Ed Sheeran Reveals His Journey to Fitness and Chasing a Six Pack
Ed Sheeran has been undertaking a health and fitness transformation throughout 2025.
“Upon arriving at the start of the year, I had essentially gained a significant amount of weight in the prior year. My thought was, ‘I’m going to vigorously hit the gym, intending to lose a stone,’” Sheeran, 34, disclosed during his appearance on Wednesday, September 24, on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy show, referring to the UK unit of measurement equivalent to roughly 14 pounds. “Then, as I committed to that, I considered, ‘I wish to explore the limits of this endeavor.’”
He continued, “I’ve honestly never possessed a six-pack in my entire existence. I mused, ‘I&m going to attempt to achieve it.’”
Sheeran conveyed to radio personality Andy Cohen that his effort to reduce weight was “progressing satisfactorily.”
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“I keep encountering setbacks because I frequently find myself out, thinking, ‘I’ll have a couple of beers,’” the Play artist remarked with a chuckle. “Nonetheless, I believe I am in the optimal physical condition of my life.”
Sheeran had previously disclosed a 50-pound weight reduction after navigating “external pressures” from the public to resemble fellow performers.
“For an extended period, I didn’t run; I didn’t even engage in exercise,” he stated on the “Behind the Medal” podcast in December 2019, foreshadowing his future ambition to complete a marathon. “Now, I dedicate about 45 minutes in the mornings and perhaps follow it with a swim or perform sit-ups. I believe it is entirely about systematic training. I think, for me, the first step would be completing a 10k. I would need to do it in an environment where many onlookers are absent.”
Beyond his exercise regimen, Sheeran also needed to modify his dietary habits, though touring certainly presented challenges.
“I truly had to make a concerted effort on this tour,” he clarified, noting his weight “expanded significantly” during his Multiply tour in 2015. “It’s invariably America that impacts me most. America while traveling on buses. You conclude a performance in America, and you receive a platter of chicken wings, settle into the back of the bus, watch The Simpsons, and consume a couple of bottles of wine. This becomes a daily routine, so it simply accumulates.”
According to Sheeran, he never considered the numerical reading on the scale until his career reached its peak intensity.
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“Whenever I have been larger, there are always online detractors or news publications or comments,” Sheeran observed. “Regarding actual pressure, internal pressure from, for example, record labels insisting you must be leaner, no. The music industry prioritizes music first, followed by image. I do believe there are certainly many external pressures. You tend to internalize the idea that you need to appear like everyone else.”
Sheeran also ceased smoking, abstained from alcohol, and eliminated unhealthy processed foods from his diet.
“It’s the inaugural occasion I’ve been genuinely healthy,” he commented during a 2021 interview on BBC Radio 1. “I’ve discontinued all the detrimental habitual behaviors in my life [and] I commenced daily exercise. I was consuming takeout every single day, and now I no longer consume takeout every single day. It has been beneficial. It occurred almost immediately after [my] tour concluded, and it simply happened because I wasn’t indulging in chicken wings and two glasses of wine each evening.”
