Eminem's weight loss is astounding. The rapper has revealed how he lost 81 pounds when he swapped his drug addiction in 2007 with exercise, reported MSN.

The 42-year-old native of Detroit recently opened up to Men's Journal about how he got back to his healthy ways. Several years ago, Eminem weighed nearly 230 pounds, and now he's 149 pounds.

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"I'm not sure how I got so big, but I have ideas. The coating on the Vicodin and the Valium I'd been taking for years leaves a hole in your stomach, so to avoid a stomachache, I was constantly eating - and eating badly," he said.

Eminem's addiction began in 2002 and lasted till 2008. The rapper dished that he had been addicted to a variety of prescription drugs, of which include Ambien, Valium, and extra-strength Vicodin, according to an article in Rolling Stone. He even almost died from accidental methadone overdose by the latter part of 2007, and that's when he decided to get clean.

"When I got out of rehab, I needed to lose weight, but I also needed to figure out a way to function sober," he told Men's Journal. "It's easy to understand how people replace addiction with exercise. One addiction for another but one that's good for them. I got an addict's brain, and when it came to running, I think I got a little carried away I became a f**king hamster. Seventeen miles a day on a treadmill."

Apparently, Eminem's weight loss at first was due to an addiction to running. He even said that he got "OCD about the calories." He needed to find a new method of working out because he was already hurting himself, particularly his hips, according to Headlines & Global News.

Eventually, the real Slim Shady used DVD workouts such as Shaun T's Insanity, P90X, and Body Beast to get his body and life back into shape at 42 years old.

"I know a lot of these DVD guys are wacky, but I'm alone in my gym," he said. "I need someone on the TV yelling to motivate me. Besides, some of this s**t is entertaining."

Today, Eminem maintains his weight loss of 81 pounds through the DVDs as well as free weights, reported The Inquisitr.

As for his music career, the "Rap God" has released "Recovery" in June 2010, going platinum four times and selling over 15 million copies. In 2013, Eminem was also able to produce "The Marshall Mathers LP 2." This also reached platinum status, according to The International Business Times.

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