Kim Min-ha reveals 17kg weight loss for heart failure patient role

Actress Kim Min-ha has revealed she lost 17kg over two years to prepare for her role as a heart failure patient in the movie Let's Shake Our Sun. During a recent YouTube appearance, she detailed how the weight management led to a disciplined daily routine that includes waking up at 5 a.m. to meditate and exercise.

Actress Kim Min-ha has revealed the process of losing 17kg over the course of two years. She explained that the weight management, which began to prepare for her role playing a patient with heart failure, ultimately transformed her daily lifestyle. She shared everything from her past habit of walking from Cheongdam-dong to Banpo to achieve weight loss to her recent exercise routine of running 5km at the gym. Her diligent daily routine, which includes waking up at 5 a.m. to meditate, read the newspaper, exercise, and clean, also drew significant attention.

On the 13th, a video titled "You wake up at 5 a.m.?! Revealing Kim Min-ha's daily life and inner thoughts" was posted on the YouTube channel PDC by PDC. Returning to the channel for the first time in approximately three years, Kim Min-ha spoke about her recent status, her current project, and her changed lifestyle habits.

Kim Min-ha stated that she is currently filming the movie Let's Shake Our Sun. She described the work, saying, "It is a very beautiful story. It is a story about a terminally ill man and woman meeting and falling in love. It is almost a love story." Her co-star is Lee Do-hyun, and the two are the same age. Kim expressed anticipation for their new chemistry, noting, "It is so much fun because it is my first time having a co-star who is the same age."

The weight loss undertaken to prepare for the project drew particular interest. It is reported that Kim Min-ha lost 17kg over about two years for the role. Regarding the motivation for weight management, she explained, "This was a major turning point. I looked up heart failure patients and found that they manage themselves very strictly. There are many things they cannot eat and they must maintain a certain weight, so I tried losing weight." She undertook the weight management challenge to understand and express the physical characteristics and lifestyle of her character.

Following the weight loss, Kim Min-ha has maintained a regular lifestyle. The video revealed her daily routine starting at 5 a.m. "It is difficult to keep up during filming, but even if I stay up all night, I try very hard to stick to it," she said, adding, "I meditate after waking up in the morning." She added that on days when she cannot meditate at home due to filming schedules, she tries to make time to do so in her car.

After starting the day with meditation, she reads the newspaper, exercises, and then always cleans. Kim revealed her unique lifestyle habits by stating, "Cleaning is my joy." She also mentioned that she enjoys reading scripts and watching movies in the morning. "I wake up around 5, and I try to wake up by 6 at the latest," she explained, noting, "I am very busy in the morning." This means she handles various schedules before others even begin their day.

Her bedtime is also early. Kim mentioned that she goes to bed around 10 p.m., sharing the reaction from those around her: "Everyone asks me why I do that." As the habit of sleeping early and waking early became established, she said it is not easy to stay out late in the evenings. "I cannot stay out for long when I am out. I get so sleepy," she said, though she added, "Even if I go home late around midnight after hanging out, my eyes open." This suggests her long-standing repetitive lifestyle pattern has become ingrained in her body.

She also shared specific experiences regarding exercise. The location she arrived at by car was Banpo Hangang Park. Recalling the period when she was heavily focused on weight loss, Kim revealed, "In the past, I always walked from Cheongdam to Banpo." She explained that at that time, she focused on weight management through walking without any special exercise equipment. She added, "Back then, I exercised just by walking, but these days I run 5km at the gym."

The 17kg weight loss initiated for her work has led to walking, running, early rising, and a regular lifestyle. As the process of managing her body and daily life through consistent habits—rather than just a short-term physical change—was revealed, attention is focused on her current status. Anticipation is also building for Kim Min-ha's acting transformation and the romance she will showcase with Lee Do-hyun in her new work.

Read the original (Korean)