American rapper and record executive Rick Ross has been an active hip hop artist since the mid-’90s and is still a prominent name in the industry. While the seven-time Grammy nominee is still heavy in the rap game, he has gotten lighter in his body weight.

The 44-year-old rapper, who once weighed 350 pounds, dropped over 100 pounds and has been making efforts to keep his transformed body intact. As of 2020, he weighed about 230 pounds, which is much closer to his optimal body mass index (BMI), although it is still considered overweight.

Rick Ross Had Two Seizures in Less than 24 Hours, Forcing Him to Reconsider His Life Choices

During the 2000s, health wasn’t of much concern to Ross, who indulged heavily in junk food and alcohol and slept inadequately. The rapper barely slept for four hours at night and loved binging on 24-oz steaks and snacks at 4 am in his studio. Additionally, he was also addicted to codeine, an opiate used to treat pain or cough.

These habits changed in 2011 after the hip hop magnate was rushed to the hospital due to two consecutive seizures in less than 24 hours. Ross happened to be the only young person in the hospital's waiting room, occupied by many elderly white males. The seizure, along with the realization of having such health issues at a young age, made him take a stand and make changes to his lifestyle and treat his body better.

picture of Rick Ross from 2010

A picture of Rick Ross from 2010. (Source: Vulture)

The rapper began his journey to good health immediately after the incident. In an interview with People magazine, he recalled asking the doctor what his biggest enemy was back then, to which the doctor had looked at his chart and told him it was soda. Soda was far from the only thing on that chart, but Ross remembered the starting point.

Notably, that wasn’t the only time the songwriter suffered from seizures. In his memoir called Hurricanes, the rapper details that the worst episodes came in March of 2018 when a seizure left him hospitalized for four days. 

He Still Enjoys His Burgers and Chicken Wings, But in Moderation

The hip hop icon did not rush into his weight loss journey by going cold turkey on everything he loves. He chose a much slower but lasting route.

The rapper has taken up a personalized CrossFit program introduced to him by Reebok (which he’s dubbed as “Ross Fit”) that involved him working out four days a week. He also worked with a personal chef to set an acceptable limit to how much he could indulge in his guilty pleasures.

He might be on a weight loss journey, but he still treats himself to eateries like Wingstop and Checkers once or twice a week, and only between the hours of noon and 5 p.m. However, he stopped eating certain foods such as bread, white rice, and fish fillets and drinks less alcohol.

 “If I quit all the things I loved cold turkey, I knew it would only be so long before I went back to my old ways,” he had told Men’s Health. “My advice for anyone looking to lose weight is not to make it feel like a job.”

The rapper also explained that his fitness goal wasn’t to get ripped like Thor or Aquaman. He wants to stay healthy to be with his family.

My fitness goal is staying alive; staying healthy. And watching my kids grow up. Other than that I’m already a sex symbol.

In a photo of Ross from his Instagram posted in January 2021, the rapper has stayed successful in maintaining his weight.

Ross Has Partnered With Telehealth Company Jetdoc to Promote Personal Health

The rapper’s commitment to fitness and health seems to be spilling into his business ventures too. In December 2020, Ross, who is also the owner of Wingstop and Checkers franchises, entered into a strategic partnership with Jetdoc, a new Telehealth platform founded by healthcare entrepreneur Tommy Duncan.

According to the hip hop artist, his reason for backing this telehealth app is to help provide an affordable healthcare option. The entrepreneur stated that he was all too familiar with a situation that millions of Americans face where they avoid doctor visits due to lack of a healthcare plan.