John Regala surprised the media with his trimmed body during a recent set visit to one of their location shoots for their TV5 drama series, Glamorosa
Compared to his heftier frame in an earlier movie, Zombadings: Patayin sa Shokot si Remington, the character actor has obviously lost weight over the past few months.
"Sawa na akong magkasakit," he reasoned out when PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) asked what pushed him to lose weight.
The popular villain of action stars admitted that he took his health for granted when he was younger.
He realized this only when his gallbladder was removed.
"Noong una kasi naoperahan ako sa apdo. Noong ako'y tinanggalan ng apdo, tinuluy-tuloy ko na," he recalled.
He also mentioned, "Minsan bigla kasing tumataas ang aking dugo, biglang tumataas ang aking blood sugar.
"Kapag hindi ko pa tinigil ang unhealthy habits ko, maaga tayong mamamatay.
"Ayaw ko pa namang sumunod. Dito lang muna ako dahil masarap naman ang buhay."
Did John stop all his vices after the surgery?
He answered, "Ngayon, kahit alak, hindi na ako nainom.
"'Yon lang, sigarilyo lang. Pero bawas na rin sa sigarilyo."
GOING BANANAS. Meanwhile, John related that he lost weight without engaging in too much exercise.
His secret? Riped banana, particularly burro banana— more commonly known as "saging na saba."
"Aba'y wala pang two months noong ako'y nag-lose na walang exercise," John said.
Then, he joked, "Kung ano ang kinakain ng mga wild na hayop, palibhasa ako'y hayop na wild, 'yon ang kinakain ko."
The character actor prefers to eat it fresh rather than boiled because, he said, "Mawawala kasi ang nutrients niya, e, mapupunta sa tubig, e."
Other celebrities who tried and successfully lost weight with this banana diet were Bea Alonzo and Katya Santos.