joe Bell, Jimmy Fallon asked the 50-year-old The Departed actor about another of his latest projects - a movie titled Stu.

The usually ripped actor put on around 20 pounds over a period of around four weeks in his portrayal of a real-life former boxer who later became a priest.

Check out the interview here:

"Unfortunately, I had to consume, for two weeks, 7,000 calories, and then for another two weeks, 11,000 calories," he shared. "And it was fun for about an hour. It's such a hard, physical thing to do."

He added: "Losing weight, you just kind of tough it out - you just don't eat, and exercise. And this, even when you're full, I would wake up after a meal and have another meal. I was eating every three hours. It was not fun."

When Fallon asked the actor whether he felt it was more difficult to gain and lose weight now that he has reached 50, he said: "Absolutely. Once the metabolism slows down, it gets really difficult. I'd been trying to get this movie made for three years. We only had 30 days to shoot it. And so I wanted to really make it happen."

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The actor, who was also aided by a fat suit and prosthetics, looked unrecognizable in images taken of him in character back in May.

At one point, Mark was eating around eight meals a day, about every three hours, his personal chef Lawrence Duncan explained to E! News.

Lawrence said: "We meet with a team of doctors who do his bloodwork and a nutritionist who gives us a full breakdown of what his body needs, what his body’s lacking and basically come up with a meal plan accordingly.

"We do good carbohydrates, dark green vegetables, and then, just switch up the protein throughout the day and, at least, a dozen eggs a day.’

Featured image credit: Sipa US / Alamy