"I'm Going to… Weight Watchers U"
Greg Grunberg is learning to make smart food choices and keep fit despite a grueling schedule and groaning tables at social events.
Actor Greg Grunberg has talent, luck and an impressive list of acting gigs, the most recent being his role on a hit TV series. He also had an impressive girth until, seeing himself in the show's pilot, he vowed to drop pounds to look—and feel—better.
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Weight Watchers: What was the moment you decided, "That's it I've got to lose weight."
Greg Grunberg: It was right when I was shooting the pilot for Heroes. I knew I had to do it. I was eating my way through the anxiety of whether the show was going to be picked up. I had just done a pilot for NBC that didn't get picked up; our house was under construction. When I saw what I looked like in the pilot of Heroes, I just decided&133
I'm not someone who weighs myself. So what's great is that when I go to the [Weight Watchers] meetings, Lori [the meetings leader] weighs me and I don't have to look at [the scale]. And she'll say, "All riiiight!" if it's great, and if it's not, she just goes, "You're doing great. Don't worry about it."
WW: Why did you choose Weight Watchers?
GG: Because my wife Elizabeth had success a long time ago with Weight Watchers. I love Lori, so I make it a point to go to [her] meeting. It's not close; it takes me a good 40 minutes. But it's worth it to me.
I know those people now. And when I see this guy Jeff—he just went on a cruise; I went to the Kentucky Derby—I can not wait to get back and go: "Did you do what you said you were going to do?" He gave me a great tip a couple weeks ago.
WW: What was it?
GG: He mentioned celery, which has always been something I love to munch on. And so I said, "I've got the celery in the fridge, in a Tupperware thing filled with water." And he said, "No, that's a mistake, because when you open the fridge, there are your choices staring at you in the face. Are you going to have celery, or are you going to have a little piece of chocolate or something that you shouldn't eat that's in the fridge?"
And with the kids&133we have this giant Sub-Zero fridge. It's filled with tempting things. So he said, "You don't have to refrigerate celery. Put it on the counter in your kitchen or on your dining table or somewhere that you pass all the time." That's been an unbelievable lifesaver for us.
WW: I understand that you once owned a frozen yogurt business. Do you still eat frozen yogurt? Is it part of your weight-loss plan?
GG: It is actually. There's a new frozen yogurt place called Pinkberry. It's an all-natural yogurt, and they have the sugar-free version, so I do that.
But the biggest thing I've learned about is Greek yogurt; we get it in nonfat at Trader Joe's. I substitute it for every thing that had fat in it before.
The other night, Elizabeth made a great taco salad. I put shredded lettuce, taco meat, non-fat cheese and this yogurt--a huge dollop of it--together with tons of spices. I put it in the microwave, mixed it up; it's the greatest. I don't need taco shells or tortillas or any of that stuff.
I always thought that carbs were the devil, that they're the worst thing you can have. Now, I know that carbs are good—well, if they're complex carbs.
GG: Well, [Weight Watchers] is so easy for me because there's always something for me to eat. Always. I just have to be as smart as I can.
{At the Kentucky Derby], they had these great chicken breasts and an incredible salad. I chose the one that had the least amount of dressing and then I moved down the line. I didn't booze it up; I'm not a big drinker anyway. But I had a lite beer when we went to the Mint Jubilee Gala that night.
I've already lost 35 pounds*, and that's really good for me. I lost 50 pounds years and years ago, but it all came back. On the other diet what I would do was say, "Okay, I start in the morning." But then I didn't work out, and it got a little bit later in the day. Then I'd have a little nibble of something I shouldn't have I'd throw in the towel, and say, "It's been a terrible day, I'll start tomorrow." "Starting tomorrow" is going to be on my tombstone.
With Weight Watchers, you don't do that. If I have a cracker with the kids, I have a cracker. Who cares! Keep going! It's not that hard to do because that cracker is part of the 35 weekly POINTS values I get. I don't think I even reach 35 POINTS values.
I know [my weight loss] is going to slow down, but I'm going to be on this forever. Elizabeth is doing really well on Weight Watchers and working out. We're motivating each other.
There's another reason I know the program is working. I used to jump rope like crazy, but it's a very difficult thing to do when you're out of shape. Now I'm doing it every day in addition to my normal workout. You've got a gym with you when you've got a jump rope.
WW: How do you fit exercise in when you're shooting?
GG: It's really really hard to do. When I'm shooting I have to be on set at 6 a.m. Only Jennifer Garner was able to do that when we were on Alias.
I bring the jump rope with me. But I'm in makeup first thing, so if I work out, I have to reapply my makeup and you can't really do that at lunch.
It's a 12-hour day. So I get home around 7, sometime 7:30 p.m. I walk in the door and there's a stampede of three boys, who are all over me. They go to sleep at 8, 8:30 p.m., so I lay down with them and read them stories. Then I'm exhausted. To go downstairs to work out is really hard, but I try my best.
WW: One last question: What would you say to a guy who's thinking of going to Weight Watchers?
First of all, I would tell him to forget everything he knows about Weight Watchers except that a gajillion people are on it, and it's working for them.
I was in a cab in New York and this guy said, "Hey, I saw your commercial. Have you tried the lemon bars?" I'm like: You've got to be kidding me! This guy looks like one of the guys on The Sopranos--and he's on Weight Watchers! Everybody's on it. But it's not your grandmother's diet; it's not your mother's diet. It's your diet.
And it's working. There's a reason why Weight Watchers will probably never go out of business: It's not a diet, it's an education. I'm going to Weight Watchers University. That's what it is for me.
*results not typical
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