Jim Gaffigan gets candid about his weight loss journey – and how the decision to take the drug helped Mounjaro.

“I was so paranoid that I was going to get sick that I put it off a little bit, but then it worked,” Gaffigan, 58, said exclusively We weekly while attending the 18th annual Stand Up for Heroes Gala in New York City on Monday, November 11. “It’s weird because we live in a society where people who eat too much are told that they just don’t have self-control. … There are people who just don’t have an ‘off’ button for eating, right?”

The stand-up comedian went on to explain that it’s “really fascinating” how people have “empathy” for those struggling with other addictions, but there is “less sympathy” for someone struggling with “overeating.”

“I ate when I was hungry and I ate when I was happy and I ate when I was sad and I just ate. It was my reward,” he said Us, noting that it is “strange” that there is a “negative stigma” surrounding the decision to use weight-loss medications. “It’s obviously personal, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. But on the other hand, anonymity is something that comes with a lot of these kinds of struggles.”

Gaffigan added that he was “probably 270” pounds when he realized he wanted to change something about his weight.

“I’m kind of a square Midwesterner. I will never look super slim,” he joked Us.

Gaffigan plans to share more about his weight loss journey in his new Hulu special The skinny onewhich falls on November 22.

“We are a country struggling with the obesity epidemic,” he explained. “And then there are these appetite suppressants that work wonders, so The skinny one is a bit about coming to terms with society’s view of it.”

While the special focuses primarily on weight loss, Gaffigan noted The skinny one will also discuss parenting. (Jim shares Marre, 20, Jack, 18, Katie, 15, Michael, 13, and Patrick, 12, with wife Jeannie Gaffigan.)

“The skinny one is kind of about being a parent right now,” he shared. “I’ve always talked about my children and the different kinds of insights I’ve gotten from them.”

In addition to his weight-loss journey and decades-long stand-up career, Gaffigan has also started selling small batches of bourbon – inspired by his wife.

“It’s not like celebrity stuff, we just sell a few thousand bottles of bourbon,” he said Us. “We do it every six months. We only did it twice.”

With reporting by Andrew Nodell