As a restauranteur and a judge on the cooking competition show “Chopped,” Chris Santos’ life revolves around food. And so, over a 10-year period, he watched excess weight creep on until he realized he had gained 50 pounds. The chef decided some changes were in order to shed the extra pounds. With the help of a more plant-based diet and intermittent fasting, Santos has already dropped 30 pounds.
Three days a week, Santos practices controlled eating, which means that he fasts for 16 hours a day. He has also cut down on his alcohol consumption and switched from beer to liquor with water or soda water. He says that overeating and unhealthy food choices at night were a coping mechanism after a long and stressful workday, inevitably leading to his weight gain.
Getty Images | Frederick M. Brown
“Before, when I got home after a 12-14 hour day, that was my time—that was me time,” he told People. “I would order food late, and it would never be anything good. It would be a cheesesteak, a pizza, a cheeseburger, any number of things that are definitely not healthy choices whatsoever. If GrubHub had a category called unhealthy, that would be the one I would be clicking on every time.”
In addition to overhauling his diet, Santos also began running and completed his first 5K. His next goal is a 10K, and he’s not ruling out the possibility of a full marathon.
Check out his progress in this before and after shot he posted to Instagram:
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“I’m about to run my first 5K so with that in mind let’s call this ‘before and after part 1,’” he captioned the side-by-side photos. “I started this journey to a much healthier me on June 20, and so far I’m down 30 pounds! Look for ‘before and after part 2’ when I’ve lost another 15 to 20! Thanks to everyone who have been supporting me and keeping me on track, especially my inspiration @nataliemakenna!”
Best of luck to Santos on his continued journey to better health!