Tom Kerridge shares his tips on maintaining a sustainable eating regime. Photo / 123RF
Tom Kerridge shares his tips on maintaining a sustainable eating regime. Photo / 123RF
His dramatic 76kg weight loss wowed the world — until the scales started creaking again. The chef tells Lisa Markwell about his new sustainable regime to eat well and stay in shape.
"This is definitely my last diet book. That's it." Excuse me, what? That's a surprise from the SundayTimes chef Tom Kerridge, given that in the past five years he has become known as much for his physical transformation through diet as for his Michelin-starred restaurants.
At his heaviest, Kerridge weighed in at around 30 stone (190kg). Then, about five years ago, he shed an incredible 12 stone (76kg). He did it by cutting out pasta, bread, potatoes, rice, alcohol and by going swimming every day.
"People kept wanting to know how I'd lost so much weight and would ask me about it all the time — on Twitter, at cookery demonstrations, in the street," he says. "It's weird, because if I wasn't a chef I'd be driving a white van or wearing a hi-vis jacket — I'm that kind of guy. And now I've turned into a bit of a weight-loss guru." He agrees that part of his success is an everyman quality that makes the rest of us think, if he can do it, so can I.
Then the weight started to creep back on. What happened? First, his busy schedule meant he found himself unable to get down to the pool as often as he used to. Second, that initial diet was unsustainable. A large percentage of his time is taken up with creating and approving dishes for his restaurants and testing recipes — often indulgent ones — for this magazine. Tasting food for a living means there is more temptation for him to resist than the average person faces.
Today, it's all about maintaining the right balance between eating well and exercising whenever he can. In the time that I've worked with Kerridge at The Sunday Times, he's shifted from the strict no-carb and swimming regime to weight training and cardiovascular exercise — which "if I'm honest isn't my favourite thing … I'm 6ft 3in and not made for running!"
Tom Kerridge cut out bred, pasta, potatoes, rice and alcohol and took up swimming in order to help him lose weight. Photo / Getty Images
He still loves swimming — as he says, no one can reach you on a mobile phone in the pool. "I've now found a balance between gym, pool, cycling and eating healthy foods," he says.
He also focuses on old-fashioned calorie counting: calories for all the recipes in his new book have been accounted for — but he never skimps on flavour. "The type of diet doesn't matter," he says. "What does matter is your mindset and the flavour of the food, because if you enter into the diet mindset and it's something that you're not enjoying, you're not going to stay on it. You have to enjoy the food."
To achieve maximum flavour and texture, he will often use a small amount of a high-calorie ingredient "in a clever way".
And it's now, in middle age, that he seems most at peace with himself and his body. "I feel as though I'm in the same position as pretty much every other 46-year-old bloke. Bending down to tie your shoelaces and going 'oof!' " he laughs.
Kerridge has a four-year-old son, Acey, who has been a huge inspiration to him. The pair can run around the park and go out for a burger without the chef feeling guilty because he follows a sustainable regime. He finds the exercise part of his plan easier than the diet part. "With exercise, there's a challenge, points and goals to attack, and I get a 'reward'. But I'm surrounded by food, so I find that much more difficult." He says working out is "an escape route. I think, 'OK, I can just go and do that now, rather than worrying about everything else.'"
His workload — five restaurants, a TV series, a new book to promote — plus family time means he has to work out at unusual times of the day. When he's staying in a hotel, he might hit the gym in the early hours. "Sadly, I can't find a personal trainer who will work with me at 2am!" he laughs.
And if he can do it, everyone can make it work for them, he says. "Find something you enjoy doing. Walking the dog is one thing — but why don't you try a little jog with the dog? Or go with something you'll get a buzz out of — play squash, go swimming, join an aerobics class — but commit to it. Some people love the idea of just being on their own, and swimming is perfect for that."
Making time for your new regime is key. He's even found a moment to go clothes shopping in London — and he's delighted that being in shape means he can buy whatever he likes. That's quite an incentive for anyone.
Lose Weight & Get Fit by Tom Kerridge is available to buy now.
