Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek’s network of contributors
Jelly Roll is taking out his running shoes again.
On Sunday, February 2, the 40-year-old country superstar (whose real name is Jason Deford) posted an Instagram Reel announcing he would participate in a 5k marathon for the second time. The Grammy-nominated artist reflected on his fitness journey thus far and shared what a rewarding experience simply walking the marathon last year was.
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
“Right around a year ago, around this time, I went on the Nelk podcast. I was tired of being overweight, I was tired of hurting, and I made an announcement that I was gonna try to walk my first 5k with one of my best friends, Bert Kreischer and Tom Segura, at the 2 Bears 5k,” he recalled in the reel. “I couldn’t walk at the time, y’all. I could not walk at the time at all hardly. I was over 500 pounds. I did it, y’all, and it was one of the most gratifying experiences. The man you see a year later is 120-something, 130-something pounds lower.”
Jelly Roll expressed his excitement about doing the 5k again in the video and encouraged his fans to join in, saying, “Guess what I’m doing now? I’m training for the next 5k, baby! I want y’all to do it with me.”
The singer-songwriter captioned his post, “WE’RE DOING IT AGAIN Y’ALL! May 4 in Tampa – More info coming soon.”
The “Need a Favor” hitmaker has been on a long weight loss journey, frequently sharing his progress with fans. In November 2024, he posted an Instagram Reel featuring his nutrition coach, Ian Larios, who gave a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Jelly Roll’s meals and revealed that the “Son of a Sinner” singer had already lost 100 pounds.
However, in December, the musician joined his wife Bunnie XO for an episode of her Dumb Blonde podcast and admitted he still had a long way to go regarding shedding the unwanted pounds. “I’m still morbidly obese,” the Tennessee native confessed. “But I’m gonna lose the weight, I’m going to keep getting it off like I have been.”
