John Goodman Shows Off 200-Lb. Weight Loss in Monaco

John Goodman is maintaining his 200-lb. weight loss, the result of a fitness journey he started in 2007. 

Clad in a slim-fitting suit, the actor appeared on the red carpet at the Monte Carlo TV Festival in Monaco Sunday, where he served as jury president. Goodman, 71, has said he wanted to set a good example by keeping the weight off — and appears to be keeping his promise.

“I don’t want to be an example to anybody when the weight comes thundering back on — when I start eating Crisco out of the can with a spoon and a side of confectioner's sugar,” he joked to AARP.

The actor — who is pulling double duty with starring roles on both HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones and ABC’s The Conners — credited his weight loss to portion control, admitting at the time, "I was just shoving everything into my mouth."

The 6'2" actor revealed to David Letterman that he was "pushing 400" lbs. at his heaviest, back in 2011.

The decision to get healthier, as the actor told PEOPLE, was simply motivated by his desire “to live life better.”  

“I know it sounds sappy, but it was a waste,” he told PEOPLE. “It takes a lot of creative energy to sit on your ass and figure out what you’re going to eat next.”

Plus, as he told ABC, “I just got tired, sick and tired of looking at myself. You’re shaving in the mirror and you don’t want to look at yourself. It gets dangerous.”

Along with monitoring his portions, Goodman said he quit drinking and hired a health coach, as well as added regular workouts to his routine. 

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

But in the end, Goodman has said his success relied on maintaining consistency. “In the old days, I would take three months out, lose 60 or 70 pounds, and then reward myself with a six-pack of Bud or whatever and just go back to my old habits,” he told ABC. 

“Then this time I wanted to do it slowly, move, exercise. I’m getting to the age where I can’t afford to sit still anymore. And it gives me the energy to work, ‘cause work is very draining.”

Goodman has compared his struggles with weight to his alcohol addiction, which progressed to a point where he admitted, “I was drinking at work — my speech would be slurred.”

“I thought I was fooling people…but my cheeks would turn bright red when I was liquored up. I just looked like a stop sign.”

But as the actor explained to ABC, “I think you’re trying to fill a hole that can’t be filled unless it’s filled with goodness, some kind of spirituality, not saying religion…but just a belief in something higher than yourself, a purpose. But instead of filling it with booze or cocaine or food, you just acknowledge that it’s there. You can’t fill it. And you go on and live with it.”