Jelly Roll Shares New Milestone After Losing Jaw-Dropping Number Of Pounds

Jelly Roll is celebrating a massive milestone on his wellness journey, and he’s not slowing down anytime soon.

Born Jason DeFord, Jelly Roll has been open about his health transformation, which began last year.

The 40-year-old country star shared an exciting update on the “Big Night AHT” live show with host Pat McAfee on Wednesday, April 9.

“I started at 540 pounds and I was 357 pounds this morning,” he said in a clip later shared on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “I’m gonna lose another 100 pounds.”

And once he reaches that next goal? He’s planning a major reward: skydiving in Sweden with his wife, Bunnie XO.

In April 2024, he told PEOPLE he had already lost about 70 pounds and was building momentum.

“I’m probably down 70-something pounds. I’ve been really kicking [butt], man,” he said at the time. “I’m doing two to three miles a day, four to six days a week. I’m doing 20 to 30 minutes in the sauna, six minutes in a cold plunge every day.”

He added that even at that point in his journey, he was starting to feel a significant difference. “If I feel this good down this weight, man, I can only imagine what I’m going to feel like by the time I go on tour,” he said.

That motivation carried over into action. In May 2024, Jelly Roll took part in a 5K alongside comedian Bert Kreischer during “Netflix Is a Joke Fest.” Reaching the finish line was a full-circle moment for the artist.

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

By October, Jelly Roll had hit the 100-pound weight loss mark and was already looking ahead. “That’s why next year when y’all see me you won’t recognize me,” he said in an Instagram video. “I’m going to get under a pile of weights in a way that I never have.”

Even while touring, Jelly Roll kept up his commitment to health with the help of his personal chef, Ian Larios.

In behind-the-scenes content, fans got a peek at how his diet had evolved. A favorite pre-show snack? A banana topped with manuka honey and dark chocolate sweetened with stevia.

For heartier meals, Larios crafted a cleaner take on Jelly Roll’s go-to comfort food, a Nashville hot chicken sandwich with fries. The fries were cooked in protein-rich bone broth, and the chicken was coated in potato flour and air-fried instead of deep-fried.

From finishing 5Ks to dreaming of skydiving in Sweden, Jelly Roll is proving that transformation is possible at any stage, and his journey is far from over.

Between the ages of 14 and 24, the now 40-year-old artist found himself in and out of jail nearly 40 times. It was a turbulent decade that not only shaped his perspective but deeply influenced the raw, emotional storytelling fans now connect with in his music.

“I’m rounding third on my amends list, and I think when I get there, I’ll feel a little better,” he told PEOPLE Magazine. “I was hitting some stone walls with people that wouldn’t forgive me and I was like, ‘God, maybe this has something to do with the fact [that] I haven’t forgiven myself either.”

Now a father, husband, and committed advocate for prison reform and mental health, Jelly Roll is open about the pain he caused and the healing he’s still chasing. When asked to discuss his past in interviews, he admitted it’s not easy to condense years of personal chaos into a quick quote.

“The truth is, there was a lot of pain in there. I hurt a lot of people,” he continued. “No matter how much I’ve changed, they still watch and are mad that I’m successful. I understand that. But I’m doing better at letting go of the past and realizing that I don’t owe that part of me anything.”