Country star Jelly Roll has begun 2026 by accomplishing a major personal milestone, opening up to Men’s Health regarding his significant weight loss journey.
At 41 years old, the musician was over 500lbs when he decided in December 2024 to set a new health target: to lose weight and grace the cover of the magazine by January 2026.
Having lost 275lbs, Jason DeFord, better known as Jelly Roll, shared insights about his weight loss experience and the hidden impact obesity had on his life.
“I’m loving my body,” he expressed to the publication. “This is a whole new thing for me, y’all, I’ve been imprisoned to a fat suit for 30-something years.”
He proudly stated, “I am on the cover of Men’s Health magazine. 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 weighed 540lbs – comparable to an adult male grizzly bear – and discovered his weight influenced every part of his life.
“It was never-ending sadness,” he admitted. “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 revealed.
“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.”
Realizing a change was necessary, the Grammy nominee attempted various methods to regain his health, but none were effective until he enlisted the help of a chef and sports nutritionist.
With their assistance, Jelly Roll shifted his focus to include movement, not just diet, into his lifestyle. Collaborating with a physiotherapist, he engaged in boxing, basketball, running stairs in an arena, and push-up challenges, leading to a steady loss of weight.
“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 explained.
“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.”
Previously ‘disgusted’ by his reflection, Jelly Roll now weighs 265 lbs and finds himself appreciating his reflection rather than avoiding it.
Although his transformation has been life-changing, Jelly Roll’s journey isn’t over yet. He plans to lose a bit more weight and undergo removal of excess skin to complete his transformation.
“I don’t have a goal weight, I have a feeling weight, and I don’t feel it yet,” he remarked. “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.”
“Just a dramatically different world.”