Country music artist Jelly Roll said he lost a significant amount of weight as he prepares to participate in a 5K run.
The award winning recording artist, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord, announced his intention to be in the 2 Bears 5K with Bert Kreischer and Tom Segura at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on May 7.
“I’m probably down 70-something pounds,” Jelly Roll told People in an interview published Saturday. “I’ve been really kicking ass, man. I’m doing two to three miles a day, four to six days a week. I’m doing 20 to 30 minutes in the sauna, six minutes in a cold plunge every day. I’m eating healthy right now.”
“I feel really good,” the 39-year-old singer added. “I was thinking, I plan on losing another 100, 100-and-something [pounds]. If I feel this good down this weight, man, I can only imagine what I’m going to feel like by the time I go on tour.”
In 2018, Jelly Roll said he weighed more than 500 pounds at his heaviest and was told by a doctor that he should “go to a meat processor or truck stop” to learn his actual weight. The singer called it, “one of the most embarrassing days of my life.” He went on to describe a cycle of weight loss and gain over the following years.
Jelly Roll made headlines earlier this year after winning three iHeartRadio Music Awards and two CMT Music Awards. He was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2023.
Jelly Roll will begin his “Beautifully Broken Tour” this August. The singer has been making music since 2003, but only recently found mainstream success with hit singles “Need a Favor” (2023) and “Son of a Sinner” (2021).
“I’ve always said this and I mean it, man, I know my music touches people different. My songs aren’t something you listen to by the pool on a Saturday,” he told the outlet. “My music’s something you listen to that really gets you through something, and it means so much to stand in front of them and meet as many them as I can every night. I wish I could have lunch with anybody my song’s ever helped.”