Melissa McCarthy’s Weight Loss Inspires Fans

Melissa McCarthy’s weight loss and her rags-to-riches story are inspiring fans on social media, with a Monday night Instagram post drawing gushing praise from those touched by the actress.

On Monday night, the Bridesmaids star posted a photo of her cover of the current issue of Glamour. The photo shows her new face, now significantly less round and puffy after a 75-pound weight loss.

As iHeartRadio reported earlier this month, Melissa dropped the pounds after taking a serious look at her health. Never one to buy into the Hollywood notions of beauty, she did it for her own reasons not because she wanted to trim down to get roles.

How did she do it? The so-called Keto Diet, or Ketogenic Diet, which mostly focuses on “healthy fats” and eschews carbohydrates. Perhaps surprisingly, she also took the weight off by deciding to stop focusing on it.

“I truly stopped worrying about it. I think there’s something to kinda loosening up and not being so nervous and rigid about it that, bizarrely, has worked.”

If the comments by fans on social media are any indication, her weight loss has been an inspiration.

User prettyboom38 wrote, “I love you @melissamccarthy you are my inspiration!!!”

“That doesn’t even look like you!! Wow that’s awesome,” wrote another user, youngmelimel.

The praise wasn’t limited to English-speaking fans.

“Lindíssima! Você é uma mulher incrível!” wrote nataliadrigozambonioficial.

Loosely translated from Italian, that says “Beautiful! You’re an incredible woman!” in case you were wondering.

Melissa’s cover story on Glamour, which got the ball rolling on this discussion of her weight loss, focuses rather on another barrier the Oscar-nominated actress has overcome: namely, being broke.

Years ago, before the success of 2011’s Bridesmaids made her a breakout star, Melissa was a college dropout intent on forging a career in stand-up comedy. She was 20, broke, and thrown into the unforgiving streets of New York. At one point, she was so broke she couldn’t afford a Happy Meal.

“I remember when you could still get a $5 bill out of an ATM and I couldn’t get it because [my balance] was under $5.”

What’s more, she found that being a woman in the industry was working against her.

“There were some jobs when I was paid what most [of my costars were]. And then people who climbed the ladder with me were suddenly making 15 times what I made. I was like, Wait, wait, wait. I thought, This is based on bulls**t.”

Those days are behind her. Thanks to a few breakout roles, combined with hard work, fierce negotiating, and the willingness to learn from her mistakes (some of her movies have been critical and box-office clunkers), McCarthy is now one of the highest-paid women in Hollywood.

She admits that luck played a role in her success but at the end of the day, she credits her hard work just as much.

“I confuse the fact that I’ve gotten lucky with the idea that there’s something special about me. I think entitlement is a really, really scary thing to possess. For me, it’s like, ‘No. I’ve gotten lucky, and I’ve worked hard.'”