Why ‘This Is Us’ Star Chrissy Metz Isn’t Upset About The Weight Loss Clause In Her Contract

Weight loss has played a central part in Chrissy Metz’s character’s storyline on “This is Us.” She stars as Kate on the NBC drama, one of three siblings who has been struggling with her weight since childhood. She’s attending meetings, leaving herself shame-filled notes in the refrigerator and trying to exercise, but nothing seems to work.

Metz recently opened up to TVLine, admitting that she’s been through some of the same things as Kate, calling the plot a “parallel to my life.” She’s about to endure even more struggles alongside Kate as Metz revealed that she is contractually obligated to lose the weight in the same “trajectory” as her character.

While some would be appalled to see a weight loss clause in a contract, Metz is choosing to look at it as a “win-win.” The “This is Us” star said that setting goals is easy — it’s sticking to them that messes people up. Metz is hopeful, however, that having to lose the weight for a reason will help her to more easily reach her own goals.

“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,” Metz shared. “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 did not touch on a time frame for her and Kate’s weight loss journey, but is seems she’ll have some time to prepare. Kate has been struggling to lose weight on thus far on Season 1 of “This is Us,” despite her best efforts.

During episode 7 she walked out of an Overeaters Anonymous meeting, much to the surprise of boyfriend Toby (Chris Sullivan). She later arrived at his house to apologize and vent her frustrations, only to find that her beau has lost interest in his own weight loss journey. Toby — who had been having great success losing weight until that moment — had binged on junk food and wasn’t done yet. The pair later went out to dinner together where Toby enjoyed a massive sundae, while Kate looked on in dismay. Could this be the thing that finally tears them apart?

Kate and Toby have had their ups and downs on “This is Us.” The pair got off to a rocky start when Kate rejected his romantic advances. When she finally agreed to give him a chance, it became clear that Kate was interested in Toby but also found him a little overbearing. During episode 3 he made an intrusive assessment of her co-dependent relationship with her brother Kevin (Justin Hartley) and decided that Kate needed to be shown that she was the star. While she appreciated his grand gesture, Kate struggled to separate herself from her brother — at least, at first.

“This is Us” airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST on NBC.