After leaving The Biggest Loser ranch, American Idol veteran Ruben Studdard didn’t leave his hard work behind. He still has his eye on an at-home weight loss win, as well as a far more important prize: his health.

When Studdard started the show, he weighed 462. He dropped 39 pounds on the ranch, and in an recent interview, he revealed that he’s now lost a total of 104 pounds. Studdard admitted that his four weeks on the ranch was the hardest part.

“It was 10 times harder than I expected,” Ruben shared. “You know, it wasn’t the working out that was the hard part. It was all the other stuff that goes along with being on the ranch — not being able to talk to your family and that stuff. It’s very mentally challenging. Hopefully I can continue to keep that downward trend going.”

This isn’t the first time the American Idol champ has shed a significant amount of weight. A decade ago, he adopted a vegan diet and lost 100 pounds, but wasn’t able to keep it off. This time, he feels things are different – because he’s different. Studdard’s weight-loss and lifestyle changes have been crucial in managing his health – which is more important than ever before, given his recent diabetes diagnosis.

“The only cure for that is diet and exercise,” he said. “That’s what I’ve been doing. The last time I lost weight, I was still young — I was 25,” Studdard explained. “And it really wasn’t as much for me as it was to prove people wrong. This is a lot different. I have a completely different set of circumstances now that affect the way I approach it for my life. So I have to take it a little bit more seriously — not a little bit, a lot more serious.”

Read more about Ruben Studdard’s amazing weight loss at BlackDoctor.Org.

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(Photo: Gabe Ginsberg/BET/Getty Images for BET)