Jelly Roll is on a mission. Following his significant loss of 120 pounds in 2024, the “Son of a Sinner” artist has outlined his ultimate fitness ambitions.
“By March 2026, I aim to be on the cover of Men’s Health,” Jelly Roll, 40, mentioned in a teaser of his wife’s “Dumb Blonde” podcast, shared on TikTok on Sunday, December 15. “That’s my new goal. I aspire to be one of the most notable transformation stories.”
His very public weight loss journey has been intentional. He confided to Bunnie XO, “I chose to share my experience publicly. I want to be transparent about the challenges I’ve faced.”
“What I wish for people to understand, Bunnie, is that my success didn’t stem from my weight, but rather in spite of it,” he elaborated. “I managed to achieve this level of success while weighing 550 pounds. That’s remarkable.”
The singer, known by his real name Jason DeFord, embarked on his weight loss journey in January, battling a lifelong struggle with food addiction.
“The hard part was overcoming the food addiction and changing my perspective on food that I had held for 39 years,” he shared in a People interview on November 20. “I never had a healthy relationship with food, which made it challenging. But, once discipline and commitment took hold, it was unstoppable. That small snowball effect turned into an avalanche of change.”
He added, “No one in my household ever had a healthy relationship with food, which made it difficult to confront that challenge and embrace discipline and commitment.”
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ARLINGTON, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 28: Jelly Roll performs music during the halftime show of an NFL game between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium on November 28, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
Jelly’s fitness journey took off as he prepared for a 5K organized by his comedian friends Bert Kreischer and Tom Segura.
His training regimen included daily runs of up to three miles, performed between four and six times each week, along with a session in a sauna lasting 20 to 30 minutes and a six-minute dip in a cold plunge.
Since embarking on his Beautifully Broken tour in August, Jelly has shed approximately 60 to 70 pounds.
After reaching a peak weight of 557 pounds, the Tennessee native became dedicated to improving his fitness, which now involves playing pickup basketball with his tour crew, walking through the arenas, and working out in the gym.
“We’ve been playing basketball three days a week,” he shared with Joe Rogan during an October 11 appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. “I've never been more focused. I've never felt more committed to it. I've never been happier.”
“I feel amazing, just having lost 100 pounds. I'm now in the 420s. I walk differently, talk differently, my posture has improved, and my movements have changed.”
Jelly has continued losing weight over the months and has no intention of stopping. “It's incredible because there was a time when my tour culture centered around alcohol and drugs,” he explained to People. “Now, our tour culture focuses on healthy eating, exercising, and conducting emotional check-ins with our crew every day.”