A legendary chef dropped 60 pounds by ditching these foods

November 3, 2017 9:36 PM

“It’s really not difficult to follow my regimen. I’ve built one that I really love”

Four years ago, French chef

Sensing something might be wrong, he sought medical care, where a blood test revealed he had high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar. He knew at that moment he had to do something about his health fast.

“I needed to go on a diet,” he told the New York Post. “But where to start?”

All his life, Robuchon, the owner of a Michelin-starred restaurant franchise called L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, ate a diet rich in butter. After all, the food is an extremely common ingredient in French cooking. But eating so much of it was putting him at risk for a number of problems like Type 2 diabetes, stroke, or heart disease—the number one killer of men. So Robuchon made a few changes to his diet and the way he cooked, and has since lost 60 pounds.

Here are a few ways the chef—who's racked up 31 Michelin stars—lost the weight.

He Stopped Cooking With Butter and Oil

The first things to go were butter and oil in favor of avocados. The green, creamy fruit contains monounsaturated fats, which helps improve your cholesterol, and fiber to keep you feeling fuller longer. And while butter and oil adds flavor to any dish, Robuchon now uses spices like pepper and turmeric.

He Nixed Sugar In His Coffee

Robuchon stopped adding sugar to his coffee, cutting down on his intake of the sweet stuff. It shouldn't come as a surprise that studies have shown consuming too much sugar in your diet leads to weight gain and heart disease. While it may not seem like sugar in your coffee is that detrimental, it definitely adds up if you drink it on the regular. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that men consume no more than 36 grams (or 9 teaspoons) of added sugar a day.

He Cut Out Refined Carbs

Carbs aren't the enemy. In fact, the unrefined stuff is essential for providing you with energy. "Carbohydrates are the only nutrients that exist solely to fuel the body,” Donald Layman, Ph.D., a professor of human nutrition at the University of Illinois, told Men's Health last year. So by all means, load up on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and starches like quinoa and brown rice.

But the processed, refined carbs like white bread, donuts, and chips are what you should avoid—or at least eat in moderation. These types of carbs lead to rises in blood sugar and insulin levels, and obesity.

He Relies On a System

It's always easiest to lose weight when you have a system in place that you don't stray from. In Robuchon's book Food & Life, which he wrote with his doctor, he details his own version of the food pyramid.

Robuchon always builds his dishes around of some sort of protein, then adds a "partner food" like vegetables or whole grains. A "supporting food" is next, and then a "guest food" to add flavor. He told the Post that an example of this would be sea scallops, spinach or green beans, cognac to help the scallops digest, and fruit coulis for flavor.

“It’s really not difficult to follow my regimen," he said. I’ve built one that I really love.”