Jelly Roll's weight-loss odyssey ignited when he genuinely believed his body was teetering on the edge of collapse. The 41-year-old country music star confessed on Wednesday's episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, recalling a pivotal moment around his 39th birthday in 2023, when he weighed between a whopping 480 to 560 lbs throughout the year. "I could feel myself slowly fading away," he told Rogan, his voice heavy with emotion. "I'd already encountered numerous heart-related issues. I never imagined I'd reach 40 as a 500-pound man. I felt like I'd already cheated the system."
Realizing that he might not reach his 40th birthday, Jelly Roll decided to transform his lifestyle, taking a strategic approach rather than engaging in impulsive, emotional attempts at exercise. Instead, he slowed down, planned meticulously, and focused on intention. This shift helped him maintain consistency and ultimately led to an astonishing 200 lbs of weight loss.
His journey was deeply rooted in a pattern he had struggled with in the past: drug addiction. Overeating felt akin to him, not a matter of willpower but "a biological loop he didn't know how to break." Unlike other addictions, he added, food was unavoidable—it was always "a cookie on this table somewhere."
Jelly Roll now looks back on his journey with a sense of awe, having come a long way from thinking, "My heart could give out any day." "I'm going to be a 70-year-old man," he said with a smile. "I never thought I could have this kind of life."
