Chrissy Metz, ‘This Is Us’ Star, On Being Overweight, ‘The Biggest Loser’

This is Us star Chrissy Metz says she would love to appear on The Biggest Loser to help her lose weight and stay healthy.

CHRISSY METZ OPENS UP ABOUT WEIGHT

The actress told Marie Claire that her desire to join is more of a wish to get healthier. “My father is a big guy,” she explained. “He’s had a quadruple bypass surgery, and that’s scary. Those are real things that happen in families with overweight people, and I don’t want that.”

Eating has always been a coping mechanism for Metz, and now she doesn’t even pay attention to her weight. “I don’t worry about numbers,” she said. “It just messes with my mind.” She avoids referring to herself as “fat,” because “fat was like a cuss word” growing up. “I eat my feelings – when I’m happy, when I’m sad,” she admitted. “If I’m upset or I have to confront somebody, I’m like, ‘This feels really icky. Let me have a burrito.'”

Metz discussed how she got into acting by accident, and how difficult it was to come by roles for plus size women that didn’t end up being “the butt of the joke.” She landed a role on American Horror Story: Freak Show as Ima Wiggles the Fat Lady. “They wanted a very big girl; they didn’t want to necessarily do a prosthetic suit,” Metz said. “They wanted it to be as real as possible.” She was given the part, but the producers stuck her in a fat suit anyway. “I was like, ‘Wait? This time I’m not big enough?'”

She loves her role on This is Us because it portrays obesity in a normal, hopeful light. “It’s one of those things I believe everybody needs right now—a cathartic cry or a laugh,” she says. “The show’s not cynical, it’s warm.”

She admits she has a lot in common with her character Kate, who is constantly attempting new techniques to lose weight. Now, Metz continues to try to eat healthy and keep with an exercise routine fitting for her busy schedule. “I would love to go on The Biggest Loser, where it’s a concentrated thing” she said.