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Jelly Roll's healthy lifestyle makes him say, "Amen." The Star Search judge, who has lost over 200 pounds in recent years, shared details about his fitness journey, which included making significant changes to his eating habits.
"The biggest change I made was food," he exclusively told E! News' Erin Lim Rhodes on the red carpet for the Netflix competition series' premiere week on January 20. "Man, I was about to die. I'm not trying to stand on a soapbox; I'm simply passionate about it, knowing how broken our food system has become. And as an addict, I struggled to break free, so I did a lot of work with food."
In addition to changing his diet, the 41-year-old (real name Jason Bradley DeFord) also took up cardio as an essential part of his wellness regimen.
“Running's been my real healer,” he continued. “[I] wake up and run every day—I mean every day, seven days a week—even if it's a recovery run, it's one mile and it's a 15 minute jog, really slow. I run every day.”
However, Jelly Roll, who has two children from previous relationships, Bailee Ann (17) and Noah (9), did not change his daily routine on his own. In fact, he was quick to acknowledge the important role his wife, Bunnie XO, played in encouraging him to be his best self.
"Bunnie played the [biggest] role to even get me here," he told me. "Every part of me that improves is another attempt to be a better husband and father." Losing weight was the next step, but I still needed to figure out how to be a better husband and father tomorrow. So I have to keep evolving."
One of the ways Jelly Roll has improved as a partner to Bunnie—whom he married in 2016—is in their sex life, which he characterized as “horrible” prior to his weight loss.
"I married the kind of woman that makes you smile even when you're crying," he said on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast in December. "I couldn't get aroused because I was so big. I had to play Twister to have sex: left foot here, right foot in the X. Are we in there yet? Tell me if you're feeling something. "It was bad."
Fortunately, the "Son of a Sinner" singer has made positive changes in all aspects of his life, and he has never felt better.
"I never thought I'd lose this weight, dude," he told me. "Dude, Joe, I feel great. "I'm feeling really good, dude."
