Over the past few years, Gregg Wallace has undergone a huge four stone weight loss. The MasterChef judge and Eat Well For Less presenter transformed his body through diet and exercise, and likes to share his story on Instagram with fans, claiming “it wasn’t a struggle” and how he “feels great”. Here’s how and why he did it.
At his heaviest, Gregg weight around 16 and a half stone, and it was back in 2017 when he had a conversation with his doctor that he decided to take his health seriously.
“I was overweight, I was eating all of the wrong things, I was boozing quite a bit,” Gregg explained. “I was looking at myself getting bigger and bigger on the television.
“I had a good doctor that I had a good relationship with and he said ‘let’s do a blood test’ and he phoned me up and said ‘your cholesterol is through the roof’.
“I think doctors get worried if its [cholesterol level] over fine, and mine was nearly 14.
“He said ‘If we don’t change you’re going to be seriously ill, you’re heading for a heart attack’.
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Over time, he also decided to teach himself “what was healthy” and what he should and shouldn’t be eating.
“It completely changed my life,” Gregg remarked.
Combined with healthy eating, no alcohol and limited takeaways, Gregg also exercised more frequently and joined forces with personal trainer Danny Rai who helped him get his “mind into a really good place”.
Gregg explained: “I said to him, ‘Listen I’m in my 50s now’ and he said, ‘You can have the body you want at any age’.
“I can have a laugh with him, and he never ever gave me any of that scientific stuff – he just made me feel more responsible for myself.”
In terms of how often Gregg exercises, he said: “In the last three years, I’ve been exercising five days a week.
“Monday to Friday is serious and Saturday and Sunday are just fun – I like to go for a swim but it’s still exercising.”
Sometimes he heads to Danny’s studio for a one-to-one session, otherwise, Gregg is given a “routine and changes it three or four times a year”.
Being told he could have a heart attack was one reason for getting in shape, the other was Gregg’s partner.
“There were a couple of motivating factors along the way. Meeting my beautiful, lovely wife [Anne] who’s a lot younger than me,” he revealed.
“I thought, well she’s obviously alright having an old boyfriend, or now an old husband – but there’s no reason why she should have to have an old fat husband is there.
“Honestly, I wanted to be fit and well, I’m 22 years older than her.”
For anyone in a similar situation to Gregg, and looking for advice, he said: “Look, there are what I call ‘three horsemen of the get fat apocalypse – and I was doing all three – booze, takeaway and snacking.
“Now I’m not suggesting we stop all of them, but if we can get a handle on it, start to reduce it, then we go a long way to improving our fitness.”
