The journey of former Dancing With The Stars contestant, Chaz Bono’s weight loss is commendable. Many of his fans and supporters are curious about how he lost weight, his current diet, and what weight loss exercises he did to lose over 60 pounds!
Are you also wondering how he pulled that off? You’re in the right place! Before we delve into his weight loss journey, let’s get acquainted with Chaz Bono.
Who Is Chaz Bono?
Chaz Salvatore Bono (formerly known as Chastity Sun Bono) is a transsexual man born on 4th March 1969 in Los Angeles, California. He’s the only child of Cher and the late Sonny Bono.
He became popular at a young age because of his frequent appearance on his entertainer parents’ variety show, The Sonny and Cher comedy hour. Chaz is presently a writer, actor, and musician.
Chaz Bono Lifelong Struggles
Weight
Being born into what is considered a thin family put Sonny Bono’s son under constant pressure as his mother, Cher, constantly put him on diets, although Chaz Bono was never overweight as a child.
Then Chastity, Chaz was only slightly chubby, but his parents considered being slim a priority.
Gender and Sexuality
Long before transitioning to another gender, Chaz Salvatore Bono came out to both his parents about being a lesbian when he was 18. In his book, Family Outing, he said he had always felt connected to different stuff from other girls and realized he was gay when he was 13.
Parental Acceptance
After coming out to his parents, Chaz’s relationship with his father, Sonny Bono, became strained as his father was a Republican congressman from California. Their political views constantly clashed, and they were still not on good terms when Sonny died in 1998.
His mother, Cher, wasn’t okay with her daughter being gay. According to Cher’s son, she went ballistic before finally coming to terms with the truth of Chaz’s sexuality.
Even Cher, in her own words, said:
“It wasn’t easy. Like I remember calling, and the old message — the old Chaz message was on the phone — and that was very difficult. But then you have one child, but you don’t really lose them — they just are in a different shape.“
After that, Cher became a supporter of the LGBT community herself.
Gender Transitioning
Chaz’s journey to transition from female to male began in 2008. He recalled being in New York and mistaking his gender identity for sexual orientation. He was drawn to and had relationships with women, but he didn’t feel like a good lesbian despite having several long-term relationships with women.
Chaz attributed these feelings to realizing he had always felt he was a man. He said he felt at peace after coming out as trans. He began the transitioning process by changing his legal name from Chastity to Chaz.
Chaz Bono’s body shape suffered due to his struggle with the feeling that he was born in the wrong body. He drank, smoked, and had a drug addiction before and during the transition. He also struggled with fluctuating weight.
In an effort to lose weight, he joined Celebrity Fit Club in 2005. He achieved results, but they did not last. He attributes this primarily to cravings, his mother’s childhood perfection standards, and fluctuating hormones after he began transitioning in 2008.
Dancing With the Stars
In September 2011, Bono joined the American version of Dancing With The Stars. He was paired with Lacey Schwimmer, a professional ballroom dancer.
Although the duo got eliminated after the 6th episode, aired on 25th October 2011, Chaz had already made a mark in history.
LGBT Activist
Chaz Bon is a tireless advocate of the LGBT community. Being a transgender man put him on the map, and he struggled with not just his gender identity but also his sexuality.
Bono wrote two books about his struggles with his transitioning and sexuality: Family Outing and Transition. He also made a documentary about his life called Becoming Chaz.
Chaz Bono’s Weight Loss Journey
A significant factor that aided Chaz Bono’s weight loss journey was his ability to finally accept the gender he’s always felt connected to his whole life.
Before getting into Chaz Bono’s weight loss journey, let’s touch on why he decided to lose weight.
Why Did Chaz Bono Lose Weight?
Before deciding to embark on a weight loss journey, Chaz Bono’s weight was 250 pounds, and compared to his 5ft 1.5 inches height, he was overweight.
Finally comfortable with his gender, he decided to take more interest in his weight and start his weight loss journey. In November 2012, Bono vowed to lose 50 pounds.
