Rick Ross overhauled his eating habits to help shed weight

Hip-hop star Rick Ross has credited an overhaul of his diet and eating habits with helping him shed almost a third of his body weight in less than a year.

The Here I Am hitmaker, who previously battled health issues after suffering a series of seizures on board a flight bound for Florida in 2011, used to tip the scales at 300 pounds (136 kilograms), but after switching to drinking more water and only diet sodas and curbing his penchant for big meals in the middle of the night, he has managed to lose almost 100 pounds (45 kilograms) in seven months.

He explains to the Associated Press, "I used to eat big meals at 2 am and base it on my schedule. But I don't do that no more (sic)."

However, Ross insists his new diet plan doesn't mean he can't treat himself once in a while: "I just went to Prime 112 (in Miami, Florida) the other night, and I had some fried Oreos and fried velvet cake. I treated myself. You wake up in the morning, you might regret it. But you got to get back to work."

Ross has also been getting healthy by working out using a tough CrossFit program, dubbed Ross Fit, and he's recruited a group of pals, including pal DJ Khaled, to help keep him on track.

He says, "CrossFit overall is more of an intense workout. So instead of doing 20 minutes on the treadmill, you'll (do) a 20-minute CrossFit workout and you'll be not only building your endurance, but also muscle simultaneously."