If you’ve been watching Stranger Things since season 1, you’ve noticed many physical changes, particularly for David Harbour. Like everyone else, you can’t help but wonder how a previously stocky man shed all of those pounds and became lean and thin.
How did he do it? You’ll learn more in this article.
David Harbour Transformation Throughout His Career
David Harbour has undergone many physical makeovers throughout his career. You saw him with a muscular physique in the latest installment of Hell Boy. You also saw him with a dad bod in movies like the Black Widow and Violent Night.
But what captured people’s attention was his transformation in Netflix’s critically acclaimed series Stranger Things. Since the show started, Harbour, who played Sheriff Jim Hopper, was a burly man. After the fourth season debuted, everyone was taken back by how his body looked after he took his top off in a scene with his on-screen partner, Winona Rider.
His impressive transformation created a buzz and made people wonder how he lost all that weight.
What Made David Harbour Lose Weight?
In his Instagram video, David Harbour admitted he never played sports. He was a nerdy kid who loved reading books and playing video games.
But when he reached his 40s, he had the epiphany that if he continued to lead a sedentary lifestyle, his body would not be able to keep up.
In his interview with People magazine, David Harbour shared an experience when he was crossing the streets of New York. A car was approaching in his direction. While he tried to run to cross the lane, he could not do so. He accepted his fate and said he could never run across the street, as if he couldn’t do something to change it.
However, things changed when he started to prepare for Hopper’s physical transformation in the fourth season of Stranger Things. In the latest season, he was imprisoned in Russia, where he was severely punished. Because of this, he had to lose weight to make the scene believable.
But he didn’t want to look malnourished. He wanted to have a lean athletic body.
So how did he pull it off? Through diet and exercise! He did intermittent fasting and activation exercises, which were all assisted by his personal trainer, David Higgins!
What Is Intermittent Fasting and Its Benefits
Before discussing David Harbour weight loss journey further, let’s talk about intermittent fasting.
Intermittent fasting (IF) is a trending “fad diet,” as described by David Harbour. It’s an eating pattern that cycles between fasting and eating periods. It doesn’t indicate what food you should eat but rather when you should eat them.
Various IF forms exist, but the most popular are the 16/8, the eat-stop-eat, and the 5:2 diet methods.
In the 16/8 protocol, people who try this approach fast for 16 hours and eat for the remaining hours each day; hence, the name. Meanwhile, the eat-stop-eat method involves fasting for the entire day once or twice a week. Lastly, the 5:2 diet involves eating 500-600 calories on two non-consecutive days but eating normally on the remaining days of the week.
Losing weight is one of the primary reasons why many people do or try IF. [1] However, that’s not the only benefit of this weight loss program. Some of the health advantages are:
- Reduces belly fat – Visceral fat, or belly fat, is more than just not fitting into your favorite jeans, as it carries potential health risks, including type 2 diabetes.
However, a 2014 review study showed that this eating pattern could aid in weight loss and belly fat reduction. In the mentioned study, people who tried IF lost 4-7% in their waistline. [2]
- Less muscle loss – Another study revealed that IF could cause less muscle loss as opposed to other weight loss strategies. [3]
- Improves heart health – IF can help improve your heart health. A study revealed it could lower insulin resistance, bad cholesterol, inflammatory markers, blood sugar, and triglycerides—all cardiovascular disease risk factors. [4]
- Reduces cancer risk – Not only does IF help prevent heart ailments, but it may also reduce the risk of cancer. [5, 6, 7]
- Improves brain health – IF can also improve your brain health. It may increase nerve cell reproduction and the brain hormone BDNF. Furthermore, it may prevent Alzheimer’s disease. [8, 9, 10, 11]
- Prevents aging – Studies have shown that this eating pattern can extend your lifespan. They used rats to conduct this research and showed those mice who underwent fasting lived 36-83% longer. [12, 13]
David Harbour’s Meal Plan
Credit: Rimma Bondarenko/Shutterstock
As mentioned earlier, David Harbour had tried Intermittent Fasting. Like any beginner, Harbour always felt hungry due to the long fasting period.
However, as months passed, he became accustomed to it and enjoyed the transformation in his body and overall health. It opened the door for him to have a new relationship with his body and mind, which he found pretty liberating.
The Stranger Things star tried two IF methods: the 16/8 method and the 24-hour diet.
When he was just starting his weight loss journey for his role in Stranger Things, Harbour didn’t have any predetermined diet in mind. While he drank black coffee and water during his fasting period, he’d still eat burgers, pizza slices, and pancakes and was able to shed extra pounds!
But when he reached a plateau period wherein he couldn’t lose as much weight as before, David decided to eat healthier and cleaner. Instead of eating more protein and sugary treats, he ate more vegetables and Greek yogurt.
He still had a cheat day, though. He would grab Nutella or a rice cake during his cheat day to satiate his sweet cravings.