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Jelly Roll Lost 275 Pounds Without Ozempic and Here Are 5 Daily Habits That Fueled His Success

The country music star completely revamped his diet and workouts to achieve significant weight loss.

Every successful weight-loss journey involves making certain lifestyle adjustments that work—not only to lose weight, but to keep it off long-term. For some solid inspiration, we looked at Jelly Roll's weight-loss journey. The singer lost more than 270 pounds without using Ozempic. Instead, he prioritized a nutritious diet and regular exercise. Here are five essential habits that fueled Jelly Roll's success.

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1

Jelly Roll Once Weighed 540 Pounds

Jelly Roll performs on stage during 2024 New Year's celebration on Times Square in New York on December 31, 2023.
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At Jelly's heaviest point, he weighed 540 pounds. Fast-forward to January 2026, and the Men's Health cover star dropped down to 265 pounds.

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2

He Lost Close to 300 Pounds

SANTA MONICA, USA. July 13, 2024: Jelly Roll at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards 2024.
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Jelly Roll kicked off his weight-loss journey in 2022, according to Music Mayhem. Since then, the 41-year-old country singer lost almost 300 pounds by adopting healthy diet, fitness, and wellness habits.

3

He Worked on His Mental Health

New York, USA - September 28, 2024: Behind-the-scenes moments of artists, including Rauw Alejandro, RAYE, Jelly Roll, and more, preparing for their performances at the Global Citizen Festival 2024.
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One of the first steps in Jelly's weight-loss journey was working on his mental well-being.

"Even before I got into getting my blood work done, I went and got mental health therapy about my overeating. I started treating my food addiction like what it was: an addiction," the celeb told Men's Health. "Once I started treating food like an addiction, it started changing everything for me. When I started really looking at the source of why I was eating. What was I eating for?"

4

His Main Goal Was To Get Healthier

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Instead of emphasizing weight loss, Jelly's top priority was improving his overall health. By boosting his health, he would, in turn, lose weight. So the singer linked up with biologist and founder of The Ultimate Human, Gary Brecka. Before their first session, Jelly aimed to get his weight under 500 pounds.

"I was so fat that I took that weekend and I fasted and just ate a couple of chicken noodle soups," he told Men's Health. "When I came in under 500, I was like, 'I'm finally under 500 pounds!'"

5

He Got a Blood Panel Done, Which Helped Shape His New, Healthy Lifestyle

LOS ANGELES - DEC 16: Jelly Roll at the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 LA Premiere at TCL Chinese Theater IMAX on December 16, 2024 in Los Angeles, CA
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Jelly got a blood panel done, which revealed his insulin levels were "super high."

"You'll see heavy guys struggling for a long time in the early part because they're not fast enough to strike that insulin down. And it takes so long to do it," Jelly told Men's Health.

The nurse practitioner who treated Jelly added, "When you have an excessive amount of insulin, it forces your body to store fat. So switching those receptors and switching what Jelly's body was signaling with insulin helped him rapidly adjust his insulin resistance. I wasn't doing a big science experiment. It was just meal timing and eating real foods."

6

He Revamped His Diet

London, UK - September 20, 2025: Jelly Roll performs at Tottenham Hotspur
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As for his diet, Jelly worked with chef and sports nutritionist Ian Larios to develop nutritious eating habits at home and on tour. Larios still prepares some of Jelly's favorite meals for him—but with a much healthier twist.

"There is no bad food in our plan, but if you eat too much of any food, it could be bad," Larios told Men's Health. "You can overconsume good calories, too. So it was just creating thought patterns for him where it's like, 'Let's create good habits with good food and go from there and move our bodies.' That was step one."

7

He Worked Out

London, UK - September 20, 2025: Jelly Roll performs at Tottenham Hotspur
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Regular physical activity played a major role in Jelly's weight-loss efforts. The country music star adopted a running habit and completed his very first 5K in May 2024.

"I couldn't walk a mile when I started trying to do this back in January," Jelly told Entertainment Tonight. "So the fact that we got 3-point-whatever it was, got it down, I felt really, really good about it."

Jelly also hikes, walks around the arena when on tour, boxes, and plays basketball.

For more weight-loss success stories, check out Here's How Whoopi Goldberg Lost the Weight of "Almost Two People" on Mounjaro After 65.

Alexa Mellardo
Alexa is a freelance writer, editor, and content strategist based in Greenwich, CT. She has 11+ years of experience covering wellness, fitness, food, travel, lifestyle, and home. Read more