Tom Kerridge, now 51, knew he had to make some big changes to his health as he approached his 40th birthday – and amazingly, one thing has helped him lose 12 stone in weight.
Tom, who has risen to fame in recent years having presented a number of TV cooking shows, has revealed how his decision to take up swimming has hugely improved his health.
Speaking to Grace Dent’s podcast, Comfort Eating, the celebrity chef detailed how her fitness programme helped her lose weight, saying: “I lost 12 stone but then gained a bit of it back thanks to weightlifting and muscle mass.”
“I used to swim, so I had a long, skinny body like a swimmer. Now I’ve stopped swimming and I go to the gym and do weight training, so I’m a lot fatter.”
Grace exclaimed in response, “You look totally different!”
But he said he was looking forward to taking up swimming again, adding: “At some point I’ll stop swimming and start swimming again.”
Grace chats with Tom at length about his life so far, exploring how his unhealthy habits began and revealing how he realised he had to change his old habits.
He said: “I know that if I was drinking that much it’s not good for me, I know that if I’m that big it’s not good for me, I know that if I smoke 30 cigarettes a day it’s not good for me. We all know that, we’re not stupid. So I was 39 and I was like, ‘What am I doing?'”
Earlier in the podcast, Tom revealed that it wasn’t just exercise that helped him lose weight, but also a healthier lifestyle in terms of calorie intake, revealing that there are two snacks he particularly likes: “They’re the ultimate snack! Cheese and grapes.”
“It’s made with cheddar cheese and red grapes, and I always have it in my fridge because it’s super easy, requires no cooking, and is packed with sugar and vitamins.”
Tom opened his first pub, The Hand & Flowers, in 2005 and now runs four pubs and restaurants across the country.
He has also appeared regularly on cooking shows in recent years, including BBC Two’s Diet and Fitness with Tom Kerridge in 2020.
