Mustard Explains the Lifestyle Changes That Helped Him Lose 120 Pounds

Mustard is opening up about body image and developing healthy habits. The hitmaking superproducer teamed up with Men’s Health for their lifestyle series “Gym & Fridge,” and he shared his weight loss journey. Mustard (born Dijon McFarlane) revealed that he was initially motivated to lose weight during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic back in 2020. 

“I am an extreme hypochondriac. When COVID first hit, the news was like, ‘If you get COVID and you’re obese, you’re going to die!’” Mustard shares. “I definitely thought I was going to die. So I was just like, I can’t catch COVID and be this big. I was like 270 during COVID.”

Frightened by news reports, Mustard reacted immediately. 

“I was fortunate enough to go outside, get on my Peloton," he explained. “Would walk outside the neighborhood, do sprints up the hills because it’s a lot of hills over here. 

At 5’7", Mustard was previously up to 340 pounds, and his lifestyle was extremely unhealthy. And the producer, who has worked with everyone from Kendrick Lamar to YG, was drinking lean (codeine syrup), and eating fast food regularly on top of drinking tequila constantly. 

“I used to eat fried chicken for, maybe, lunch, and then burger and fries for dinner — maybe fried chicken again,” he told  Men's Health. He explained that changing his diet was the first step towards getting healthier, and he saw an immediate difference when he cut back on the drive-thru and fired up his grill. 

“I used to just be all over the place with eating,” admitted Mustard, who lost over 120 pounds on his journey. “I started going on my smokers, or, like, my grill. Making fish – I’d come in here (to the kitchen) and make spinach and make corn on the grill. And I started eating that every single day.”

Now his daily routine features trips to the gym and regular activity — on top of eating better. 

“I get up at 6 a.m.,” he continued, admitting that he “can’t sleep late.” “[I have] black coffee, go to the gym, maybe grab a green tea. [Then I] go play tennis for a couple of hours. I eat some kiwi and blueberries.”

Mustard also champions raw white gold honey, boiled eggs, and arugula salad. 

“The only thing I change is the protein,” says Mustard. “It might be chicken one day, might be steak [another], might be ground beef.”