Jelly Roll reveals hidden toll of obesity as he was ‘prisoner in his body’ before dropping 275lbs
Phoebe Tonks
Featured Image Credit: Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images
Country sensation Jelly Roll has officially kick-started 2026 by ticking one goal off his bucket list, as he opened up about his weight loss journey.
The 41-year-old musician weighed in at over 500lbs when he set himself a new health goal in December 2024, to slim down and become a Men's Health cover star by January 2026.
Now 275lbs lighter, the star, whose real name is Jason DeFord, has candidly opened up about his weight loss journey, including the hidden toll that obesity was having on his life.
“I'm loving my body,” he told the outlet. “This is a whole new thing for me, y'all, I've been imprisoned to a fat suit for 30-something years.
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“You know, I was thinking, when I was 500-something pounds and walking a 40-minute mile, probably, I was screaming [that] I was going to be on the cover Men's Health. And, even to me, as wild as I think, and big of a dreamer as I am, that was pretty ambitious.”
At his heaviest, Jelly Roll tipped the scales at 540lbs and found that his weight was dominating every aspect of his life.
“It was never-ending sadness,” he said. “And anger. I was a prisoner to my own body. Dude, wiping my ass was a problem. Washing myself properly was a problem. Getting in cars. Every decision I made in life had to be based on my weight.
"If it could hold me, facilitate me, or fit me — people don’t think about every facet of ‘I still want to be able to do that and I can’t.’ I was so inspired by that kind of stuff.
“I was killing myself, literally. I mean, I was eating myself to absolute death….I can't talk about one area of my life it was not affecting,” he said.
“I'm ashamed of it. When I think of it being disgusting, I feel shame again. And shame is the exact same thing that will send me right back into the pantry. It's the same thing that sends an alcoholic right back to the bar.”
Realising he needed to change, the Grammy nominee tried multiple methods to try and get his health back on track, but sadly, none of them stuck.
Yet it was only after he hired a chef and sports nutritionist that things began to change – including his new focus on prioritising movement rather than diet alone.
Working with the help of a physiotherapist, Jelly Roll began to incorporate boxing, basketball, running stairs in an arena and push-up challenges into his daily routine, and soon the pounds began to drop off.
“There’s this magical thing that happens when you start exercising. And you get through the absolute misery of the beginning of it. This thing happens in the middle of your workouts where it just sucks, and all of a sudden, it opens up, and you feel incredible," he said.
"I can touch my toes now. I seen my knee caps the other day, standing up. That's a real thing. That's a whole new concept for me, man.”
Once ‘disgusted’ by his reflection, the reality couldn’t be further from the truth now that he weighs in at 265 lbs. In fact, the singer even revealed he found himself admiring his reflection all the more instead of shying away from it.
Although so far his results have been life-changing, this isn’t quite the end of the road for Jelly Roll just yet, as he revealed his plans to lose a little more weight and have some loose skin removed before his journey is complete.
“I don't have a goal weight, I have a feeling weight, and I don't feel it yet,” he said. “You know what I mean? And I'll know when I feel it, because I'll finally be there. But, man, I've worked really hard and lost the weight the right way.”