Country-Rap Artist Colt Ford Making Healthier Choices After Near-Fatal Heart Attack

Colt Ford performs at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge Annual Birthday Bash in Nashville, Tenn., on Sept. 17, 2023. Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Country rap-star Colt Ford is embracing a healthier lifestyle after a heart attack last year gave him the wake-up call he needed.

In an interview with People magazine published on Feb. 5, the 55-year-old explained how eliminating certain food and beverages, including his favorites—fried chicken and Mountain Dew—made all the difference.

“I loved that stuff,” said Ford “I was a terrible eater.”

Ford was hospitalized on April 4, 2024, after suffering a heart attack that left him on life support in the ICU and in an eight-day coma.

The “Slow Ride” singer weighed 340 pounds at one point and realized the health scare was a blessing in disguise, prompting him to make healthier and more conscious choices.

On his birthday in August 2024, Ford even turned down an outing to one of his staple restaurants, coming to terms with his new habits.

“When I woke up, my wife Megan goes, ‘ I’ll take you to Waffle House,’” and I said, ‘Nah, I don’t want to go.’ That’s when I knew I had won. I broke the habit.”

However, the musician hasn’t sworn off eating at fast-food joints but rather opted for options that do not stray from the goal at hand.

“I’ve changed everything. If I go by Whataburger, I'll eat a grilled chicken sandwich. I don’t do all the fries and stuff,” he said. “McDonald’s used to be my [expletive] and I loved it, but I haven’t even craved it.”

Prior to his start in the music industry, Ford was a professional golfer who made his PGA Tour Champions debut in 2020, but despite being an athlete, he did not pay much attention to his overall health.

He has had previous health scares in the past, battling eye cancer in 2021, and in the following year, a diagnosis of myasthenia gravis, a chronic autoimmune disorder that affects the nerves and muscles, causing weakness.

Currently, Ford weighs 190 pounds, and after hospitalization and two months of rehabilitation, he’s is grateful to be alive.

“I’m wearing a 32-inch waist now instead of 44—but I’ve told everybody there’s much easier diets,” he joked. “I’m looking at it as a blessing. I’m going to be healthier than I’ve ever been.”

In conjunction with his improved eating habits, Ford has become more active and regularly uses the treadmill, in hopes of maintaining his weight loss and rebuilding lost muscle.

Meanwhile, Ford is keeping busy and is slated to make a performing comeback when he hits the road again in March.

He is also releasing a new single, “Hell Out of It,” with Michael Ray this month, a song that was written prior to his heart attack.

“God has more for me to do,“ Ford said. ”For some reason, he saw fit to give me another chance, so I intend to do something positive with it.”