Jelly Roll accomplished his goal of completing a 5k and revealed what his next major fitness goal is during a recent interview.
Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, has taken the country music industry by storm with hits like “Save Me” and “Need A Favor.” But what has endeared him to fans is his likeability and realness.
The 39-year-old singer has long been open about his weight struggles. In 2017 he posted a photo of himself at the beginning of his “health journey.”
In early 2024, Jelly Roll partnered with fitness expert Gary Brecka who promised to transform DeFord by helping him lose 250 pounds in 12 to 14 months.
“He weighed in at 494,” Brecka said in a podcast interview earlier this year.
As part of Jelly Roll’s weight loss journey, the singer committed to completing a 5K, which he did on Tuesday, May 7. Comedians Bert Kreischer and Tom Segura were the first to approach the idea of completing a 5K and asked fellow entertainment personalities Michelle Wolf and Stavros Halkias to join them. When Jelly appeared on the Full Send podcast, host Kyle Forgeared talking him into participating.
Ahead of the 3.1-mile race, he lost between 50 and 70 pounds. He admitted that the accomplishment made him emotional due to the fact that he couldn’t walk a mile before training started.
“I couldn’t walk a mile when I started trying to do this back in January,” Jelly Roll told ET. “So the fact that we got 3-point-whatever it was, got it down, I felt really, really good about it.”
After crushing his goal, Jelly revealed that it inspired him to pursue an even bigger one for next year.
“Next year, a half marathon! We’re saying it now, absolutely!”
Hear Jelly Roll talk about completing his first 5K, something he called “the coolest experience ever,” in the video below.