Gameshow host Drew Carey worked hard to lose 80lbs over 10 years ago after he was given a serious health warning by his doctors

Drew Carey lost over 80 lbs (Image: Getty)

Comedian Drew Carey has been open about his health journey and the lifestyle changes that helped him lose 80 pounds and keep it off for more than a decade.

“I was sick of being fat on the camera. Really, I just got sick of it,” The Price Is Right host said 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.”

Carey’s transformation began after serious health warnings from his doctors. In the early years of hosting The Price Is Right, he admitted his routine wasn’t sustainable.

He revealed in March 2024 that he would finish filming, head to a diner, and order pasta, a cupcake, and an iced tea “with a bunch of lemons.” Once home, he would eat Doritos, drink “several Pepsis” and take an Ambien before bed.

“It was miserable to live like that,” he explained. Carey was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and said his doctor gave him a stark warning. He recalled being told that if he didn’t change his habits, his life was “going to be shorter” and he would have “bad things to look forward to.”

Everything Drew Carey said about his weight loss journey (Image: Getty)

Heart issues also played a role in his decision to get healthy. The longtime host had been diagnosed with heart disease in 2001 and underwent an angioplasty, with a stent inserted into one of his arteries.

By November 2009, Carey set a goal to lose weight, aiming to drop from 262 lbs. to 170 lbs. in less than a year. He didn’t quite hit that target but still lost 80 pounds by 2010. “I look in the mirror and I feel like I’m in my 20s again,” he told Parade. “I feel like I have my whole life back. I could live to be 100 now.”

Carey also said he does 45-minute cardio workouts multiple times a week, starting with the elliptical before moving on to running. “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 2010, he ran his first 10K in nearly 25 years.

Drew Carey hosts The Price Is Right (Image: Getty)

While he has kept most of the weight off, Carey has been candid about the ups and downs. He joked with People that he’s lost “1,000 pounds” over his “whole life.” The biggest benefit, though, wasn’t the number on the scale but his health. Carey said the weight loss allowed him to reverse type 2 diabetes and stop taking 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.”

When it comes to diet, Carey has largely avoided carbohydrates. He said he stays away from “starches of any kind” and eats protein like grilled chicken, along with vegetables and fruit.

Looking back, Carey called his health transformation life-changing. “It’s better being like this,” he shared. “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.”