Randy Jackson former American Idol judge on his weight loss journey. Back in 2002, in the middle of his second-life changing period as a judge on American Idol, the former musician and producer was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. At that time, he told the press he weighed 350 upwards and spent most of his life consuming his way through poor habits.
Randy astounded
audiences in 2003 after undergoing gastric bypass surgery. The procedure took
place after being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, a gastric bypass is a
procedure that minimizes your stomach and streamlines your digestive tracts,
and later revealed serious weight loss while appearing on American Idol.
However, the surgery was just the first step towards Randy’s better health
journey.
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| Photo: Courtesy of Randy Jackson | Instagram |
In the last couple
decades, Randy Jackson has clearly changed the American pop culture making way
for game shows and reality contests gracing our televisions today. The fans of American
Idol and America’s Best Dance Crew have had the chance to witness
Jackson’s journey to becoming an entertainment icon unfold together with a
glimpse at his own personal health transformation as well.
“I started
on this health regimen many years ago while I was on American Idol…Lost a ton
of weight, started gaining it back,” he explained discussing his 100-pound-plus
weight loss in the years after his surgery. “Then, I went on my own journey to
try and discover. How do I keep it off? What do I do?” Randy told the anchors Hoda
Kotb and Jenna Bush-Hager that his health is still a work in a progress during
his recent guesting on the Today show.
Randy has
freely spoken about the challenges and obstacles he has faced since 2003 and
the answer hasn’t always been clear for him. Challenges such as sometimes with
managing his weight, other times with living with diabetes. He has undoubtedly
come a long way since the diagnosis, though, telling Hoda and Jenna that his new
outlook on health has been, “a long time running, a long time coming,” Randy
said.
Let’s take a
look at how Randy Jackson has worked at transforming his own view on health,
plus how he has managed his incredible weight loss, in his own way.
Being
Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes -
RandyJackson opened up about his initial diagnosis in a self-help guide he wrote in
2008, called Body with Soul. The diagnosis is something he referred to as “both
a blessing and a curse.” He has always credited his experience with the disease
as the motivation for the necessary change in his health.
“It’s a
curse to be saddled with a disease that is life-threatening and that you can’t
completely get rid of, though you can certainly manage it,” Randy wrote in a
book. “But it’s a blessing to get that huge wake-up call. After that day in the
ER, when my doctor burst the bubble I’d been living in, I couldn’t lie to
myself anymore. Right there and then, I began my journey towards better
health.”
When he was
diagnosed with the disease, Randy turned to doctors to learn everything he
could about the illness, including potential side effects like heart disease,
blindness or even nerve damage and possible amputation if left untreated. “I
realized a lot of things that can happen if you don’t manage it, which is why I
encourage everyone to do so,” Randy told Health Magazine in 2012.
Diet Fads
Just Didn’t Work Out -
When he wrote
his self-help guide Body with Soul, Randy explained how he eventually ended
up in a place where he could break years of bad dietary habits, and it had a
lot to do with his wake-up call. “Diets, liquid fasts, weight-loss medications,
you name it, and none of them ever worked for long. But when I wound up at the
hospital, I had to face up to why all those methods failed,” he shared.
Randy later
told WebMD that he also tried things like liquid fasts and may have even
considered apitherapy, a controversial method involving bee stings, before he
realized why short-term solutions didn’t work out for him. “The problem is that
those diets don’t work for people who had the disease of obesity,” he said in
2008.
For Randy,
the complications surrounding the Type 2 diabetes and its potential side
effects scared him, and helped him realize that his determination needed to
change. “Not to be very dramatic, but it had really come down to a matter of
life and death…I had to figure out what would work for me, and ultimately I
did.”
Keeping
Off the Weight -
In the 19
years since he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, Randy has told the press
that he has managed to lose and keep off no less than 114 pounds in his new
routine. But it wasn’t a quick and easy change for Randy.
Randy mentioned
that he had a hard time adapting better dietary habits after undergoing gastric
bypass surgery, and he actually gained some weight back after the procedure.
Randy told WebMD
in 2008 that his life in television and music meant that it wasn’t always easy
to eat healthily, streamlining his diet required a lot of effort on his behalf.
“After the show, everybody hangs out and eats and drinks,” he explained. “There
are all kinds of sandwiches plus chips, cheeses, cookies, cakes, candy, beer,
wine.” Randy worked to completely changed the foods he ate on a regular basis
after his initial weight gain.
“You have to
almost have a complete divorce break up…and start back bit by bit and find out
the things that work with your body and you also find out the allergies and
really pay attention to how you feel,” he told the press in 2020.
Healthier
Makeover Recipe Favorites -
Randy had
grown up on recipes that were decadent in nature, as a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
“I grew up in Louisiana, so my diet was rich southern fried foods,” he told Health.
His favorites included gumbo, sausage and grits, and plenty of jambalayas. He
later shared in a WebMD profile that he didn’t give up all of these
favorite meals entirely but modified them with healthier changes and
substitutes. “It’s all about being aware of who you are, knowing your body, and
accepting that, “he said.
Maintaining
Moderation Is Key -
Randy told
WebMD, “Never say ‘I will never have another piece of chocolate’ because it
won’t happen. And as soon as you say never, there is a binge coming,” adding
that he modified his own sweet tooth by balancing occasional chocolate with
frozen yogurt. It seems that moderation is at the core of Randy’s long-term
commitment to health: He’ll allow himself to have, say, a full serving of one
kind of potatoes at a holiday meal, but not two or more carb-heavy sides.
Firing Up
the Fitness Routine -
Randy shared
with Health that he only exercised about 30 minutes each week, before
being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which is about two hours short of the
minimum recommended amount of exercise. While exercise is necessary to help
keep his weight and diabetes in check, Randy didn’t immediately start into an
intense gym routine. In fact, he began modifying his fitness routine by simply
walking every single day even for just 10 minutes. “I needed to start with
something I could do that was simple,” he said.
After 35 to
45 minutes of walking or light jogging, Randy also turns to yoga, which has its
own benefits. “I have become accustomed to yoga and I love the stretching and
how it makes my body feel better and looser.”
Eventually,
Randy made it over to the gym for a more focused workout. He usually starts his
routine by hopping on a treadmill, which he keeps right next to his bed. “It’s
right there staring at me, going, ‘Come here.’ You know you need this,” he
shared with WebMD.
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