For Busta Rhymes, 2020 was all about taking control of his health.
The Grammy-nominated rapper has lost 100 pounds over the past year and is excited to be in the best shape of his life at 48 years old.
Rhymes, whose real name is Trevor Smith Jr., opened up to Men’s Health about his health transformation for the magazine’s January-February 2021 issue and shared the secrets to his weight-loss success.
The rapper, who released his latest album, “Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God,” last October, told the magazine that he began to neglect his health while working on the project.
“Believe it or not, I made the album when I was at my most unhealthy,” he said. “I was so focused on the music being the best that it could be, I didn’t put any time into taking care of myself.”
After he lost a good friend in 2012 and his father passed away in 2014, Rhymes threw himself into his work and focused on taking care of his six children. As a result, he began to abandon his diet and fitness routine.
In early 2019, the rapper learned that he needed emergency surgery after a doctor discovered that Rhymes had polyps in his throat that were restricting 90% of his breathing. It was at that point when he realized he needed to make some life changes.
“That’s when I knew s— was serious,” he said. “The doctor told me that if I caught a cold or slept wrong that I could die … It felt like this was on me now, and I had to steer things in a different direction. I was too young to be on all of these blood-pressure medications and acid-reflux medications.”
Soon afterward, professional bodybuilder Dexter Jackson tagged Rhymes in an Instagram post, and the rapper decided to reach out.
“I hit him in the DM, I told him I needed his help, and I gave him my number, and he hit me back right away,” he said.
Less than a month later, Rhymes packed his bags and moved to Jacksonville, Florida, to begin training with Jackson for 30 days. He trained three times a day on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and two times a day on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Diet played a big role in the rapper’s weight loss as well, and Rhymes committed to eating healthy meals like egg whites and oatmeal every 2 1/2 hours, followed by a workout and then a 10-ounce steak.
Rhymes gained about 50 pounds of muscle and his weight went from 290 to 340 pounds initially. After training in Florida for 30 days, Rhymes and Jackson went to Los Angeles and continued to work together. Then, the rapper returned to New York and began training five days a week with Victor Munoz, a coach at PROEdge.
The musician first revealed his weight loss in October and shared before and after photos on Instagram.
“DON’T EVER GIVE UP ON YOURSELF!! LIFE BEGINS RIGHT NOW!!!” he wrote in the caption.
These days, Rhymes weighs 254 pounds and is sleeping and moving better. He’s also maintaining his weight by focusing on healthy eating and says he continues to eat oatmeal and eggs for breakfast, a salad at lunch and fish or steak with veggies for dinner.
This content was originally published here.
