Luke Combs Gets Real About ‘Constant Battle’ With Self-Doubt and Weight Loss

Even as one of country music’s biggest stars, Luke Combs admits that self-doubt has followed him throughout his journey to stardom, and it’s something he still faces today. But that uncertainty was never about his talent, it was about his appearance.

During an in-depth conversation with Popcast’s Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli of The New York Times, the country star admits that the insecurities were very prominent early on in his career, to the point that he feared he may never make it simply because he saw himself as a “bigger dude.”

“There’s a lot of self-doubt in that department…I knew I could perform as good as anybody, I felt like, and put on a good show and write songs that I felt like people would enjoy,” he shared. “And I was just like, that was one of my biggest fears is…maybe I don’t get a shot just because of the way I look. You know what I mean? And that was a hard pill to swallow cause you can’t really change the way you look.”

Clearly, these concerns did not get in the way of the multi-platinum, award-winning artist from achieving massive success in his career. However, it is still an ongoing struggle in his mind, especially with his demanding life as an artist and a dad of three.

“It bugs me a lot that I can’t figure it out…it’s like this puzzle I can’t figure out, and I know people are going to say, ‘well, just don’t eat as much’ or whatever. It’s like, well, yeah, I’ve f**king tried that. I’ve already tried that kind of thing. But it’s a constant battle with two kids and the job that I have,” he explained. “Trying to wear all the hats is really difficult. Trying to be the best version of myself physically and mentally is a job.”

Combs says he has experimented with a mix of diet, fitness and lifestyle changes to stay healthy. He has created a routine that includes the sauna and a cold plunge on top of working out around five days a week. The North Carolina native has also been fasting for the past year and tries to be gluten free as much as he can for both his physical and mental health.

When he first started eliminating gluten from his diet, it was primarily to help manage a rare form of OCD that has affected him most of his life.

“Basically, that just means your compulsions are strictly mental, so there’s no outward compulsions. When you think of people that don’t know what OCD is, they think about like, oh, the light’s not straight, so you got to straighten the light out. And that’s kind of what OCD is…but it’s not really,” he explained. “The way of overcoming it is all the same. And so all of my compulsions are mental intrusive thoughts.”

Combs continued, “So that’s where the gluten-free stuff came from. I was trying to get to the bottom of why am I having this? Obviously, there’s just some genetic things that can’t be overcome and dealing with it is a big part of, and I’m very good at dealing with it now after years and years of struggling with it. But the gluten-free thing is to basically bring down the frequency of how often I have to deal with it…It’s been very effective, yeah.”

Once he got used to this shift in the way he was eating, he decided to take it to the next level and try fasting as a way to control another major problem, insulin resistance.

“I’ve been doing the fasting for close to a year now and the gluten free thing for about two and a half, obviously I still have some drinks and stuff. So it’s not super, super strict, but I just try to avoid it anytime I can.”

Even with all the changes he’s made, Luke Combs admits that staying on top of his health is still a constant challenge. He feels frustrated that he hasn’t fully conquered it yet, but that hasn’t diminished his determination. For him, it’s not about taking shortcuts or looking for a quick fix, it’s about facing the struggles head-on and seeing it through, no matter how difficult it gets.

“It’s just been like this impossible nut to crack for me. And I will do it, but I’m not going to do it the short way. And not that there’s anything wrong with that,” he admitted. “Fo rme, I need to win the thing. I need to beat myself in this, whatever this thing is we’re doing. I have such a hard time with it. And it’s like I hate that. I hate having a hard time with it, but it’s just, it is the way it is.”

Even with the personal challenges he faces, the North Carolina native continues to pour himself into his music while navigating his family and health.