Jason Alexander on Facing 50 and Getting/Staying Slim

It starts with me confessing to Jason Alexander. I tell him that almost every night, I go to sleep with him.

"God bless. My wife won't even be upset about that one," he says.

I fall asleep to "Seinfeld" reruns– a show that's about such nothing that it often lulls me into some great zzzzz's broken only by the fact that at 3 a.m. the TV is on and some lady is trying to sell me a veggie chopper for $19.99.

But we digress.

Jason famously played George Costanza – a guy who lived with his parents and had a lot of girl problems. There is one problem he doesn't have anymore.

At age 51, there's a lot less of his alter-ego Jason to see these days. In fact, Kramer might not even recognize his pal.

It's a skinny Jason who now directs and does guest stints on shows like "Franklin & Bash" where he stars in an episode airing July 6 on TNT.

By George, he did it.  Jason has lost a lot of pants sizes.

He's even reflective about his struggles with food. "Listen, I didn't create my weight problems out of good habits. That was on me. I had years of having a pretty horrible relationship with food," he says. 

"I had a lot of bad habits," he says. "They're not gone."

Jason is the perfect example of "I lost the weight…now what?"

TURNING 50 FLIPPED A SWITCH

Jason took his weight off with the help of another woman his wife embraces…Ms. Jenny Craig.

"I had a great tool in Jenny to address my weight loss issues," he says. "When I was nearing 50, I became more motivated than I ever have in my life to deal with my weight issue – and keep dealing with it on an ongoing basis."

Jason says hitting midlifer status was a wakeup call.

"I didn't hit 50 in a way I thought was healthy," he says. "I have enormous longevity in my genes. My Dad lived to 91.

"When I hit that big birthday I hit, 'Wow, I should be in better shape than I am. And enough of carrying what I know was unhealthy weight," he says.

He lost it with Jenny's pre-packed meals combined with fresh foods. "Getting it off wasn't really the hard part," he says.

"When you have a goal like losing weight, you're so motivated," he says. "But the trick is once you've achieved it, the big question is 'Now what?'" he says.

HOW TO KEEP THE WEIGHT OFF

Should he eat that piece of bread? What harm is one little potato? "It's a daily struggle where I say, 'Maybe no. Maybe I won't do that.'"

"I only fluctuate two to five pounds. I make sure not to go over that five-pound mark, which is how I keep myself in check."

He has a great tip to keep your weight loss victory for the long haul. "If you keep track of your weight then you know when it's creeping up. There's no kidding yourself," he says. "You have to jump on a scale."

Jason says creating new goals also keeps your mind in the skinny game.

"I want to push for another ten to 15 pounds that I could easily get off. I think we're in a much better place if we keep setting goals," he says.

Part of his program is logging time in the gym. I ask him: So that's you pumping iron next to Hugh Jackson? (Jason is better known for pumping irony.)

"Yeah, that's me pumping iron next to Hugh!" he whoops. "Actually, I have a trainer who has been with me for 11 years. I'm sure I frustrate him to no end.

"He's wonderful and he has modified what we do," he says.

Jason advises, "It's okay to say to your trainer, 'I really can't handle this.' It's one thing to challenge yourself and another to go beyond what you actually can do. I had a hard time handling all the aerobic activity."

He says that many midlifers do hit the gym, but don't address the food issues.

"In the old days, I'd make my best effort to go to the gym and then I'd undermine myself by going out for lunch or dinner and eating everything. You can spend 45 minutes on a treadmill and get nothing out of it because you eat a pizza for lunch."

"When I realized the gym and healthy eating go hand in hand, I finally started dropping the weight and felt so much better," Jason says.

His routine these days is three or four times in the gym for a 90 minute aerobic and weight routine.

"I hate every minute of it," Jason says with a laugh. "Oh, wait…. I do love when it's over and I'm walking back to my car."

THE FUTURE

Jason says that he relished his upcoming stint on "Franklin & Bash." "I play a Bernie Madoff-esque type of guy who thinks he's dying and is trying to rectify some of the wrongs he did in the past. But there is a twist," he previews.

He stays in touch with his Seinfeld buds, but doesn't think there will be another reunion in the near future. The characters did reunite on pal Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

"I think we wrapped it up on Curb. We won't do anything else now. There isn't another idea that merits us getting back together as much as we love being together," he says.

In his own mind, he thinks George is doing just fine.

"I'm sure George is still schlepping along," he jokes.

Jason says he loves character roles like his "Seinfeld" one.

 "I've been a character actor since I was 17 and started losing my hair," he says.

Wait just a second.

"Jason, years ago you told me that you just went bald to keep up with George,"I remind him.

"You got me on that one," he says. "I sacrificed my hair for my art." 

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