Gregg Wallace, famed for his culinary critiques on MasterChef: The Professionals, has famously slimmed down to 12 stone by eliminating snacks, ultra-processed foods, and takeaways from his diet. A gym enthusiast, Wallace often shares his workout regime online.

Nevertheless, he has been heard saying “you can’t exercise to lose weight”. In a summer episode of The Paul Chowdhry PudCast, while discussing his gym videos with host Chowdhry, Wallace clarified his stance: “No, but you can’t exercise to lose weight either.”

Gregg, who astoundingly dropped five stone, further explained: “Yeah, I’m in the gym five days a week. And this is controversial, this comes up all the time.

“People say, ‘how can you say it’s nothing to do with exercise? You’re in the gym five days a week’.”

He continued to explain: “But I’d already lost the weight before I went in the gym. And I don’t go in the gym to lose weight.”

Struck by the revelation, Chowdhry probed: “So how did you lose the weight then?”

Unveiling his approach, Gregg credited his food choices: “Through eating. Stop snacking, stop getting takeaways, okay? And I mean that. And manage the alcohol better.”

Wallace also acknowledged his wife Anna’s influence in his dietary modifications, underlining her role in helping him refrain from alcohol and snacks, pushing for “eating proper food” as their mainstay.

Gregg also surprisingly revealed he is still able to enjoy carbs like rice, potatoes, and pasta, along with a double weekly indulgence in alcohol.

Through his platform GreggWallace.Health, the celebrated MasterChef judge underlines that banning specific foods isn’t necessary for weight loss, but advocates caution with snacking.

On a recent podcast, he advised sticking to “three big meals a day” to avoid temptation by unhealthy treats.

Gregg, whose own battle with his diet saw him at 16st 7lb, credited cutting out “fried food, sugar and booze” as the initial step in his transformative journey.