Gordon Ramsay's 'painful' diet trick to stay in shape at 59
The celebrity chef turned endurance athlete is laser-focused when it comes to his diet
Gordon Ramsay has shared an eye-opening insight to what he eats everyday as an endurance athlete whilst revealing what ‘painful’ sacrifice he makes to stay in shape.
TV favourite Ramsay, 59, has transformed his physique over the last few years - going from weighing 18 stone to becoming an Iron Man completionist.
Speaking to SAS: Who Dares Win’ Jason Fox for Men's Health last year, the Scottish-born star shared an insight into his food philosophy, as well as a regular day on his plate.
“Good food doesn't have to be boring food, and healthy food never has to be fad food,” he stated.
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"I love eating,” he continued. “We have a protein shake in the morning, scrambled eggs for lunch, and then something poached for dinner, whether it's poached chicken or fish.
“We don't do lots of salads, but it's finding that balance.”
After revealing what he eats on a regular basis, the father-of-six opened up about how ‘painful’ it can be to work as a prolific chef and continue maintaining discipline over his diet.
"The role of a chef today is way more prolific than it was 20-30 years ago and we need to be fit, we need to be smart, and we need to set that example to the team,” Ramsay confessed to Fox.
"We are super disciplined as well. I'll eat two mouthfuls of a delicious dish and then ignore it, and it's painful.”
The one-time Rangers hopeful said he sometimes has to ‘sit there like a green-eyed monster desperate to devour that whole plate’
“I'll discipline myself to two mouthfuls, then I'll get out of that plate and it pains me because I know if I eat a fourth, fifth, or sixth mouthful, then that's it, it's game over.”
Ramsay elaborated, claiming that he is purely driven by discipline and that competing in major triathlons has seriously helped him hone the skill.
“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,” the Hell’s Kitchen icon revealed.
“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 my weight. Clawing that time back was crucial.”
Last July, the celebrity chef completed the Iron Man 70.3 Luxembourg Remich - Région Moselle triathlon in a time of 06:52:28.
The latter was made up of a 1.9km swim, a 90km bike, and finally a 21.1km run (a half marathon).
Ramsay has also competed in the 2013 Iron Man World Championship in Kona in 2013 and Iron Man 70.3 Staffordshire, along with several other Iron Man 70.3 races, as per the race’s website.
In October, he took part in Iron Man 70.3 Costa Navarino, Peloponnese, with his daughter, Tilly, 24, who placed fourth in the F18-24 category and wife Tana, 51.
Despite meticulously controlling his diet, Ramsay has previously revealed that he would gorge on food if it was his last day on Earth.
During an 2024 episode of Mythical Kitchen, he announced he’d start with a full English breakfast before diving into a pot of butter chicken, accompanied by a garlic naan, basmati rice, Buffalo chicken wings, and an In-N-Out burger.
His third course would be a cut of his own recipe beef Wellington, washed down with a Monkey 47 gin and Mediterranean tonic, served with a lime wheel.
For dessert, Ramsay would dig into a sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream, and a deep-fried Mars bar, as per Food Republic.
Ella Scott