Celebrity Chef, Padma Lakshmi, admits keeping a slim shape is hard to do when her job requires tasting delicious meals every day.
The "Top Chef" host told Fitness magazine she has to have a balanced diet and consistent workout routine in order to drop the two dress sizes she gains every season of the show.
"I love food way too much to starve myself just to look good," she said in the November/December issue. "I will put in the work at the gym so I can enjoy what I eat."
Lakshmi told the magazine she follows a clean diet, which includes no meats, no sweets, no alcohol, no cheese, no fried food and no wheat.
"I work out five days a week, boxing three days, lifting weights the other two. I carry a jump rope with me everywhere, especially when I'm working," Lakshmi said. "It's a great way to squeeze in a quick work-out and get your heart rate up when you don't have time to go to the gym."
The host admits to giving into some temptation once in a while.
"Pizza, nachos, cheese, potato chips, fried chicken. I believe in everything in moderation. I never say, 'No, I can't have any of that,'" she said. "I have it and enjoy it! After I finish this photo shoot, I'm going out for pizza, and I'm literally going to take down a whole large pie by myself!"
The 43-year-old said she had more success with the male population when she had a curvier body during her pregnancy.
"It took 13 months to get the weight off. It was hard. I went from a size 4 to a size 14 when I was pregnant," she said. "What's interesting, though, is that, in my experience, men don't want skinny girls. When I was a size 14, I got much more attention from men than I do now."
