Bigger-Than-Life Chef Turns to Health Amid Pandemic

0
385

(News)
– Action Bronson fans know him as a larger-than-life rapper, chef, artist and TV presenter. You might be surprised to learn that the 37-year-old has added a new item to this list – fitness enthusiasts. A New York Times profile of the Brooklynite, real name Ariyan Arslani, shows he has lost 130 pounds since the pandemic began, compared to his peak of 375 pounds. A turning point came in late 2019 when he was denied life insurance after an investigation. “I ate like I was a kid, like a growing boy, everything in sight,” he tells Jon Caramanica. “I felt good, but I knew I wasn’t in a good place. I could barely fit in that chair. My stomach would get caught on the sides.” This lifestyle matched the mood of his cooking show F —, That’s Delicious, which aired on Vice’s cable network and is now on Bronson’s YouTube channel.

But Bronson says it moved into real life and caused friction with his 28-year-old fiancé when they started planning a family. “All you think about is, ‘Will I die at night when I go to sleep?'” He says. At the start of the pandemic in March, Bronson took long walks around town and gradually escalated to jogging and other exercises. He started eating smaller, healthier meals or replacing them with juices and smoothies. On his show, he switched to trying his meals instead of indulging himself. By May, he had lost 60 pounds and went to a New Jersey gym early every morning to work with a trainer. “I needed this work,” he says. “I needed the mental agony. I have to feel like I’m going through hell. My body catches up with my ambition.” (Read the full profile.)