MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace insists that he achieved his weight loss without resorting to extreme diets or controversial weight loss injections, unlike some celebrities.
Gregg credited his weight-loss success to a significant change in his dietary habits, opting for homemade meals rather than highly processed foods. The star ditched three foods completely: snacks, ultra-processed foods and takeaway.
He started cooking meals from scratch, which gave him more control over what went into his body, allowing him to enjoy generous portions without the fear of gaining weight.
The star previously admitted that his off-screen lifestyle was once “full of takeaways, fry-ups, snacks and boozing”.
This unhealthy diet saw his weight balloon to almost 17 stone, putting his BMI at a dangerously obese 36.1. His cholesterol levels were also alarmingly high, nearly triple the healthy limit, leading doctors to warn him of potential diabetes and heart attack risks.
His wife Anne-Marie Sterpini, who is 21 years younger, also gave him the motivation to slim down. Her southern Italian roots meant she followed a healthier diet, which began to influence Gregg’s eating habits.
Gregg explained: “I led a lifestyle full of takeaways, snacks and boozing and got more and more unhappy with how I looked. I’d be tasting food on MasterChef, going to the pub and drinking and then out for a meal at a restaurant. There’d be fry-ups with friends, fish and chips for lunch and a curry or Chinese takeaway at night on days I wasn’t filming.
“One day my doctor did a blood test and found my cholesterol was through the roof. He said I had to start making changes to the way I lived or I was heading for a major heart attack. That was scary a proper wake-up call,” he told The Daily Mail.
Despite several attempts to lose weight, including skipping meals, eliminating carbohydrates and even trying Weight Watchers, nothing seemed to produce any lasting results. He admitted feeling constantly hungry and demotivated.
He explained: “Anna’s diet had lots of lean protein in it grilled fish or simple meat dishes with huge amounts of veg and fruit. The more of it I ate, the more I realised I could eat massive portions that were much lower in calories than my usual meals.
“I started cooking from home, making my lunches and breakfasts in advance, and eating fewer takeaways and fry-ups. I wasn’t left hungry and the weight just dropped off. It came from a desire not to be hungry and ended up being a kind of eureka moment.”
Gregg has managed to maintain his weight by exercising regularly with the help of his personal trainer Danny Rai.
He now shares his transformation journey on his lifestyle website, GreggWallace.health, offering weekly meal plans and hundreds of healthy recipes for those wanting to follow in his footsteps and lose weight.
While he no longer eats ultra-processed foods or takeaways, he says no food is banned on his plan, but snacking is discouraged.
