Comedian Drew Carey joked that he has lost about “1,000 pounds” throughout his life

Drew Carey isn’t one to hold back — even when it comes to discussing something as personal as health.

“I was sick of being fat on the camera. Really, I just got sick of it,” The Price Is Right host told PEOPLE in 2010. “Once I started losing weight, again, like once I started dropping a couple pant sizes, then it was easy ’cause once you see the results, then you don’t wanna stop.”

Though it’s been 15 years since the longtime comedian dropped 80 lbs. and went from a size 44 to a size 33, he’s been able to keep it off using his tried-and-true method of diet and exercise. Carey does “lots of cardio” and keeps most of his meals carb-free.

Here’s everything The Price Is Right host Drew Carey has said about his health and weight loss journey.

He prioritized his health after a diabetes diagnosis

Drew Carey hosts “The Price Is Right” on March 9, 2009 in Studio City, Calif.Alexandra Wyman/WireImage

During his first year as host of The Price Is Right, Carey told PEOPLE in March 2024 he would go out to a diner after filming and order pasta, a cupcake and an iced tea “with a bunch of lemons.” Then he’d go home and eat Doritos, drink “several Pepsis” and take an Ambien before heading to bed.

“It was miserable to live like that,” he explained, adding that his doctor gave him a wakeup call when he diagnosed him with type 2 diabetes. Carey said his doctor warned him that if he didn’t change his lifestyle, his life was “going to be shorter” and that he would have “bad things to look forward to.”

The former Whose Line Is It Anyway? star was also diagnosed with heart disease in 2001 and had to undergo an angioplasty, per Parade. He also had a stent inserted into one of his arteries.

He lost 80 lbs. in 2010 

Drew Carey attends the 2011 Marine Corps Marathon press conference on Oct. 28, 2011 in Washington, DC.Kris Connor/Getty

The warning from his doctor gave Carey the push he needed to change his lifestyle. He told Parade that in November 2009, he had set a goal to go from 262 lbs. to 170 lbs. by the following year — and almost succeeded, losing 80 of the 92 lbs. he wanted to shed.

“I look in the mirror and I feel like I’m in my 20s again,” he told the outlet in September 2010. “I feel like I have my whole life back. I could live to be 100 now.”

He does cardio workouts multiple times a week

Drew Carey attends the CBS Fall Schedule Celebration on May 02, 2024 in Los Angeles, Calif.Frazer Harrison/WireImage

Carey also credits his choice of exercise for helping him maintain his weight loss. The comedian told PEOPLE he does 45-minute cardio workouts several times a week. Though those workouts began on the elliptical, he took up running after he lost weight.

“I knew having a running goal or a race coming up would give me a little more motivation,” Carey told Runner’s World in August 2011. “I actually was worried about the pounding, but I actually love running more than working out on the elliptical. Now if I get on the elliptical, I feel like I’m trapped.”

In August 2010, he ran his first 10K in nearly 25 years.

He joked he’s lost “1,000 pounds” over his lifetime

Drew Carey hosted the 9,000th episode of “The Price Is Right” on Oct. 10, 2019.Greg Gayne/CBS via Getty

As the host of The Price Is Right can attest, keeping the weight off year after year is no easy feat. He joked with PEOPLE that he’s lost somewhere around “1,000 pounds” over his “whole life.”

Though Carey has noted that the weight loss has left him feeling great, the best reward was the improvement in his health. In addition to shedding the extra pounds, the comedian reported that he had reversed his type 2 diabetes and no longer needed medication.

“I always thought I was going to die before I was 60,” he told Parade. “My father died of a heart attack in his 40s. I’m not an idiot. The writing was on the wall.”

He said he mostly avoids carbs 

Drew Carey visits SiriusXM Studios on Nov. 25, 2019 in New York City.Slaven Vlasic/Getty

As for his nutrition, Carey has kept his weight off by eating “no carbs.” The former host of The Drew Carey Show told PEOPLE that he stays away from “starches of any kind” and opts for protein like grilled chicken and snacks like vegetables and fruit.

Per the Mayo Clinic, carbohydrates are part of a healthy diet and are needed to provide a source of energy for the body, particularly the brain.

He called his weight loss “freeing”

Drew Carey during the 10,000th episode of “The Price Is Right” on Feb. 04, 2025 in Glendale, Calif.Michael Tullberg/Getty

Carey has been able to maintain his 80-lb weight loss “more or less” for over a decade. For him, the real victory isn’t physical, but emotional.

“It’s better being like this,” he explained to PEOPLE. “I love myself enough now to want that for myself and desire that for myself. 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.”