--- description: Well, he still enjoys his bacon and eggs... 'but maybe a slightly smaller portion' title: Why Nick Offerman Changed His Ron Swanson Diet image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt239d5e3a82b04c67/698853bc06f2c13cff33a8f1/gettyimages-464375752.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why Nick Offerman Changed His Ron Swanson Diet by [Arpita Aneja](/author/arpita-aneja/), [Eliza Berman](/author/eliza-berman/) and [Adam Perez](/author/adam-perez/) Jun 9, 2015 8:13 PM CUT  PARKS AND RECREATION -- "One Last Ride" Episode 712/713 -- Pictured: (l-r) Chris Pratt as Andy Dwyer, Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson -- (Photo by: Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images) PARKS AND RECREATION -- "One Last Ride" Episode 712/713 -- Pictured: (l-r) Chris Pratt as Andy Dwyer, Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson -- (Photo by: Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)NBC—NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images by [Arpita Aneja](/author/arpita-aneja/), [Eliza Berman](/author/eliza-berman/) and [Adam Perez](/author/adam-perez/) Jun 9, 2015 8:13 PM CUT Not only did Nick Offerman shave the mustache that signified his role as Ronald Ulysses Swanson on NBC’s _Parks and Recreation_, but he also decided to cut down on the bacon and eggs when the show ended this year. As his new book [_Gumption_](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0525954678/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined") hits shelves, Offerman looks back on his time with the show, and what opportunities lie ahead for the de-mustachioed actor. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3914672/nick-offerman-parks-and-rec/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3914672/nick-offerman-parks-and-rec/"},"headline":"Why Nick Offerman Changed His Ron Swanson Diet","datePublished":"2015-06-09T20:13:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T11:48:12.359Z","description":"Well, he still enjoys his bacon and eggs... 'but maybe a slightly smaller portion'","url":"https://time.com/3914672/nick-offerman-parks-and-rec/","keywords":["Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt239d5e3a82b04c67/698853bc06f2c13cff33a8f1/gettyimages-464375752.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Arpita Aneja","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/arpita-aneja/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliza Berman","jobTitle":"Berman is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Adam Perez","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/adam-perez/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt239d5e3a82b04c67/698853bc06f2c13cff33a8f1/gettyimages-464375752.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Parks and Recreation - Season 7","caption":"Parks and Recreation - Season 7","creditText":"NBC—NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3914672/nick-offerman-parks-and-rec/","name":"Why Nick Offerman Changed His Ron Swanson Diet"}}]}] ```