The renowned chef takes great pride in maintaining his peak physical condition, but he has a secret trick that he calls 'extremely painful' to help prevent weight gain.
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Gordon Ramsay has shared his unique eating strategy for maintaining his physique. The foul-mouthed chef is now recognized as a fit and trim 58-year-old, balancing Iron Mans and marathons alongside managing top-tier restaurants and a plethora of cooking shows.
But it was not always like that for the Scottish-born chef. He once tipped the scales at 18 stone, before deciding to get fit and lose weight. Since then, he has stayed trim and completed a number of marathons and fitness challenges. But how does Gordon stay in shape? Late in 2024, he sat down with Men's Health to explain what he eats.
He also explored a unique eating strategy he employs to avoid excessive calorie intake. In a conversation with Jason Fox from SAS: Who Dares Wins, Gordon remarked: "The role of a chef today is far more prominent than it was 20-30 years ago. We must be fit, we must be intelligent, and we must lead by example for our team."
"We exhibit incredible self-discipline too. I'll take just a couple of bites of a scrumptious meal and then push it aside, and it really hurts. You watch, feeling like a ravenous beast wanting to finish that entire plate, while I manage to stick to just those two bites. Then I step away from the food, feeling the struggle because I realize that if I indulge in a fourth, fifth, or sixth bite, it’s all over for my resolve."
"It's the commitment that motivates me, the commitment to take 'two bites, then step away'."
You can view Gordon's interview in the video below:
He emphasized that while he maintains discipline regarding his portion sizes, he ensures that his meals remain both enjoyable and nutritious. When outlining his daily eating habits, he remarked, "Delicious food doesn’t have to be dull, and nutritious food doesn’t have to be trendy."
"I'm passionate about food. My morning starts with a protein shake, followed by scrambled eggs for lunch, and for dinner, I usually opt for something poached, be it chicken or fish. While we don't eat a lot of salads, it's all about achieving that balance."
Although Gordon began his journey to weight loss and fitness in his early 30s, he didn't truly recognize his desire to be fit until he turned 40. He had long aspired to complete an Iron Man, which consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2-mile run, and he aimed to achieve this goal by the age of 40.
In 2013, he finished the Hawaii Ironman with a time of 14 hours, 4 minutes, and 48 seconds. However, it wasn't until he turned 40 that he recognized the need for a transformation in his life.
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He remarked, "When I turned 40, I found myself with no time to spare; I was working every single day, with restaurants popping up everywhere, Michelin Stars piling up, and before I knew it, my life was completely taken over. It was a wake-up call for me—I took a hard look in the mirror and recognized that I had become overweight and was living in chaos. I had neglected the most crucial aspect of my day: that 90-minute personal time I used to dedicate to myself five days a week."
"Taking up triathlon wasn't just about running, I had to go for a swim, I had to get on the bike. It made me more disciplined. Wherever we were filming in the world, wherever we were opening a restaurant in the world, I could either swim, go for a quick hike, or a run on a sh***y machine that could barely hold me weight. Clawing that time back was crucial."
