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What we can learn from Jelly Roll about losing weight — and happiness

Entertainer Jelly Roll recently posted a heartbreaking video revealing that he had fallen off the wagon — literally — and regained some of the weight he had lost.

The singer and songwriter, born Jason Bradley DeFord, once weighed over 500 pounds. After shedding more than 200 pounds — a transformation that put him on the cover of Men’s Health — the country star admitted he’d “lost his way,” gained weight back over the holidays, and broken his collarbone.

He could not exercise, he said, and he has been avoiding the scale ever since.

Jelly Roll’s honesty is a gift. It names something millions of Americans feel but can’t articulate: the modern approach to losing weight isn’t working, even for the people who are “winning” at it.

So what’s the solution? Real, whole food. Meats and fish, fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, eggs, butter — minimally processed, low or no added sugar, and as close to how it appears in nature as possible.

Not a diet. Abundance.

Consider the last 50 years of dietary advice. We were told fat was the enemy, so we filled our pantries with fat-free cookies, skim milk and margarine.

Then carbs were the real villain, so we threw out the bread and ate bacon wrapped in cheese. Then grains. Then dairy. Lately, even plants thanks to lectins.

We were told to “Eat like a caveman.” 

No, wait, “Eat like a lion.” 

Then, “Eat nothing at all until noon,” or, better yet, “Wait all the way until dinner time.” 

Every few years, a new wave of science overturns the last, and millions of hopeful Americans rearrange their kitchens again, with only short-term........

© New York Post