Chef Scott Conant Dropped 30 Pounds by Cutting Out These 2 Foods

Chef Scott Conant, the Chopped judge who also appeared as a guest judge on multiple seasons of Bravo’s Top Chef, has transformed his body significantly — but his approach was pretty simple: He’s lost 30 pounds since September by cutting wheat from his diet.

“It’s ironic because I am a chef who is known for cooking pasta,” he told People. “But I stopped eating wheat on a daily basis. Now I just pretty much do it for work. And I stopped eating GMOs.”

He told People that the weight came off easily — at least the first half. “As soon as I stopped eating wheat and GMOs, funny enough, I lost 12 pounds in 10 days,” he said. 

But the rest — 18 additional pounds — came off only after he started a regimen of intermittent fasting as well as working out daily. He told People that he eats between noon and 7 p.m. daily — so just a seven-hour span, with 17 hours abstaining from food in each 24-hour day —  and he replaces breakfast with either black coffee or hot water with lemon.

For lunch, he typically goes for chicken or salmon with salad, another protein with vegetables for dinner, and snacks on nutritious food like apples or cashews.  

“I’m a big believer in moderation and not killing myself,” he told People. “What’s the expression? ‘Everything in moderation, even moderation?’ So I feel like I do not overindulge. But I also do not beat myself up if I have a bowl of pasta. The next day is a new day.”