Jelly Roll is opening up about his latest struggles during his weight loss journey.
Over the last few years, the singer has been keeping fans updated about the different lifestyle and diet changes he has made to lose more than 200 pounds. But in his most recent YouTube video, Jelly Roll shared that he lost sight of why he started prioritizing his health more.
In a video uploaded on April 17, the Grammy winner revealed that he is currently training to run the New York City Marathon in November, his first ever marathon. He also hired a coach to help him prepare.
“I ran 16 miles in one week, and my knees hurt. My hips hurt. My back hurt. My neck hurt. My head hurt. My toes hurt. There’s a bone in my foot I didn’t know existed hurts,” he said. “Ultimately y’all, this is going to be quite a journey. So I think I’m going to do a better job at docking this, because I haven’t done a great job at docking my weight loss.”
Jelly Roll said he wanted to record another weigh in because he expects to lose around 30 to 50 pounds as he trains for the marathon. He then went into detail about his training sessions, sharing that his workouts include intervals and walking for 45 minutes while wearing a weighted vest. He said he struggled to finish the walk which is why he wanted to make a new video about his health.
He mentioned that he completed his first 5K in May 2025. “Somewhere in that process, I started getting crazy in my head, at 480 pounds and 500 pounds, talking about, I want to be able to be on the cover of Men’s Health,” he recalled. “A lot of y’all followed that journey, and I got on the cover of Men’s Health. It actually happened. I never thought I would buy into my own delusional dream in that moment.”
“This is where the game gets a little ugly,” Jelly Roll continued.
He revealed that after working for three years to lose weight he decided to indulge during the holidays. He said he “kind of got off the rails” during those months and broke his collarbone, which prevented him from exercising.
“I said all that to say that I have, to some degree, lost my way. Men’s Health was not the goal. It wasn’t the weight that I wanted to get to be at maintenance,” he shared.
The singer said that he still has about 40 to 60 pounds to go before he reaches his “maintenance weight.” He also said that he hasn’t weighed himself because he's been avoiding stepping onto the scale.
“I’m afraid to see what the scale is going to say from what my actual goal is,” he told fans.
But now that he has a new goal of running the New York City Marathon, he is getting back on track. He revealed that he wants to eventually pose shirtless on a magazine cover when he reaches his ideal weight.
“I just believe there’s a story that a guy can go from 560 pounds to a shirt-off picture. It’s absurd,” he added.
To get started on accomplishing his new goals, he had to face his fears and weigh himself. After previously weighing around 265 when he was on the cover of Men’s Health, Jelly Roll checked the scale on April 10.
“I am scared too, y’all. I feel really fat. I feel really bloated. I feel like the scale’s going to let me down. I feel like I’m going to find out I’ve gained like 15 pounds over the f—ing last six months. I’m scared, but at least we’re here together,” he said. “Got to start somewhere though, avoiding weighing in has been the problem.”
He turned the camera to show he currently weighs 276.2 pounds.
“That’s our reality right there. So we’re up 12 pounds,” he said.
In his interview with Men’s Health, which was published in January, Jelly Roll revealed that he hired chef and sport nutritionist Ian Larios to help change his eating habits. He also found a therapist to speak to about his mental health. At the time, he said he wanted to lose around 9 to 15 pounds each month.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
