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Twenty years ago, Drew Carey says he would not have touched some of what he eats today. The Price Is Right host lost 80 pounds in 2010 and, now 68, says he has largely kept it off. Over the years, in a recent podcast and interviews going back to 2010, he has described what changed on his plate, in his workouts, and in how he sees himself.
The Steakhouse Dinner of Years Past
On Ted Danson’s podcast, Where Everybody Knows Your Name, in March 2026, Carey walked listeners through what a meal at a steakhouse used to look like for him. Back then, that meant a full spread: steak, bread, loaded mashed potatoes, a couple of beers, and then dessert. As for the vegetable, “I would just leave it there,” he said.
The Same Dinner, Reworked
Today the same dinner looks different. Carey says he eats the steak and vegetables, skips the potato and much of the bread, and drinks water. He no longer drinks alcohol at all, a change he called wild. Salads have become routine too. “Man, 20 years ago, 25 years ago, I wouldn’t have touched this,” he said of a salad with green beans.
His Old After-Work Routine
Carey told People in 2024 that during his first year hosting The Price Is Right, he would go to Swingers diner after filming. His order was a plate of pasta, a cupcake, and an iced tea with a bunch of lemons. At home, he followed it with Doritos, several Pepsis, and an Ambien to fall asleep. “It was miserable to live like that,” he said.
The Doctor’s Warning
The push came from his doctor. After diagnosing Carey with type 2 diabetes, the doctor warned that his life would be shorter without a change and that he would have “bad things to look forward to,” Carey recalled. He later reported that he had reversed the diabetes and no longer needed medication, and said it is better “being like this and having my blood sugar at these levels.”
The 2001 Heart Attack
A heart attack in 2001 did not register for Carey at first, he said on the podcast. His heart rate went up to “something really crazy” during a jog, and after brushing it off, he went to the hospital the following day and learned why. According to Parade, Carey had an angioplasty, and he has said his father died of a heart attack in his 40s.
Setting a Goal and Nearly Reaching It
In November 2009, Carey set a goal of going from 262 pounds to 170 by the following year, he told Parade. He lost 80 of the 92 pounds he wanted to shed, and People reports he went from a size 44 to a size 33. By September 2010, he said he felt like he was in his 20s again, with his “whole life back” and the possibility of living to 100.
He Took Up Running After the Weight Came Off
Carey has said he does 45-minute cardio workouts several times a week. They began on the elliptical, but once the weight came off, he took up running, and in August 2010 he ran his first 10K in nearly 25 years. A race on the calendar gave him extra motivation, he told Runner’s World in 2011, and he said he loved running more than the elliptical, where he felt trapped.
Why Maintenance Is Hard
Carey jokes he has lost “like 1,000 pounds” when every attempt is counted; he told AARP in 2024. He has said he regained weight during a difficult period after an injury stopped him from running. Maintenance is a challenge of its own. A 2025 JAMA Network Open trial that followed 255 adults with obesity who lost at least 5% of their starting weight found about 60% still maintained that loss after 24 months.
Loving Yourself Is the Hard Part
Carey still mostly avoids carbs, though he allows cake “every once in a while” and does not eat the whole thing, he told People. The Mayo Clinic notes that carbohydrates are part of a healthy diet and a source of energy, particularly for the brain. He also talks about mindset, calling loving yourself the hardest part of losing weight and saying the first step is realizing “you’re worth it.”