Celebrity chef John Torode, well-known for his culinary expertise on MasterChef as well as other TV shows, has shared insights into his weight loss journey. The 59-year-old chef revealed that he’s shed a remarkable three stone over the past few years, and swears by one simple rule.
“The big secret, which somebody told me is the thing that all people who are very, very overweight have in common, is that they don’t eat breakfast,” he said on Good Morning Britain a few years ago. “I now eat breakfast and make the point of sitting down with my children, eating breakfast and starting the day well.”
Separately, John highlighted the pivotal role of exercise in shedding pounds too. “I feel brilliant, actually. It’s about three stone and I feel great for it. I cycle everywhere, I eat different,” he said on Instagram at the time, according to the Express.
While it’s a continually researched subject, several studies have linked breakfast consumption to a healthier lifestyle. This includes crucial analysis from 2017 which examined the eating habits of 50,000 people across seven years, concluding that eating less frequently and consuming large breakfasts may be effective in ‘preventing long-term weight gain’.
Longer-lasting satiety is one potential reason for this, with staples like eggs, avocados and oats keeping individuals full for longer. This was highlighted by Helen Bell, a nutritionist at the UK Care Guide, in a previous chat with The Mirror, where she also emphasised the importance of cooking eggs the ‘right way’.
“In my experience, consuming eggs as a snack can actually be quite beneficial for weight loss,” she said. “Eggs are high in protein, which helps to increase satiety and keep you feeling fuller for longer.
“This can reduce the overall calorie intake throughout the day. But, it’s important to watch portion sizes and prepare them in a healthy way, like boiling or poaching, to avoid adding unnecessary fats.”
Beyond breakfast, the 2017 study suggested that less snacking and eating breakfast and lunch five or six hours apart may help in this strategy too. Its team said: “Although the annual effects of these meal patterns on BMI are small, they may be very important across a lifetime.”