Ice-T likes regularity. He’s played Sergeant Tutuola on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit since 2000. And every single day, he does the same workout, plays the same video games, and eats the same breakfast. That breakfast? Cheerios. “My favorite are honey nut,” he tells GQ on the heels of his recent partnership with the brand for February's National Heart Month.
It's all part of an overall focus on his health. “I'm one of the older hip-hop cats. I just turned 64. People are like, ‘wow, you don't look 64’ all the time, and I tell them that’s because I take care of myself,” he says, pointing out that African Americans are more likely to be diagnosed with high blood pressure and die from heart disease.
“I’ve seen some of my friends pass away in their forties from just neglect," he says. "It's a wake up call now, as men—especially black men—we don't go to the doctor until something's wrong. I want guys to know it's okay to look out for your health, care about your family, and care about your loved ones.”
GQ recently caught up with Ice-T to hear more about his diet and daily routine, which includes intermittent fasting, an exercise snacks-friendly workout routine, and a lot of things in moderation.
For Real-Life Diet, GQ talks to athletes, celebrities, and other high performers about their diet, exercise routines, and pursuit of wellness. Keep in mind that what works for them might not necessarily be healthy for you.
GQ: Aren’t Cheerios for kids?
Ice-T: Hey, I love them. My mother taught me medicine doesn't always taste good. But with Cheerios, you’ve finally got something that tastes good and is also healthy. I've been eating Cheerios my whole life—little did I know that Cheerios have been the number one cereal for 60 something years. They’re good for me. They’re good for my heart.
What time do you usually have your cereal?
Well first I wake up between 5 and 5:45 a.m. on the days I have to be on set for Law and Order by 7. I take about 15 minutes to get myself together, and then I work out.
What’s that workout look like?
I have an elastic resistance band. So I’ll stand on that, even sometimes in my closet, and I’ll do 100 biceps curls. Then, I go downstairs. I might take a sip of an energy drink because I need a little boost and I don't drink coffee. Then I’ll go to my small gym and I’ll do 10 pull-ups, 25 dips, and 25 to 50 bench presses every single morning. That whole workout right there takes less than 10 or 15 minutes. I have always felt that anything is better than nothing.
What happens after the workout?
Then I’ll get to set, and that’s when I’ll have my cereal. After the cereal, I try to skip lunch because I’m into intermittent fasting. So cereal's kind of like cheating, but I haven't eaten all night.
Why do you do intermittent fasting?
At this point in my life, you know, I'm trying to push positive things. Us gangster rappers—me, Snoop, everybody—we've always been the bad guys. It was time for us to be the good guys right now. So I want to be the best version of myself.
Do you have any snacks at all?
I'll eat a Snickers bar or—I'm not much into vegetables, but like if they have cucumbers or other veggies and dips on set, I’ll eat those. What you put in your body is kind of like a religion to me. It’s like what music you listen to, what you believe, and what you eat are all very important. I'm doing okay. I'm still doing concerts. I'm running around here. I'm in pretty good shape. That’s what’s important.
What’s for dinner?
I'm into moderation. I don't not eat anything, so I’ll enjoy anything from tacos to pasta. We eat out about twice a week. And while I like fancy restaurants like Mr. Chow, I just got to a point where I don’t need to be eating steak and lobster and spending that kind of money all the time. If I'm eating steak, I might eat steak once a week.
One exercise that I know of is the push away. Have you ever heard of that?
Talk to me about it.
It’s when you take that bite of food, but the plate is still full, you then push it away. You take it and wrap it up and say, we’ll take it home. We've been trained to eat everything that's on that plate, and that's not necessary, especially because you might be full even though you have things on your plate. I've learned it's better to stay hungry than to always get full.
What time are you done with dinner and winding down?
At home, I play my video games. That's how I relax. When I'm thinking about the problem the guy in the video game has, I can't think about my life. I'm now caught up in their dragons or monsters, or whatever's chasing me. It blocks me out from what I'm dealing with.
We then turn off our phones in our house at 8 p.m. I have a sweet tooth, so I might take a cookie or a Twinkie or something upstairs to bed with me. Then Coco and I get into bed, usually Chanel [Ice-T's daughter] jumps in between us, and we’ll watch TV from 10 until midnight, when we get to sleep.
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By Mick Rouse