In an interview with People magazine, comedian Tom Arnold revealed that he has lost 89 lbs. since April 2013. His motivation, he said, was the birth of his son, Jax. "The moment I saw [Jax] I realized he deserves the best," the 54-year-old told People. "Something inside of me changed. I knew I needed to live as long as I could."

Arnold is notorious for his fluctuating weight. At his heaviest he weighed close to 300 lbs. The actor admitted to the magazine that he had different sets of clothes based on his weight. "There was a lot of shame," he said. "One time I had a tailor come over and sew the weights into my suits — this is what you wear when you are 210, 220, 240, 300. That saved me the time of going into my closet and getting so upset and frustrated."

Here are three important things we learned from Arnold’s weight loss journey:

1. Small changes to your diet can make a big difference. Arnold told the magazine that once he made the decision to change his unhealthy lifestyle, cake and bread were the first to go. Then he had to drop his high-cholesterol breakfasts, complete with six-egg omelet, six turkey sausage links, and oatmeal. He stopped drinking soda — even diet soda — and cut out the meat pizza he used to have for dinner.

2. Get creative with your workout. The comedian said that he used a combination of cardio, circuit-training, and abdominal workouts to get fit. The blog Fitday suggests switching up your workout routine to avoid your body getting used to a particular workout and slowing down your weight loss. “If you change up the exercise routine, your body will be continually challenged, and it will burn more calories, resulting in a more successful weight loss,” the blog said.

3. Don’t forget to celebrate meeting small goals. "I can tuck my shirt in!" announced Arnold, according to People. This, of course, is in reference to no longer having to hide his bulging belly under a large shirt. Remember that those little things you couldn’t do before — the jeans you couldn’t fit, the chairs you were afraid to sit in, the places you were ashamed to go — all of that matters. That’s just as important as the number on the scale.

For more on Arnold’s remarkable weight loss, go to People magazine.