NO GOING BACK: Al Roker REVEALS The LASTING IMPACT Of His GASTRIC BYPASS 20 YEARS LATER And The LIFE RULE He Now Lives By

Al Roker

Al Roker.

Twenty years down, and many more to go, Al Roker is determined to “never” go back to his pre-gastric bypass surgery lifestyle.

The longtime Todayweatherman, 67, marked the 20th anniversary of his gastric bypass surgery on Tuesday by pulling out his old jeans — and showing how he can now fit his whole body in just half of the pair.

“Hard to believe it was 20 years ago today, I wore these size 54 Levi jeans to my #gastricbypass at 340 lbs. and here I am today,” Roker wrote on Instagram and Twitter.

“It’s still a struggle but I’m never going back,” he vowed. “I have setbacks and struggle every day, but I never forget how far I’ve come.”

Roker’s post filled with comments from his friends and coworkers like Savannah Guthrie, who told him, “You are so inspiring. Every day. Every minute.”

“You’re the Yoda to my Skywalker Uncle Al!” Carson Daly chimed in.

Roker underwent the weight loss surgery in 2002 after years of failed diets and health problems, and was able to drop more than 100 lbs. During the process, which he initially kept from his Today coworkers, Roker surprised both them and viewers with his quickly slimming shape.

“I had a person say to me in the gym, ‘Hey, you don’t want to lose too much weight, ’cause that’s who you are — you’re the funny, fat weather guy!’ ” he told PEOPLE just after his surgery. “No, that’s not who I am. I think I’m funny. I know I’m fat. But I don’t think I’m funny because I’m fat. The two are mutually exclusive.”

These days, Roker has kept the weight off with regular exercise and healthy meals, both of which he documents on his Instagram. He’s also been open to trying new weight loss tactics and had success with the keto diet, sharing in 2019 that he’s lost 40 lbs. on the high-fat, low-carb plan.

Roker even butted heads with former Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels over keto when she said that it was an unhealthy diet, and he defended his choice.

“What works for you, works for you,” he said on Today. “There’s science on both sides that says it’s not a great idea and science that says it is a good idea. I think it’s up to people — with their doctor, with their medical professional — [to make their own decision].”