Jelly Roll has been on a "roll" recently (sorry). Not only did he was able to leave his past arrests and time spent in jail behind, but he was able to become a successful Grammy-nominated hip-hip-country musician. However, perhaps his greatest achievement was overcoming his cocaine addiction and dropping a ton of weight through diet and exercise.
During an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Jelly Roll opened up about his process. "I'm down 100 pounds now - officially down 100 f**king pounds. It's been all food," he said. "I'm working out, I'm walking. But what I've learned is that as I'm losing the weight, by nature I want to go walk and do more stuff because I'm lighter. I feel better."
Jelly Roll was able to exercise by playing basketball three times a week. For him, losing weight was the "last mountain", as food can be quite addicting in itself. He also talked about the struggle of fighting drug addiction. "My whole band has watched me fight cocaine addiction... they've watched me get off coke, they've watched me get off lean," he said. "They've watched me figure my life out slowly."
What got Jelly Roll emotional was the support he received from his crew. He mentioned how every time he played in NBA arenas like Orlando Magic's, more and more people joined him during his weight loss endeavor. "The first day it's like me and three or four dudes," he said. "The crew heard, the next day (there was) 30. The whole crew showed up for me. They're just there because they know its helping me."
A Changed Life Through Decision-Making
Personally, I can connect with Jelly Roll in many ways. While I haven't struggled like him in the sense that I haven't been incarcerated or struggled with drugs, I too have struggled with food and weight. For the past years, my eating habits got worse and worse to the point I weighed more than 300 pounds.
With a type-2 diabetes diagnosis, hypertension, and being one step from cirrhosis, I was basically dying while being addicted to fast food. However, like Jelly Roll, what changed my life was finding out that, despite my health problems, I was to become a father.
Back in June, Jelly Roll mentioned how the birth of her daughter changed his life. "I had a daughter, and it changed my entire life, man," he told during a Jimmy Kimmel Live appearance. "It was almost like the Damascus Road experience where Saul turned to Paul for me." He continued: "I was incarcerated, and they knocked on my door and told me she was born. And I just wept. It's the first time I'd cried."
When my son was born, I immediately felt the need to make vital changes in my lifestyle. I didn't want to leave him alone without a father or have to struggle to keep up with him when he would start to crawl or walk. So, I sought out a nutritionist and started hitting the gym. While I struggled initially, I was able to become consistent. Since then, I have lost more than 70 pounds and I feel the best I've ever felt in my 30 years.
Jelly Roll's journey to success should inspire anyone struggling with addiction of any kind to seek help and make wise decisions for their own good. If not Jelly, then just have a look around at the people who love you. It worked for him, and it certainly worked for me too. I am certain it can work for you as well.
