EDGE Miami

Chaz Bono was telling me about his pot and his breasts.

Actually, we were talking about dieting, when Chaz, who will be Miami Beach Pride Parade Grand Marshal on Sunday April 15, revealed that he is in love with his crock pot and its chicken breast contents.

"At this point I am in the best shape I have ever been in. I have been taking good care of my body, working out four or five times a week," Bono said. "I do my own cooking which really makes a difference. When you know what’s in the food you are eating, you make better choices. I am going through this crock pot phase. Chicken breasts and all kinds of fresh veggies get thrown in. I make soft tacos, stews and soups."

I admired the discipline of his workout routine and wondered about what it contained.

"I always do at least an hour a day. I do weights twice a week. I do a dance class twice a week," he said. "And I am really into my stand-up MMA class." MMA is short for Mixed Martial Arts.

The fact that Bono is happy, focused and careful about himself comes through loud and clear in conversation.

When I asked him if he regretted going through his transition under such heavy scrutiny, he said, "I don’t think I had a choice in the matter. The question was ’Do I want to tell my own story or let someone else tell it?’ I did a lot of work to feel as good as I feel today, and I believe that happiness is a choice and always requires work. I spent a lot of my life very unhappily."

I asked him if there were any surprises or unexpected lessons that came his way when he moved from the L to the T in LGBT.

"People-even the Ls and the Gs-are just starting to take a serious interest in the T and are becoming more inclusive," he said. "That is why whenever I speak at an LGBT event I look at it as an opportunity to add to the new understanding within our own community."

When I asked Bono if he was having romance, he said, "Right now, I’m focusing on myself and trying to adjust to what it feels like to be really happy and to have a life that is so much easier than the way it was before I transitioned."

I reminded Bono of his age, 43, and asked him if, in planning for middle age, he would take a page from his age-defying mother, Cher.

"I’m going to keep doing what I am doing to be healthy. I have no fear of age. I’ve got pretty good genes," he said. "I look young for my age. Cosmetic surgery? Not really. Can’t say until I get there, but you know, here in L.A., there are a lot of men who have had some bad work done."

Chaz Bono is a man of good work. Head down to Miami Beach Pride on Sunday to cheer him on.