Charles Kelley just celebrated six months of sobriety, no small feat for the Lady A singer. The Georgia native had two other unsuccessful attempts at getting sober, before putting plans in place — including attending a treatment center — to make sure this time he remains sober for good. He also started working on his physical health, going for a run at 5:00 at night, which is when he used to start drinking.

“It’s amazing what not drinking will do,” Kelley tells Men’s Health. “You save yourself, I’m ashamed to say, anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 calories a day in booze — you’re bound to lose some weight. But I look back at pictures from just three months ago. It’s my face, my midsection. I’ve found that it all goes hand in hand. When I’m not drinking, I feel better. So then I work out.”

Kelley does add that he “unapologetically” eats almost a pint of ice cream every day, thanks to his wife, Cassie, gifting him an ice cream maker. But those calories pale in comparison to how much healthier he looks — and feels — now.

“Little by little, these habits come in and then you’re naturally like, ‘Well, I’m working out, not drinking. I’m starting to see results,'” he says.

Lady A postponed their Request Line Tour, originally slated to begin last August, until April of 2023, so Kelley could work on his sobriety. When they do hit the road, Kelley says the tour will be a dry tour, meaning there will not be any alcohol on the buses or backstage. It’s a step he finds a bit ironic, since he remembers how odd it used to seem, when Lady A was opening for other artists early in their career, that other artists didn’t have any alcohol around.

“They’ve been doing this thing for 15, 20 years and are in the same spot that I’m in right now,” Kelley explains. “What do you want out of this life? Do you want to wreck your family and your career? Or do you want to put some things into place to keep it successful?”

Cassie has been an integral part of her husband’s recovery. She spoke out about his sobriety recently on social media, recalling the dark days that led to his choice to stop drinking. Now that Kelley is actively committed to staying sober, she has also learned plenty about the disease of alcoholism, and what does — and does not — work.

“The way I’d kind of handled it prior was like ‘Oh gosh, I have to control this more, and I have to try to control his surroundings and who he’s with,'” she reveals. “You end up driving yourself crazy, trying to control another person in every aspect of their life, when in fact that’s not what works. You have to detach more and just let them make their own decisions, good or bad, and then let them face the consequences, good or bad.”

With the full support of his family and his bandmates, Kelley is more excited than ever about his future, one that doesn’t include alcohol.

“It’s my second half of life,” the 41-year-old says. “I’ve lived 25 years one way, and it was really freaking fun. It was awesome,” he says, adding that there were also some dark days as well. “Now I’ve got this whole second half. All right, that was fun. I did that. Now I’m ready to do this.”

Kelley just released his solo single, “As Far As You Could,” which is his goodbye letter to alcohol.

Lady A’s Request Line Tour will now begin with two back-to-back shows at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on April 14 and 15. Download or stream “As Far As You Could” here.

Read ’12 Country Music Singers Who Are Sober’ here.