Country star talks food addiction and how he lost 110 pounds

Jelly Roll opened up about his extensive weight loss journey in an exclusive interview with People Magazine. The 39-year-old singer says he has lost 110 pounds so far this year with some lifestyle adjustments. Jelly Roll, born Jason Bradley DeFord, ties his struggles to his childhood growing up in Antioch, Tennessee.
“The battle was with the food addiction, changing the way I’ve looked at food for the last 39 years. I’ve never had a healthy relationship with food, so that was the hard part,” Jelly Roll said. “But once you get into that discipline and commitment, it’s like an avalanche.”
Jelly Roll estimates he lost 60 to 70 pounds alone while on his Beautifully Broken Tour, which included a stop at Newark’s Prudential Center and ends on Thursday in Birmingham, Ala. Jelly Roll has prioritized physical activity and targeted food choices between performances — often playing basketball daily with his crew.
In May, Jelly Roll completed his first 5K race. The 2 Bears 5K was hosted by comedians Tom Segura and Bert Kreischer in Los Angeles. and was part of the Netflix Is A Joke comedy festival. As he noted in an interview with People in January, his training regimen consisted of running between two and three miles a day, four to six days a week.
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Murjani Rawls may be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @MurjaniRawls.