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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
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Rebecca Miller

Mark Labbett from The Chase lost 10 stone by making two major changes to diet

Mark Labbett, also known as The Beast on ITV's The Chase, has shared one food he avoids completely when he wants to lose weight.

The popular TV personality has tipped the scales at 29 stone at his heaviest and has been on a weight loss journey for some time.

He says by changing his lifestyle and overhauling his diet he has finally made the positive change he needed.

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But two major food changes he has made in order to lose the weight - cutting out pub food and sugary treats.

The Chaser told our sister title The Express: "I'm missing pub meals so, so much.

“Much as I love chips and other carbs, I'm having quite a bit less than I used to.”

Mark made his television debut when The Chase first aired back in 2009.

In 2003 however, when he was in his last year of full-time teaching, Mark was at his heaviest weighing in at 29 stone.

The star admitted that at this time he was "on the verge of getting high blood pressure pills".

While he lost a few stone over the years, it wasn’t “up until just before lockdown” did he start losing weight dramatically.

He said: “Several factors came together nicely and the weight has just fallen off.

“The principal thing has been running after a hyperactive three year old in lockdown when the nurseries were shut.

“Instead of going to the fridge for a bit of late-night snacking all I could do was just collapse on a heap on the bed.”

Mark tested positive for Covid and some of the side effects caused him to even more weight.

Having lost his sense of taste and smell for two weeks, he didn’t eat as much as he usually would.

The quizzer also changed what he ate, sticking to a high-protein diet instead of "pub meals with onion rings and garlic bread".But he did admit: “I'm missing pub meals so, so much.

“Much as I love chips and other carbs, I'm having quite a bit less than I used to.”

The TV star has also reduced the amount of sugar he consumes, which he said was his “downfall” previously.

“It's a cycle; you're less hungry, so you eat less and you lose weight, so you're not as hungry."

When Mark appeared on Loose Women back in March, he spoke about how he tracked his weight loss progress.

He said: “I gradually dropped Xs off my size, from 5XL to 4XL, and it looks like the next time I go shopping I'll be able to squeeze into XL pants.

“Small things but important things.”

While Mark’s weight loss is a huge achievement, he previously told Express.co.uk he’s “still got a way to go”.

“It turned out a couple of years ago I wasn't far away from being non-diabetic. “I got pretty close to it. Unfortunately, I let myself go a bit because I didn't know at the time."

Speaking about his diabetic diagnosis, Mark added: “I've got skin that doesn't heal properly in my lower legs.

“A nurse looked at me and she asked, 'Are you sure your not diabetic?’

“They took a test and she said, 'Yes, you're diabetic.’”

Mark was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2017 and is determined to lose more weight.

He currently weighs 19 stone.

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