Ben Napier has been continuing his fitness journey after losing 95 pounds.
“It was eight [or] nine months of not being able to do any upper body workout — and not even at work. Like, I couldn’t pick up anything at work,” the Home Town star exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, December 11, ahead of the season 8 premiere of the HGTV series. “And so for the first time in my life, I felt very skinny in my arms and shoulders and chest.”
The 41-year-old’s weight loss began after he underwent shoulder surgery in March 2023 to repair a torn rotator cuff. After slimming down post-procedure, he confessed that he “did not like the way” he looked since he lost a portion of his “upper body muscle mass.”
Ben’s wife Erin Napier told Us that she noticed how “self-conscious” Ben felt after he was unable to lift weights or anything remotely heavy. Ben decided that the next step in his wellness journey was to get back into the gym and restore his strength.
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“I’ve put on probably 20 pounds since then,” he told Us of his muscle mass gain. “I am lifting weights and working. I’m fully recovered from the shoulder [surgery]. I can lift things overhead no problem.”
Most importantly, Ben said he now feels good about the way he looks. Erin, 39, gushed about how her husband of 16 years was “doing great” in accomplishing his goals. While Ben is content with his physique, he wants to make sure he doesn’t lose his strength again — so the woodworker and expert craftsman continues to exercise every day in the home gym he constructed himself.
“I bought all of [my equipment] on Facebook Marketplace. And so I built the home gym for really cheap and I work out every morning,” he explained. “I try to intermittently fast periodically during the week — which is just a fancy word for skipping meals and eating smaller meals.”
The father of two is also figuring out facing a dilemma of what to do with the clothes he wore pre-weight loss.
“There is a closet full of suits that don’t [fit] — that are way too big for me now that I kept [after losing weight,]” he told Us. “I was gonna throw them away and Erin said, ‘No, these were very expensive. Let’s make sure you don’t put the weight on first.’ And they still don’t fit, they’re still too big.”
The HGTV star admitted he’s “just about ready” to give them to someone else in need or auction them off.
And with the holidays here they’re trying not to go overboard with all the tempting treats.
“The Christmas party cheese ball!” Erin confessed of her biggest food go-to this time of year. “The cream cheese rolled in pecans. I find that completely irresistible. I could eat an entire one,” she laughed.
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For Ben, homemade baked goods are his “kryptonite.”
“Not only is it something delicious that I want to try, but someone made that, they put time into it,” he said.
While the Napiers spend a lot of time as a family walking trails in Laurel, Mississippi to stay healthy, they’ve also taken on the “kid dinner” approach.
“At night we just really have a little thing that [our daughters] want to eat,” said Erin.
“If I grill a steak now, I’ll grill one steak. I’ll cut off a few bites for Erin, Helen and Mae. And we split [it],” added Ben.
“He lives with three girls that don’t eat a lot at night. So he’s just sticking with what we’re doing,” continued Erin.
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Erin and Ben, who just celebrated their 20th anniversary together, they’re returning to TV for Home Town season 8 on Sunday, December 29, with the series following the couple, who share daughters Helen, 6, and Mae, 2, as they navigate balancing their home renovation business while raising their family. And they couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come in 2025.
“We’ve gotten to know each other in a way that I think a lot of married couples don’t get the opportunity to know each other because we’re together 24 hours a day for 20 years,” said Erin. “It’s just a real unusual arrangement where we get to spend our entire life together and I love that.”
“We recommend it,” added Ben.
Home Town season 8 premieres on HGTV Sunday, December 29, at 8 p.m. ET and streams the next day on Max and Discovery+.
With reporting by Andrea Simpson
