Colt Ford Gave Jelly Roll This Advice About Being a ‘Big Guy’ Who Wants to Get Healthy (Exclusive)

Colt Ford and pal Jelly Roll both hit it big as "big guys."

But Ford, the country-rap singer-songwriter who co-wrote Jason Aldean's 2011 hit "Dirt Road Anthem," says when your public image is tied to your size, things can get complicated if you decide to get healthy and slim down.

That's what Ford — who once weighed 340 lbs. but who's now down to 190 after a series of health scares — and fellow rapper Jelly Roll, 40, discussed when the two hung out late last year at one of Jelly Roll's concerts.

"Jelly has lost a bunch of weight," Ford, 55, says of the rapper's more than 100-lb. slimdown over the past two years. "You start to think when you're a big guy like that and people love you, 'What if I lose weight? Are they going to still like me?' And I'm like, 'No, bro. I thought that for so long. No, no, no. As long as you're who you are, and you're authentic and good to people, sh--, they don't care."

Ford's own health journey began in 2022 after he was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disease that causes muscle weakness, and then it took on new urgency after he suffered a near-fatal heart attack in April 2024.

At the time of his heart attack, Ford had already slimmed to 250 lbs., and since then, he's lost another 60 lbs. by walking more and giving up fried foods and soda.

The heart attack was a frightening wake-up call, but, he says, being in a coma for a week and in rehab for nearly months gave him a jump start on getting fit. "There's much easier diets," he jokes. "But when I tried to lose weight before, when you're as heavy as I was...you feel like you're working hard and you still look in the mirror and go, 'This sucks. I'd rather just go back to [fast food chain] Zaxby's.'"

But since his health crisis, "I haven't drank a soda," he says. "I drink water and unsweet tea and I'm fine with that. I haven't had fried chicken at all. I'm eating a lot healthier. It's nice to feel good and be able to tell people like Jelly that."

Ford, whose first single since his heart attack is out this month ("Hell Out of It"), says he wants to spread the word about healthier living.

"I want to advocate all that, get healthier, walk, exercise, just move," he says. "You've got to move your body, whatever it is. If you can't work out every day, walk down the street, walk up and down the stairs at your house, apartment complex, whatever, just any of that sh--makes a difference. That's become a new part of my life now."