Nate Smith Was ‘Slowly Killing Myself’ Before Major Weight Loss

Nate Smith has lost 55 pounds since late 2024, and he says he’s never felt better.

In fact, in a new interview with People, the “World on Fire” star admits that he was experiencing concerning health symptoms before he decided to make a change.

“I didn’t like the way I looked. I didn’t like the way I felt. I didn’t like how I was out of breath all the time and how I’d get dizzy just tying my shoes,” he explains.

“I felt like I was slowly killing myself, and I didn’t know what to do about it.”

He says that other people in his life also expressed concern about his binge eating and drinking habits.

“My parents would come to shows and see me drunk and overeating and stuff, and they’d be scared the way I was living. They were worried I’d have a heart attack or a stroke,” Smith admits.

Read More: Nate Smith Down 50 Pounds After Key Lifestyle Change

Smith explains to People that he struggled with weight since childhood, and that as an adult, he turned to drinking and unhealthy eating to cope with heartbreak, tragedy or periods of stress.

He points to a divorce he went through in his mid-20s which caused him to quit a fledgling music career in Nashville and move back home to California.

In 2018, another devastating event — a wildfire that ravaged his hometown, burning down his home, his brother’s home and his church — reignited the singer’s career. The tragedy spurred him to write a viral song called “One of These Days,” and ultimately led to a record deal and a move back to Nashville.

Smith then saw even more success with his chart-topping mega-hit “World on Fire,” but he was still battling insecurities and demons.

By the summer of 2024, he was deep in a depression, despite the fact that his career had never been hotter: He had one of the biggest country songs of the year, and an opening slot on Morgan Wallen‘s One Night at a Time Tour.

“It was rough,” Smith says. “I knew I was hurting myself, but I couldn’t stop. It was like looking at this mountain and wondering, ‘How do I get up there?’ I didn’t even know where to start.'”

When he first shared his weight loss journey with fans in February, Smith said the changes he made were simple and effective. He cut back drinking and scaled his daily caloric intake down to 2,100, with help from his brother Kyle Smith, who has a diet cookbook and worked with him to craft a plan of low calorie, high protein meals.

Now, he says, he’s gone from 280 pounds to 225 in just four months.

“It’s changed the way I perform onstage. I have a lot more energy,” he reflects.

Smith also says that making physical changes has had a dramatic, positive effect on his mental health.

“It’s a concept I heard a million times: ‘You gotta love yourself before you love someone else,’ but it’s kinda true,” he goes on to say. “Because I’m not so insecure about myself, it’s helped me be more present. And it’s changed the way I can love people. I feel free.”