How Did Chaz Bono Lose Weight?
To successfully shed pounds, Chaz Bono used TV to keep himself consistent by getting help from celebrity doctor Travis Stork in the show Doctors. The doctors warned him he would have to stick to what they recommended.
To get to a healthy weight and keep the extra pounds off, Dr. Travis made him a combined weight loss regimen of healthy diet habits and enjoyable weight loss exercises.
No-Diet Regimen
Instead of using a complicated diet or meal plan, Chaz lost weight using good old-fashioned methods such as healthier food choices. In an interview with People Magazine, he said, “Diets don’t work. You just have to change what you eat, and I have.“
He also added that “I cook a lot of different stuff. I really avoid grains and starches, so meats and vegetables, and fruits are my diets. I make them all different ways to keep things interesting.“
In a tweet, Chaz Bono gave more tips on his weight loss diet.
Eating healthy foods plays a significant role in weight loss, which is why Chaz Bono used Freshology to plan his meals as part of his weight loss journey.
Utilizing Diet-to-Go, Freshology is a meal delivery service that sends its customers fresh or frozen food weekly. To ensure they eat what they enjoy, each client can personalize their meal plans.
Because it is convenient and calorie-controlled, Freshology is effective. Chaz incorporated what he discovered from Freshology into the way he eats.
Most dietitians concur that while a diet may produce short-term improvements, it is unreliable for long-term healthy living. Your metabolism slows as your body sheds pounds, making maintaining weight loss more challenging.
Chaz Bono’s Workout Plan
Asides from developing healthy eating habits, exercising is another verified way of shedding body weight. In Chaz Bono’s weight loss journey, he didn’t only take caution over what he would eat or his meal plan but also indulged in exercises that he could enjoy in his own right.
Focusing on only what you eat would only have a short-term effect on your body and weight loss journey, so it would be better to add exercises to your plan. Here are some exercises that worked for Chaz Bono’s weight loss.
Martial Arts Training
Martial arts provide a complete body workout. In martial arts, every bodily part moves and stretches. It is a strenuous exercise for weight loss. Chaz Bono practiced martial arts regularly and had fun doing it. So, it was easy for his pleasurable hobby to aid his weight loss efforts.
The logic is easy: it’s simpler to develop a regular habit when you love something.
Whether you practice slower-paced or moderately-paced martial arts will significantly determine how many calories you burn during a martial arts class.
Martial arts with a slower tempo can burn between 475 and 575 calories per hour, while those with a moderate tempo can burn up to 900 calories.
Kickboxing
Chaz Bono’s weight loss adventure also included other fun physical activities such as kickboxing.
Kickboxing is a type of cardio exercise. It aids in the burning of a large number of calories during the exercise session. In just 30 minutes of intense kickboxing, you can burn up to 350 calories.
Dancing
Bono, a former Dancing With the Stars contestant, enjoyed his time on the show so much that he took dance classes to help him lose weight!
It’s unclear what kind of dance classes he took, but it’s safe to say dancing is a fun way to exercise.
People are more likely to enjoy dancing as an exercise because it is fun. The number of calories you burn depends on your dance type, as different styles emphasize different muscles and movements.
Chaz Bono Before and After
The change in Chaz’s form is amazing. Below are some pictures of his body transformation:
Chaz Bono Before and After Losing Weight
After losing over 60lb, the star is more confident about his looks. He said he is very comfortable and satisfied with what he consumes now, and for him, it feels like a miracle because he never knew he could become this kind of person.
He also added that in his personality, he sees an increase in his confidence and likes what he sees when he looks in a mirror.
Key Takeaway From Chaz Bono’s Weight Loss Journey
The odds were stacked against Bono losing weight, but it appears he finally broke his cycle of yo-yo dieting. He appears to have maintained his physique eight years after celebrating his weight loss.
Take it from Bono, who said he cooks meat, avoids eating grains, and sticks to eating healthier food: going on a diet rich in meat might be the key to losing weight!
