Padma Lakshmi Embraces A Balanced Approach To Fitness And Diet; Says ‘I Compare Myself To Myself, Not Other People’

Padma Lakshmi sure is diet conscious but not in a toxic way. The Top Chef host, 53, in a recent interview shared how she has learned to be kind to her body. And might we add, her teenage daughter may have subconsciously played a part in it? 

“I don’t deprive myself, nor do I try to pig out too much,” Lakshmi exclusively told Us Weekly while chatting with the outlet for its new issue. “I also try to be kind to my body and compare myself to myself, not to other people,” she added. The Girl Most Likely actress also shared some of her favorite ways to exercise, noting that she loves to get a good workout in as often as possible.

So, if celebrity diet plans and workout routines intrigue you as much as it does us, make sure to scroll down. 

Padma Lakshmi reveals Top Chef’s toll on her health and her shift to a kinder diet approach

Lakshmi, who announced her exit from Top Chef in 2023 after hosting the cooking competition series for 17 years, previously opened up about how the show made it tough for her to stay in shape. 

“When filming Top Chef, I consume about 5,000 to 8,000 calories a day,” she wrote in a June 2020 essay for Time, elaborating, “We start with anywhere from 15 to 18 contestants, and I have to take a bite or two from each of their plates to adequately judge each dish. Every day. It adds up. I typically gain anywhere from 10 to 17 pounds every season. Once I get home, what’s taken me six weeks to gain takes me 12 weeks to take off.” Oh, and while we are on the topic of losing all those extra pounds, Laksmi does so by lifting weights, jumping boxes and rope, and a lot of ab workouts, per Us Weekly. 

Back to the Time essay, Lakshmi went on to detail the process of getting into shape before the Emmy Awards each year, writing, “My diet for the Emmys is pretty straightforward. It’s like a poem: no meat, no wheat, no cheese, no fried foods or sweets. And, of course, no alcohol.” As for the special workout, Lakshmi said she supplemented the strict diet with two hours of exercise daily. 

However, upon noticing that her teenage daughter, Krishna, 14, was emulating her dieting habits, Lakshmi decided to change her approach.

Padma Lakshmi’s new approach to body positivity inspired by daughter Krishna’s influence

Padma Lakshmi’s daughter influenced the actress and host to rethink her dieting and weight management strategy. “This year, I’ve decided my weight will not be my focus. If I need a bigger dress, so be it,” she wrote in her Time essay. “That one day – or any day – on the red carpet isn’t nearly as important as ensuring my daughter doesn’t measure her worth by her dress size.”

Krishna, whom Lakshmi shares with ex Adam Dell, not only made the celebrated Top Chef host more comfortable in her skin, but she also played a part in her decision to bid farewell to her long-running stint on the show, as Lakshmi herself said during an August 2023 appearance on Variety’s Awards Circuit. “[It was] about having a personal life, to be honest, and also being present for my daughter – she’s a teenager.” she remarked, adding, “In five years, she’s going to go off and have her own life and hopefully go to college and stuff. It wasn’t an easy decision.”