Comedian Jim Gaffigan lost 50 kg. with Mounjaro (Exclusive)

Comedian Jim Gaffigan is the first to admit that his weight has fluctuated over the years.

After reaching 270 lbs. he decided to try medication – and has since lost 50 lbs. “I feel good,” he tells PEOPLE. “I’m just grateful because it’s such a better life.”

Gaffigan slimmed down with Mounjaro, which is a brand name for tirzepatid, a prescription drug used to treat type 2 diabetes. It also helps people lose weight.

At first, Gaffigan was unsure whether the medication would help him. “I had very low expectations because I knew someone who had tried it and they said, ‘Oh no, I was just nauseous for a week,'” he explains. “And then I thought my true joy in eating would drown out everything.”

But when he started to see the number on the scale go down, he was sold.

Gaffigan has struggled with weight gain for most of her adult life. He remembers being in his 20s when he “would work out twice a day just to be skinny so I could eat,” he says. “And as my metabolism slowed, it got harder and harder, and then my knees started to give out, and then the fatigue set in.”

Over the years, he continued to gain weight. So last year his doctor asked if he had considered medication. “She was like, ‘Well, some people are against it.’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t care, I’ll try.’ My knees were hurting and my cholesterol was kind of not great,” Gaffigan says.

“And that was part of the reason I wanted to talk about it, because I almost thought it was kind of weird that people were resistant to talking about it. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. It goes people around who obviously don’t have blonde hair – but i don’t think that’s weird either, that’s what gets you through.

Gaffigan’s new stand-up special, The skinny onewhich airs Nov. 22 on Hulu, features more thoughts on his weight loss. “It’s something you can take a strong view on, there are a few different sides to it,” he says, adding that he also talks about his children in the thesis. “I also had some strong views on parenting teenagers. So the name ‘Skinny’ just seemed perfect.”

As far as maintaining his health, Gaffigan says he is not trying to lose any more weight and has not yet decided how long he will continue the medication. He stays active by walking around New York City, where he lives with his wife, Jeannie, and their 5 children. “I don’t exercise that much, but it’s very much a walking town,” he adds. “And I have the Apple Watch, so I make a point of closing all my rings (for step counting) every day.”

The comedian says Jeannie also seems to appreciate his improved health. “I mean, she’s one of those people who’s just genetically thin. It’s annoying,” he explains. “But yeah, I think she likes (his weight loss). It’s like living with a glutton versus living with a former glutton. It’s a healthier lifestyle.”

As he looks forward to his upcoming North American tour with comedian Jerry Seinfeld next year — which will stop at 10 arenas in Canada and the United States — Gaffigan is excited to try different foods in each city. “Jerry has different rituals before and after the show,” he says. “I can’t look at a map without figuring out where to eat.”

The skinny one premieres November 22 on Hulu.

Tickets for his tour can be purchased at JerrySeinfeld.com and JimGaffigan.com.