There's a lot less of Drew Carey to go around these days.
Last November, the comedian, Price Is Right host and former Marine, now 52, was at his heaviest ever: He weighed 262 lbs., with a 44-inch waist and XXXL shirt size and a scary type-2 diabetes diagnosis.
Today, however, after an intensive diet and exercise program developed with doctors and a personal trainer, Carey is a slim 185 lbs.
He tells the new issue of Parade his goal weight by Oct. 31 is 170.
After losing both his father and an older brother, who both struggled with their weight and died early of heart attacks, Carey says the decision was a matter of life and death.
"I always thought I was going to die before I was 60," he says. "I'm not an idiot. The writing was on the wall."
The star says his ultimate incentive was Connor, his fiancee Nicole Jaracz's 5-year-old son. "I couldn't keep up with him," says Carey, who became sweaty and breathless after just a few minutes of playing with the little boy.
"I'd be like, 'Connor, I can't, and he'd say, 'C'mon, Dad!’ That was a terrible feeling. I thought, I’m never going to see him graduate high school."
He says he's committed to sticking to his regimen of healthier eating and constant exercise. "Working out and eating right isn't an extra thing I do. I told myself, 'I'm going to make this part of my job.'"
Not that he didn't have his moments of weakness.
Back in August, after successfully completing a 10K run, Carey indulged big time: With an ice cream cone, an entire pepperoni pizza and a cupcake. He ate another pizza the following day.
"Eating crappy food is not a reward–it's a punishment," says the star, who's contemplating running a marathon soon.
A better reward, exclaimed Carey: "I look in the mirror, and I feel like I'm in my 20s again … I feel like I have my whole life back. I could live to be 100 now!"
