This Is How Simon Cowell Lost So Much Weight

The internet was abuzz in December 2019 when photos of a noticeably thinner Simon Cowell surfaced while he was on vacation in Barbados. But just how much weight has the former American Idol judge lost? In an interview with Extra in May 2020, Cowell opened up about his weight loss, revealing, "I think I have dropped, since I started this diet a year ago, 60 pounds."  

In an exclusive interview with The Sun in January 2020, Cowell credited his new eating habits for his newfound physique. "All I do is avoid just red meat — white meat is fine — and I eat loads of vegetables, salads and drink this great beer," he professed. Hmm ... you can still eat chicken and drink beer on this diet? SIGN US UP. Cowell added: "The most dramatic period was the first month where most of the weight comes off and you look at yourself and think 'wow'." 

Keep reading to find out just what spurred the television personality to get serious about fitness.

The story goes that Simon Cowell suffered a health scare in October 2017 after taking a tumble down the stairs in his London home. According to The Sun, the fall was due to Cowell's dangerously low blood pressure. From that moment on, Cowell vowed to take better care of himself. The music mogul admitted that until then, his lifestyle was unhealthy. He revealed that he "lived like a vampire," staying awake until the wee hours of the morning. 

In an interview with Extra (via Closer Weekly), the mail room attendant turned high-profile music exec revealed that after a visit with a specialist, he was told to completely eliminate certain foods from his diet if he wanted to get well. "I went to see this guy who's very well-known. And he said to me, after doing some blood work, 'You can't have red meat, dairy, sugar, bread or gluten."

Unfortunately, that leaves out one of Cowell's guiltiest pleasures ... pizza. Cowell divulged that "the only difficult thing is when Eric [his son] orders, you know, a pizza ... the pizza is the number one thing I miss." Surely, after all of Cowell's hard work he deserves to enjoy a slice of piping hot pie with his son every now and then, right?!

As it turns out, Simon Cowell's pizza-loving son Eric is the ultimate reason the television personality chose to get serious about becoming the healthiest version of himself. After the fall, Cowell told The Sun in 2017 that he had an awakening of sorts. "Sometimes we get a reminder that we're not invincible and this was certainly mine. It was a huge shock," Cowell declared. "They think I fainted because I had low blood pressure and so I have got to really take good care of myself to sort that out. After all I am a dad and have more responsibility than ever," the proud father added.

When asked about his most important role as "dad" during an interview with Us Weekly in March 2019, Cowell had this to say: "[Time flies] like you wouldn't believe... I said to someone the other day, 'It's much easier than I thought.' And then you can't imagine ever not having him... It's the most amazing feeling." With Cowell's new healthy lifestyle and newfound zest for life, there's no doubt in our minds that this father-son duo will go on to cherish many, many more memories together.

These days Simon Cowell relishes in his role as Papa but that's not always been the case. In an interview with Us Weekly in March 2016, Cowell admitted the bond he and his son Eric share didn't come right away, but was rather a work-in-progress. "For the first six months, I honestly thought, [this] is the most one-sided conversation I've ever had in my life, I'm not getting anything back here. Maybe he hates me," Cowell said. "And then after about a year and a half, suddenly, you get this connection. And they start talking to you. And you can teach them things. It's an amazing feeling."

Other than their shared love of pizza, Cowell revealed in another interview that's not always the case. "The older he gets, it's quite interesting how we have similar tastes. Either we like the same thing, or we don't like the same thing," he said. Here's to hoping that Cowell can pass down his new love of health and fitness to his son and create yet another opportunity for the two to bond even further. Cheers to implementing a set of healthy lifestyle habits for the both of them for years to come!