Gregg Wallace: I was warned I was heading for heart attack before losing weight
The TV star shed more than four stone.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Gregg Wallace has said he was warned “you’re heading for a heart attack” before he lost four-and-a-half stone.
The MasterChef star, 57, said he was watching himself “getting bigger and bigger” on television before a doctor cautioned him about his high cholesterol.
Recalling a conversation he had with his doctor in 2017, he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “I was overweight, I was eating all the wrong things, I was boozing quite a bit, I was looking at myself getting bigger and bigger on the television.
“I had a good doctor who I had a good relationship with and he said ‘Let’s do a blood test’.
“He phoned me up and said ‘Your cholesterol is through the roof’.
“I think doctors get worried if it goes over five and I think mine was approaching 14.
“He said ‘If we don’t change, you’re going to be seriously ill, you’re heading for a heart attack’.”
“So I didn’t panic, I thought this is what I need now to change, so I started looking around, thinking how can I be healthier?
“I tried lots of diets, it didn’t particularly work for me, I was hungry most of the time.
“So bit by bit I taught myself what was healthy and what I could eat and what I couldn’t eat.”
Wallace, who often shares his workout routines on social media, said he has gained half a stone over Christmas but now has the knowledge on how to shed the weight.
He said: “There are what I call three horsemen of the ‘get fat apocalypse’, when I was doing all three – booze, takeaways and snacking.
“I’m not suggesting we stop them all but if we can get a handle on it, and start to reduce it, we can go a long way to improving our fitness.
“I love a beer at the rugby, I love a glass of wine, I have the occasional takeaway, I’m not suggesting anybody stop it.
“To be honest, I put on half a stone over Christmas, but I now know how to get rid of it and that isn’t by doing anything crazy, that isn’t trying to do anything radical because it’s January 1 , that is because I know what healthy living is all about.”