Kevin Smith Updates Fans On Weight Loss After Massive Heart Attack

Kevin Smith brings good news to his fans. After his recent health scare last month, when he nearly died due to a massive heart attack, the prolific writer/director is keeping in good spirits -- and he's now a few pounds lighter too! As Smith announced this week, he's keeping his health in check, and he revealed the source of his recent weight loss, as well. As it turns out, the funnyman got some extra help from another comedian in his journey. He said:

As Kevin Smith noted on Twitter, he's 20 pounds lighter now and he's continuing to burn the calories. The filmmaker wanted to thank Penn Jillette for his help, encouragement, and inspiration from his 2016 diet book/memoir, Presto!: How I Made Over 100 Pounds Disappear and Other Magical Tales. While he is shedding the weight at a rapid clip these last couple weeks, he's not done yet. As the comedic director notes, he still has more work to do.

It's good to hear Kevin Smith keeping up the good fight. The self-depreciating nerd personality has rarely been afraid to poke fun at his weight, but with this recent health scare, it's good to know that he's taking the whole thing seriously. You know what's the key source of his slimming? A diet of potatoes only, apparently. The diet comes from Penn Jillette's book, which suggests that people only eat potatoes for the first two weeks before introducing salads and vegetables -- but no fruits or nuts -- into the equation for the next three months. As Smith discussed in the most recent episode of his podcast, Hollywood Babble-On, this new diet is keeping him trim, and as per usual, Smith's not afraid to discuss it openly with all his listeners.

In February, Kevin Smith was filming a pair of stand-up specials in Southern California when he started feeling nauseous. He finished the first show but he decided to cancel the second on account of his lack of well-being. It was a smart decision. Smith was rushed to the hospital and he learned that he was having a massive heart attack -- a.k.a. a "widowmaker" -- and the Clerks writer and director was treated in the knick of time. He is 47 at the moment, and that's far too young to say goodbye to one of the Internet's most vocal filmmakers. Thankfully, he's keeping himself in line and he's progressing well.

Kevin Smith's weight gain and loss has fluctuated throughout this decade, starting with the director losing 85 pounds back in 2015. But he's hoping to keep the weight down to assure that his health is as good as it can be from here. We wish him the best. And we know we'll hear about it along the way.