Jelly Roll has shed light on his dramatic weight loss transformation and battle with food addiction.
The musician has overhauled his lifestyle and has lost a whopping 110 pounds in the past year.
The 39-year-old explained how he moved from a culture of ‘alcohol and drugs’ to embracing physical fitness and healthier food in an interview with People.
Jelly, who is featured on the cover of the magazine, believes he has lost 60 to 70 pounds alone since starting his Beautifully Broken tour in August.
He’s now open about how he stays fit on the road – a departure from the partying lifestyle he was once entrenched in.
The musician has reexamined his relationship with food – and is now reaping the benefits.
Jelly Roll has shed light on his dramatic weight loss transformation and battle with food addiction
The 39-year-old told how he moved from a culture of ‘alcohol and drugs’ to embracing physical fitness and healthier food; pictured in 2021, before his 110-pound weight loss
“The struggle was with food addiction, which changed the way I looked at food for the past 39 years,” he told the magazine.
‘I’ve never had a healthy relationship with food, so that was the hardest part. But once you master that discipline and dedication, it’s like an avalanche. Once that little snowball started rolling, it was coming.”
Jelly said he plays basketball with his team every day on tour and has made healthy eating and exercise a top priority while on tour.
“It’s cool because there was a time in my life when the culture I built on tour was the opposite. It was about alcohol and drugs,” he said.
“And now our tour culture revolves around good food, exercise and having emotional check-ins with our crew every day.”
The star said his food addiction started as a child, but he has since developed the “discipline” and “dedication” to forge a new path.
Last month, the country star opened up about his physical transformation in an Instagram video, detailing his diet and grueling workout routine ahead of his Beautifully Broken Tour.
To slim down, the two-time Grammy nominee took up boxing, basketball and hiking.
“That’s why you won’t recognize me next year,” he said. “I’m going to get under a pile of weights in a way I’ve never done before.”
Jelly appears on the cover of People magazine
The country star lost 110 pounds by 2024; in the photo in 2021
Jelly pictured at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden this weekend
He continued, “When I see you in front of Canada in March, you all won’t recognize me.”
In the same recording, the Son of a Sinner hitmaker’s chef Ian Larios noted that his client’s favorite pre-show snack is a banana topped with Manuka honey, stevia and dark chocolate shavings.
After his performance, Jelly enjoys Nashville hot chicken, which the nutritionist made healthier by “taking out the oil and batter.”
The chicken is then served with fries coated in bone broth, which “increases the protein in it, but also gives it a nice crunch, because we air fry it.”
“So it tricks your brain into thinking this is like that nice, greasy fried hot chicken from Nashville. He will feel like he is eating at home,” he added. ‘It’s healthy. It’s air fried. It’s packed with protein and helps keep him on track.”
Larios raved: “That 100-pound weight loss goal from last tour is huge.”
In April, the singer – whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord – admitted he had “really kicked ass” in his weight loss mission.
Over the past year, Jelly also credits his healthier mindset to his wife Bunnie XO (also known as Alyssa DeFord), who encouraged him all the time.
‘I’ve probably lost 70 kilos. I really laughed my ass off, man. I do two to three miles a day, four to six days a week. I spend 20 to 30 minutes in the sauna every day, including six minutes in a cold dip. I eat healthy now,” he told People.
The Save Me star went on to say that while he’s already feeling “really good” about the weight loss, he still planned to lose “another 100, 100 and then some (pounds).”
“If I feel this good at this weight, man, I can only imagine how I’m going to feel by the time I go on tour,” he predicted.
Jelly is touring the country on the Beautifully Broken Tour with Warren Zeiders and Alexandra Kay, which kicked off in August.
Over the past year, Jelly also credits his healthier mindset to his wife Bunnie XO (also known as Alyssa DeFord), who encouraged him all the time.
The couple first met at one of his concerts in Las Vegas in 2015, and tied the knot the following year with his two children side by side.
Jelly is also a proud dad to daughter Bailee, 15, and son Noah, seven, who are both from previous relationships.