Jelly Roll at CMT Awards Winners Walk

The 40-year-old music star, whose real name is Jason DeFord, shocked fans this week with his slimmest appearance yet as he stepped in to guest host “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” and it didn’t go unnoticed.

Donning an all-black outfit, gold chain, and his signature mullet, Jelly Roll hit the stage with a brand-new frame after reportedly shedding a jaw-dropping 200 pounds.

Jelly Roll Debuts Dramatic Transformation After Dropping 200 Pounds

While filling in for Jimmy Kimmel on back-to-back nights, the country-rap sensation kept things lighthearted and relatable, poking fun at himself with a parody song made entirely from online insults.

“Y’all want to hear it?” he teased the crowd before launching into the hilarious tune. Among the digs? “I used to hate Jelly Roll. I still do,” “Jelly Roll looks like a meth addict grabbed a microphone,” and the viral zinger, “Jelly Roll slimmed the f-ck up, lookin’ more like a Fruit Roll-Up.”

Despite the brutal jabs, the star embraced the humor with grace and a message, and the fans rallied behind him.

“This dude turned his life around and never forgets where he came from. Stay humble, my friend!” one YouTuber commented on a clip of his time on the show.

“It’s great to see him looking so healthy and having such success!!” another said.

“This sweet, kind & humble man is pure gold! Looking happy & healthy!” a third wrote.

Shame, Success, And Shedding Pounds

Jelly Roll on stageTammie Arroyo / AFF-USA.com / MEGA

Last December, Jelly Roll opened up about his health goals on his wife Bunnie XO’s “Dumb Blonde” podcast, publicly declaring his ambition to appear on the cover of Men’s Health by March 2026. “That’s my new goal,” he said. “I want to have one of the biggest transformations.”

More importantly, he wanted to take fans along for the ride.

“I wanted to lose it in front of everybody. I wanted to talk about it,” he explained. “I didn’t become successful because of my weight. I became successful in spite of it.”

Weighing over 550 pounds at one point, Jelly Roll acknowledged the shame and stigma that can come with weight loss in the public eye, saying many celebrities “hide and lose the weight” before reappearing changed, and unsure of how to move forward.

“I’m so glad to be having this discussion in front of an audience,” he said. “I want to be honest about my struggles with it. I wanna bring people along with me.”

Jelly Roll Reveals Intense Wellness Routine

Jelly Roll at Premiere of Paramount's Sonic The Hedgehog 3ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA

But Jelly Roll’s transformation hasn’t just been about shedding pounds. It’s been a full-body commitment to wellness.

Back in April, while still deep into his training, the “Need A Favor” singer opened up to PEOPLE about the daily grind behind his results. “I’m doing 2 to 3 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. I’m eating healthy right now,” he revealed. “I’ve been really kicking a–, man. I’m probably down 70-something pounds.”

And that sauna time? It might be doing more than just helping him relax.

Sauna Expert Weighs In

Jelly Roll at Stagecoach Music Festival 2025ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA

Benny Rehwald, sauna therapy expert and founder of Topture, told The Blast that while saunas aren’t a substitute for working out, they can play a major supporting role in a weight loss journey.

“The heat stimulates cardiovascular activity, boosts circulation, and promotes recovery, all of which support overall health,” he explained.

While you won’t sweat off the pounds overnight, Rehwald added that the elevated heart rate and detoxifying effects can contribute to calorie burn and appetite control. “It’s similar to how appetite often decreases during hot summer days,” he noted.

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Jelly Roll Confronts Food Addiction

Jelly Roll at Stagecoach Music Festival 2025ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA

While Jelly Roll’s dramatic weight loss has inspired fans around the world, the singer has been candid about the emotional hurdles that came with it. In an interview with PEOPLE back in November 2024, the country-rap star admitted that the toughest challenge wasn’t on the treadmill. It was in his mind.

“The battle was with the food addiction, changing the way I’ve looked at food for the last 39 years,” he confessed. “I’ve never had a healthy relationship with food, so that was the hard part. But once you get into that discipline and commitment, it’s like an avalanche. Once that little snowball started rolling, it was on its way.”

He went on to explain how deep those habits ran. “Nobody in my house ever had [a healthy relationship with food], so that was the hard part, really fighting that demon at first and getting into that discipline and that commitment.”

For Jelly Roll, the journey hasn’t just been about changing how he looks. It’s been about breaking generational cycles and redefining what health means, inside and out.