The Covid-19 pandemic introduced us to a new way of living. Working and exercising from home and learning to prepare meals at home as opposed to eating at restaurants were the new norms for most people.
One person who felt the heat of this new lifestyle is Gregory Gourdet, a renowned Chef who has won several awards, such as the Chef of the Year 2013 by the Oregon Department of Agriculture. He won the same award in 2014 by Eater Portland. He also made it to the finals of the famous Top Chef reality TV show twice.
Being a chef, one would think that the risk of gaining weight is low since he has vast knowledge about diet meal plans. Wrong; with all gyms in the country closed, a torn meniscus, and unhealthy eating habits at work, Gregory Gourdet started to gain weight at an astronomical rate in 2020.
“I gained a good amount of weight in 2020,” he wrote in an Instagram post. He weighed 212 pounds and started to worry about the impact excess weight was having on his overall health and physical appearance.
What Changes Did Gregory Gourdet Make to Lose Weight
“At my highest weight ever, I pressed the health reset button in July,” he told the Men’s Health magazine. However, this wasn’t the first time he had tried to lose weight.
A few years earlier, he had used intermittent fasting and yoga to get in shape and succeeded.
However, this time the two strategies didn’t deliver the much-needed results. The injury also limited the kind of exercises he could do. For example, instead of intensive treadmill exercises, Gourdet had to power walk on the treadmill for more than three months before he could run again.
During this period, he shifted from his normal diet plan to a keto diet, a widely used diet meal plan for weight loss. He went the extra mile to extend his fasting period to 20 hours. In an interview with Men’s Health magazine, he revealed that he would fast for 24 hours multiple times a week.
The sacrifices finally started to pay off, and he started to lose weight. He also took time off his schedule to study the health benefits of a keto diet and intermittent fasting. The research helped him to learn how to pair the two and get maximum results within the shortest time possible.
To cut a long story short, Gregory Gourdet lost 40 pounds in the last six months of 2021. He couldn’t hide his joy and posted before-and-after photos on his Instagram account in January. As expected, the post accrued more than 14k likes and thousands of comments from his fans, who could barely recognize him.
The Take-Away
Working out, intermittent fasting, and a keto diet can help you lose weight. In addition, you need to be laser-focused on the results, self-motivated, and willing to put in the work to trigger your body to burn the excess fat.
As Gregory Gourdet pointed out in his Instagram post that went viral in January, “Health isn’t measured by weight. Thick or thin, always love yourself. Live in whatever body you feel comfortable in, and don’t compare yourself to people on the internet. We all come in different shapes and sizes and can all do different things in our bodies.”
Gregory has hinted about opening a Haitian restaurant, Kann, later this year and is working hard to be in the best physical shape and health by the time he launches it.
You can achieve even better results by eating less, following a healthy diet meal plan, exercising more often, and having the right mindset towards the process. Go for it!