AJ McLean on His 27-Lb. Weight Loss and Health Journey: ‘You Don’t Want to Go Backwards’

The Backstreet Boys singer opens up to PEOPLE about what kick-started his health kick: “Anything is possible”

AJ McLean is sharing how he made a physical transformation — and why he is sticking to his healthy lifestyle.

The Backstreet Boys singer and recent RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race winner tells PEOPLE he is down 27 lbs. since the beginning of this year.

“When you get to a certain age, things tend to slow down,” explains the 44-year-old singer. “And even though we haven’t slowed down, your body will at some point start to slow down.”

“If you dedicate the time and you put in the work, anything is possible,” he continues. “For me, it started back when I did Dancing with the Stars [on season 29], that’s when the health kick started.”

But McLean admits he has faced some challenges along the way: “Then the holidays came, and obviously everyone goes a little harder during the holidays and whatever, and doesn’t exactly stick to a diet.”

The BSB boy bander is now putting in the effort to stay as healthy as possible; he also has been open about his sobriety journey. “I was doing a TV show in South Africa this past February. So between February and now, I’ve lost 27 lbs.,” he says.

“And once you get into a routine, and you start to see results and you start to feel better, you sleep better, your mental state of mind is better, your focus is better,” the father of two shares. “You just want to keep that up. You don’t want to go backwards.”

McLean also reveals that his recent tour helped him stay in shape. He and his fellow band members are currently on the European leg of their DNA World Tour, which is scheduled through March 2023 — and the fivesome also recently dropped their first holiday album, A Very Backstreet Christmas.

“The summer tour helped because the first half was outdoors, and it was playing at 115 degrees,” McLean tells PEOPLE. “It’s like 90 percent humidity. So we’re just shedding the weight without even doing anything.”

The singer also likens being on tour to athletes being in season. “People don’t realize … I’m not saying we’re Michael Jordan or we’re Tom Brady, but we are like athletes,” he explains.

“What we put our bodies through is… very much what athletes go through during a season, or during a preseason,” he says. “And on top of that we’re singing.”

And the singer and dancer isn’t quitting anytime soon. “I think for us, because we’re showmen, because we’re performers first, and singers, we love to put on a great show,” he explains. “And we’re going to continue to dance and do what we do until we physically can’t do it anymore.”