Abraham McDonald: Fitness is something to sing about

Singer Abraham McDonald endured an almost desperate craving for sugar and couldn’t understand why he was consuming so much juice. He felt sick and was constantly irritated by a rash on his arms and his inner thighs.

As he lay in bed one night, he felt so uneasy about allowing himself to fall asleep that he feared he might simply drift off into nonexistence. McDonald wisely stayed up and called his doctor the next the morning.

The doctor diagnosed the eruption on his arms and thighs as a “sugar rash” and immediately checked McDonald’s blood sugar. At 370, it was far too high.

Had his diabetes not been diagnosed in time, the 34-year-old recording artist probably wouldn’t have recordings on the Def Jam/Muzic Wonderful label or appeared on Oprah multiple times. And he probably wouldn’t be the opening act for Monica, or singing at Niecy Nash’s wedding, both upcoming in May.

He also might not have seen his first album—“One”—released this month or be on the edge of realizing his musical dream “to go out into the world and do love music.”

“My sugar craving became crazy,” says McDonald. “Water wouldn’t do it. I should have had an investment in Dole [the large fruit and juice canning and bottling conglomerate].”

Like most people, the recording artist thought he could put just about anything he wanted into his body, and never mind the consequences. He never considered his weight, though he was almost 400 pounds. And the thought of fitness wasn’t even on his radar.

McDonald now understands the power of fitness and how it can be used in the war against diabetes.

“The first thing was convincing myself that I could do it,” he says of dealing with the diabetes. “Most people panic when they face those kinds of crises. The first thing for me was realizing that I didn’t want to endure the things my mom had to endure. She has renal failure and high blood pressure. She has dialysis three times a week. That ultimately gave me the strength to continue. I’m definitely a mama’s boy.

“I found a trainer who liked people. There are a lot of trainers who are militant warriors on fat—‘We must get this off you.’ I found a guy who is really interested in seeing Abraham at his best.

“In some cases it’s been unpleasant. Working out for me was harder than changing the nutrition, but ultimately every time I work out my body is grateful. I can feel my body celebrating. Now, it’s something I love.”

Many diabetics disregard the value of fitness, but the truth is regular physical activity is very helpful and important, according to the “American Diabetes Association Complete Guide to Diabetes,” because it “improves your overall health and helps protect you against heart diseases.”

“It [physical activity] can increase your energy level and help you lose weight or stay at a healthy weight . . . The benefits of regular exercise sound almost too good to be true. But this is one miracle cure that really lives up it advertising.”

People with diabetes are at a greater risk for developing hardening of the arteries, which is often referred to as arteriosclerosis or atherosclerosis. According to the guide, regular exercise, especially aerobic exercise, improves the cardiovascular system (the heart, lungs and blood vessels) and protects against heart disease and stroke by strengthening the heart and circulatory system. People with diabetes are also a greater risk for developing all the cardiovascular diseases, the guide says. “Active movement, the kind that makes you breathe a little deeper and get your heart pumping, improves the flow of blood through your blood vessels.”

Richard K. Bernstein, M.D., in his book, “Diabetes Solutions,” says that “People who aren’t diabetic and exercise strenuously and regularly tend to live longer, are healthier, look healthier and younger, have lower rates of debilitating and incapacitating illnesses such as osteoporosis, heart disease, high blood pressure, memory loss of aging—and the list goes on. Overall, people who exercise regularly are better equipped to carry on day-to-day activities as they age.

“Think of exercise as money in the bank,” writes Bernstein, “every 30 minutes you put into keeping in shape today will not only leave you better off right now, it will pay continuing dividends in the future. If going up the stairs yesterday left you huffing and puffing, in a while you’ll bound the steps. Your strength will likely make you feel younger, possibly more confident. There is evidence that exercise actually does make you look younger; even the skin of those who exercise regularly tends not to age as rapidly.”

As a type 2 diabetic, McDonald realizes that he has a more likely chance of reversing his condition, but of course that depends on how diligent he is about both diet and exercise. “For me, I decided that I didn’t want to be on medicine for the rest of my life,” says McDonald. “Although I do at this point still take the medicine, my dosage is much less. I’ve lost 60 pounds in the last year.”

McDonald found that accepting the diet and nutrition regimen helped him forge new habits for himself. He started taking his mother’s old recipes and reworking them. Instead of making her regular cornbread dressing, he makes rosemary-oyster-rice dressing. And rather than having the six cookies he might have had before, “we’re going to do two. Instead the double chocolate cookie, I’ll do a shortbread cookie.

“Most people encourage you to drop everything when you’re starting to develop another dietary plan. I don’t believe in shocking my system that way. What happens to a lot a people when they remove everything, they find themselves sneaking [and eating things they shouldn’t].”

As for his fitness program, McDonald says when he began he couldn’t do squats and lunges. He couldn’t run either. “The last time I ran, I had to have been in middle school,” says, the California resident but he found a device called a TRX Suspension Trainer very helpful. He describes the TRX as “a seat belt without the buckles.” Actually, it is an elasticized, strap-like device with two handles that can be attached to almost any overhead anchor point, including the top of a door. The straps offer resistance as you exert pressure against them.

McDonald works a lot with free weights, medicines balls and does push-ups and hikes. “I remember when I did my first set of push-up I was so proud of myself,” says the singer. He works out twice a week and, if his schedules allows, hikes twice a week. But he cautions against becoming too attached to any one form of exercise. “You have to be consistent, but change it up,” he says. “That way you don’t get bored.”

“I do my stuff outside. I personally love working outdoors. The training helps shape your body, but hiking helps you drop those calories. One of the things I do before I get on stage is jumping jacks or jump-rope. I do things to wake my body up. You gotta get that blood moving.” McDonald’s initial goal was 6,000 movements a day, which may include almost any type of physical activity.

Medical experts recommend exercise, because muscle cells use more sugar and oxygen “when we’re physically active than when we’re at rest.” During exercise, blood sugar levels drop off.

The two main types of exercise are aerobic and anaerobic. Aerobic exercise includes such things as dancing, walking briskly, jogging, cycling, swimming and team sports.

Anaerobic exercise involves such things as weight lifting, which requires short bursts of energy that work one part of the body at a time. While it builds muscle, it doesn’t strengthen the heart and lungs as much.

Both types of exercise are valuable because strenuous exercise raises the level of serum HDL, which is the good cholesterol. But studies also indicate that weight training lowers the serum levels of LDL, the bad cholesterol.

McDonald’s musical dream of creating love is still out there before him. “That would be the root of it all,” he says. “I was asked the question some time ago—‘What will you champion?’ I replied: to see the world swimming in what God intended love to be.”