Carey is even no longer a type 2 diabetic as a result of his lifestyle changes.

The Price is Right host Drew Carey spent the early part of his career typecast as a “funny fat guy,” and his weight was the subject of countless jokes on his sitcom The Drew Carey Show, which ran from 1995 to 2004. But in 2010, the 65-year-old made the decision to make major changes in his lifestyle, and has for the most part, kept the weight off.

As Carey told People in an exclusive interview, before dropping a life-changing 80 pounds, he had lost “1,000 pounds over his whole life” as a yo-yo dieter. But it was his doctor who finally gave him the wake-up call he needed. “‘If you don’t do something, your life’s going to be shorter, and you’ll have these bad things to look forward to,’” he recalls his doctor telling him.

These days, the comedian sticks to a heathy diet by cutting out carbs and does 45-minute cardio workouts several times a week. As a result, he’s even no longer a type 2 diabetic.

“I would go out to Swingers diner after The Price Is Right my first year, get a plate of pasta, a cupcake and iced tea with a bunch of lemons,” he recollected. “Then I’d go home, have Doritos and several Pepsis, and take an Ambien to go to sleep. It was miserable to live like that.”

“It’s better being like this and having my blood sugar at these levels, and I love myself enough now to want that for myself and desire that for myself,” he continued. “It’s a whole kind of change of mindset that you have to have about your whole life. But once you do, it’s so freeing.”

While Carey admits that he sometimes still indulges in cake on cheat days, he’s “not a maniac” and won’t eat the entire thing like he used to.

But in addition to the health benefits of his weight loss, Carey now feels good with his body and being able to buy clothes that fit him. He also enjoys the energy he has now that he didn’t before.

“It’s just a better attitude all the way around,” he explained. “That’s part of my happiness now, is being able to look in the mirror and go, ‘Oh, I like my haircut, I like my face, I like the way I’m dressed, and I look good in this. I don’t have to sit in a corner or apologize to myself in my head when I’m talking to somebody, you know what I mean? All these things you do when you’re overweight or you think something’s wrong with you.”

“The idea of loving yourself is the hardest part of it when anybody wants to lose weight,” Carey added. “The first thing you have to do is realize you’re worth it.”

In addition to looking and feeling better, there are many other benefits that come with weight loss, such as better sleep, increased sex drive and improved performance, a strengthened immune system, and overall brighter mood. This is part of the reason why people like Carey who change their overall lifestyle tend to have more success keeping the weight off in the long run.