Maks Chmerkovskiy News: 'DWTS' Pro Has Strong Feelings About America's 'Unhealthy' Diet [EXCLUSIVE]
Maksim Chmerkovskiy, the Dancing With the Stars pro, thinks he has a solution to the modern American diet crisis and skyrocketing obesity rate.
It's no secret obesity and the diseases related to it are plaguing America. Studies have shown that over 1/3 of Americans are obese, and the cost to treat diseases like diabetes continues to rise. But such startling statistics and costs can be avoided, or at the very least reduced, according to Chmerkovskiy.
"When we started to make our food supply be convenient I think we lost a lot of nutrients and a lot of values over our food, and we see that now," Chmerkovskiy told Enstars exclusively. "I can't say I have a diet plan -- I think I have a plan to live. I've completely eliminated all of the [bad] entities in my food. The only things I can't control are some of the restaurants that I don't know. In places where I live or where I go I research, I find restaurants that serve organic, I find restaurants that are a bit more farm-friendly."
Chmerkovskiy has also restricted his diet to no corn, corn starch, sugars, as well as "almost all of the grains in terms of breads and pastas and things like that. We have different sources of carbs that are good carbs."
The 36-year-old dancer also takes vitamins from LivOn, a lypo-spheric supplement company. Chmerkovskiy believes taking these supplements will have you seeing the results right away, including increasing your energy level, skin improvements, elasticity, blood flow and alertness.
The dancer spoke on Americans not getting the right amount of vitamins and nutrients, especially Vitamins C and D, and how dire they can for survival.
"We are not getting [Vitamin D] from the sun nearly enough. We spend most of our time in shade, indoors, in cars, in buses, in whatever. So you have to get it from elsewhere," he said. "We don't eat enough food that has Vitamin D in it. It's impossible. So you have to get it supplementally. We don't get enough Vitamin C at all and it's literally the most important thing. Some studies show cancer-preventative functions."
Diet is often considered more important than exercise when it comes to getting in shape, but Chmerkovskiy also stresses the necessity of working out on a consistent basis.
"If you go to the gym, you have to sweat, you have to be drenched. If you are not, you haven't done anything," Chmerkovskiy stated. "You thought about this, you did some reps, you walk out of the gym, you have a little sweat spot on your chest and your armpits and you feel like you've done a lot? That's awful, that's why we're fat. You know how many people I see walk out of the gym and grab a soda? And I'm like what the f---? What is this? It doesn't even make sense. Or grab a cigarette. But that's why we have problems. The problem is that you're unhealthy from the inside. You may not feel it. You may not have any diseases. But you're just not clean. You're not working properly on the inside."
There's always the concern among the busiest of everyday people when it comes to eating right and exercising that there's simply not enough time in the day to do it. Yet, even if it's easier to go to the vending machine for a chocolate bar, Chmerkovskiy admits that it's "literally one of the dumbest things I hear" when people say they're too busy to eat well and work out.
"If you're very busy, it means that you're a professional person and your career is important to you. Well if career is important to you, wouldn't it be as important to you that you are able to have it?" Chmerkovskiy observed. "Every time you take a soda, stab yourself in the leg with a fork. And tell me what happens with your leg after a while. You're not letting it heal. You're not letting it live. You're self-inflicting these wounds. So that's what happens to your gastrointestinal tract when you drink soda. That's what happens with your liver, with your kidneys, it takes your stomach lining and it f---in' burns it off. And you get a hole in your stomach. ... Again, because you had no time so you grabbed coffee to keep yourself going? What kind of job requires you to die?"
Of course, not all of these nutrient deficiencies can be blamed on people and their food choices. Chmerkovskiy notes there's very little education in how to read food labels.
"Everybody looks on the back and says, five grams of sugar, well that's not that much, yeah I'll get it. And then the rest of it is like soluble corn fiber and some other crap and the next thing you know... it's absurd and it's too much," he said. "You can tell the level of dependency, what we get more addicted to. It's crazy...."
Chmerkovskiy isn't just speaking about health and fitness; he's putting it into action, and making it fun. The pro has been busy with his new project MaksMob, a flash mob movement he started with photographer Mike Rosenthal.
Chmerkovskiy's goal with this movement is to simply provide people with entertainment without charging money.
As for whether we'll see Chmerkovskiy on Dancing With the Stars again, the pro ruled out returning as a dancer at the time of this interview, but he has since been announced as returning. Chmerkovskiy will be dancing with model Amber Rose for the upcoming 23rd season. The pro also admitted that he might be interested in judging if head judge Len Goodman were to leave the show.
Chmerkovskiy is also focusing on other opportunities, including acting, as he prepares for his upcoming wedding to fellow DWTS pro Peta Murgatroyd and the birth of their first child. His child is a big motivating factor in his decision to stay healthy and active, as his entire family buzzes with excitement.
"The baby, I mean it's literally the point of everyone's attention in my family and it's something I look forward to," he said. "I cannot wait."
