Chris Young is a bit less of the man he used to be. The 38-year-old revealed recently, by way of a selfie he posted on social media, that he had lost 60 pounds, part of his mission to become healthier and stronger.

“This year has been dedicated to a lot of work on myself,” Young captions the photo. “Music wise AND in the gym. Still not done, but down 60 pounds so yeah… Gonna leave this here.”

 

Now. Young is opening up about how he shed the pounds, and what he is doing moving forward to keep the weight off, and stay as healthy as possible.

“I love to cook and so I just lean more into that,” Young tells Fox News, although he acknowledges that he doesn’t always enjoy having to cut out some of the foods that he loves.

“It sucks …I couldn’t cut certain things out,” he admits. “If I was going to say I cut anything out of my diet, it was I didn’t order pizza at midnight.”

“I’ve been cooking my own food a lot more,” he adds. “I wasn’t taking the time to [cook for myself]. I’m also working out a little bit more,”

Young makes more of his meals at home now, and has made going to the gym a priority, usually in the morning, even if he’s been out late the night before. As for the impetus for the change, the Grand Ole Opry member says it’s largely because of his new album he is working on, slated to be released next year.

“I knew I was going to be in the studio a lot and I was like, ‘You know what? I want to work on myself as well as the music all at the same time this year,'” he says.

Young currently has a Top 15 hit with “Looking for You.” Written by Young, along with Chris DeStefano, James McNair and Emily Weisband, the song is a feel-good reminder that love sometimes comes at the most unexpected time.

“This actually just came from a place of, sometimes you’re looking for love and can’t find it,” Young explains. “And then sometimes you’re like, ‘I give up,’ and it just smacks you in the face like a freight train out of nowhere.

“And I think a lot of people have been through that before where they just see somebody walk in, even if they weren’t looking for anyone, they just find someone and it’s like, ‘This is perfect,'” he adds. “And so that was kind of the genesis of the idea of this song.”

The Tennessee native also recently released “Young Love & Saturday Nights,” crediting the late David Bowie as a writer on the song, due to being inspired by the guitar lick in Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel.”

“When I first heard this song, I immediately connected with the groove and the lyrics with nods to so many things I can personally relate to,” Young shares. “It made me think back to when I first got started playing country dive bars and it was the same kind of thing. I drove a beat-up truck to and from gigs where I played music hoping the audiences would relate… and if I’m being honest, hoping the girls would like it too.”

“Young love and Saturday nights are things that just go together and this feels like one of those big summer songs where you just want to roll the windows down, crank up the volume, and just drive around to it,” he adds.

All of Young’s music and upcoming shows can be found at music and tour dates at ChrisYoungCountry.com.