'It’s important and imperative to see that journey, because we haven’t seen that,' the actress says

This Is Us star Chrissy Metz reveals that weight loss is in her contract

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One of the bright spots of the fall season has been the emergence of Chrissy Metz, who stars on This Is Us as Kate, a 36-year-old personal assistant with a celebrity twin brother. Kate is seeking to change up her life and lose weight, a journey that has included joining an overeaters anonymous group. As it turns out, weight loss is tied into Metz’s contract for the NBC dramedy.

“In our contract, it did state that that would be a part of it, to lose the weight in the trajectory of the character as she comes to find herself,” she told TVLine. “That was a win-win for me. Because it’s one thing to try to do it on your own. But as human beings, it’s an ego thing: We’re more likely to do something for someone else.”

Metz was quick to point out that the decision to lose weight was a lifestyle choice that she wanted to make. “I just have to be very clear,” she said. “Whether or not I lose weight or stay the same, it’s purely a choice of mine for health. Not because I think that plus-size, curvy, voluptuous, big bodies aren’t attractive — because I think they’re awesome and sexy…. So I’ll just have to make sure that’s known, because I’m not selling out the big girls. I don’t do that. That’s not me.”

Publicists for the network and 20th Century Fox Television, the studio that produces the show, said that they do not comment on actors’ contracts.

Kate was seen in this week’s episode having a hard time shedding the pounds despite following a sensible diet, while her boyfriend Toby (Chris Sullivan) — who was having an easier time lowering his number on the scale — was giving into temptation. While Kate may be struggling with her weight-loss journey right now — after watching Toby abandon his died, she gave into some donuts at a gas station — the long-term storyline seems to indicate some success for Kate.

“We didn’t talk about a specific number or how quickly, but it’s definitely talked about,” she told EW earlier this season of the producers’ plans to have the character lose weight. “I was excited, because the irony of it all is that about three years ago, I lost, like, 100 pounds. I just was like, ‘I’m tired of this, and this is going to be really tricky. How am I ever going to book any roles if they’re not going to book plus-size girls?’ But if I would’ve lost all the weight, I wouldn’t have had this opportunity. So that’s why I really believe that things happen for a reason, and that I’m going to do it in a healthy way… I was really excited, because I want to do that. And I think it’s important and imperative to see that journey, because we haven’t seen that, really.”