Photo: Quinton Aaron/Instagram; Rob Latour/Shutterstock

Quinton Aaron

The Blind Side’s Quinton Aaron is opening up about his weight loss journey.

The 37-year-old actor revealed during a recent interview withTMZthat he lost nearly 100 lbs. after embarking on a new lifestyle at the beginning of the year. “I used the new year as a way to get a new me,” he told the outlet.

Aaron explained that he gained weight at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and found himself binge eating. Realizing he needed to make a change, Aaron started his weight loss journey in hopes of reaching his professional goals as a singer and music production company CEO.

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

Back in December, the actor gave his followers a glimpse into his intense workouts in the gym with his trainer, sharing a motivational video of his hard work on Instagram.

“Always put god first! There’s no me without him.#bestofme#weightlossjourney” he captioned the video.

In 2014, Aaron vowed to lose weight after being booted from a flight for being too big. The actor was kicked off a US Airways flight bound for Rochester, N.Y., for taking up an extra economy seat.

“As I saw the seats, I’m literally hoping that no one had to sit next to me because I knew it wasn’t going to work if they did,” Aarontold ABC Newsat the time, calling the moment a wake up call.

He ultimately took the dismissal in stride, booking another flight as quickly as possible “because it was embarrassing.” Aaron told the outlet that since then, he’s had his eyes set on losing weight.

“I live in California. I want to go to the beach in the summertime with a tank top on and have girls chasing me down the beach one day,” he said.

After his breakout role inThe Blind Side, the actor foundedThe Aaron Quinton Foundationfor anti-bullying in 2012, which deals, in part, with childhood obesity.

“There’s a lot of kids that get picked on because of their outer appearance and not everyone has had the luxury of growing up knowing the right foods to eat or knowing what a healthier lifestyle is,” he said.

source: people.com