Chaka Khan said her recent weight loss which has resulted in her losing 60 pounds was due to her discovering she suffers from diabetes.
Khan, 59, was diagnosed with the blood sugar condition last year. She said the condition, and winning custody of her young granddaughter, were just the kick starts she needed to begin her drastic weight loss program, which involved fasting and adopting a vegan diet.
She told Essence.com, “I had diabetes type two and high blood pressure. I adopted my 10-year-old granddaughter last year. I have to be there for her. I knew I couldn’t go out like this so I just fasted for, like, a month, then I went vegan and went off meats and all dairy and anything with eyes. If I have a craving for a little baked fish or something I might eat it. But that’s about it. I’ve mostly been doing a lot of high-protein foods and a lot of vegetables and exercise…
I felt like I need to heal my body, so I would just fast and eat no meat, no dairy. I’ve never been a fan of meat, dairy and sugar. And when I developed diabetes last year I said, ‘Oh OK, I’m not going to be here long. A change is coming.’ So I started getting my mindset, then I started the fasting.”
Khan continues, “I don’t like exercising at all. I guess if I had one (exercise) of choice it would be walking. I do not run and I’m losing, like, on average about five pounds a month. I’ve lost 60 pounds since October.”
