John Torode has said he typically gains half a stone while filming a series of MasterChef.
The TV presenter, who judges the show with Gregg Wallace, said he tries to keep active during production to limit the impact eating so much food has on him.
He said: “I cycle. During a series I usually put on about half a stone because your body just stores stuff, and I try to cycle as much as I can to take off what weight I have put on.
“But it’s fun. I mean, it’s a terrible problem to have – I’ve got to eat every day!
“There have been a couple of occasions where Gregg and I will just go and go and go.
“And one of the guest critics came in and there was a dish with pineapple on it and ice cream. And, literally, we started tasting it and literally ate everything on the plate before all three of us looked up and I said, ‘I think that probably tells you something’.”
Wallace, who previously lost more than three stone in weight by cutting down on alcohol and giving up fried breakfasts, said he no longer gains weight while filming the show.
He said: “I tend not to now. I hit the gym a lot. And you just cannot go out for dinner at the end of a day’s filming. I used to. If you do now, you say to the restaurant as you go in, ‘I’ve had this dinner date booked but please tell the chef not to send out a special thing. I am going to eat the lightest thing’.
“The hardest one, calorie-wise, is when they do an afternoon tea challenge.
“Then you might have five contestants making three cakes each.”
Torode said the new series will include a plant-based challenge, while Wallace added: “I think the use of more vegetables at the expense of meat and fish is most certainly happening.
“And we both welcome that. That’s a wonderful thing.”
MasterChef returns on February 24 at 9pm on BBC One.
