The Mayor of Flavortown explained how “moderation” was key to his transformation.

“Unfortunately, in the [‘Diners, Drive-ins and Dives’] world, people like to go, ‘Oh, you’re the chef that eats the deep-fried pizza burgers with the ice cream toppings and all those huge, fried everythings,’” he told the magazine. “My response is ‘I don’t want to say that you don’t know what you’re talking about, but you don’t know what you’re talking about.’”

In 2020, Fieri hired a personal trainer who helped him get started with HIIT training. The celebrity chef also altered his diet.

“Once I started getting more serious about that, the quantity of food I was eating, and exercise, it really changed the whole thing.”

While filming for Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, Fieri will sample the food at each location and generally skip dinner for that day. He’s also a lot more picky about what he eats.

“I’ll use pizza as an example,” Fieri explained. “Pizza is one of those things when it’s good, it’s really good. And when it’s bad, people still eat it. I’m now more inclined to not eat something that’s not that great than to eat it.”

Over the course of four years, Fieri revealed through intermittent fasting, HIIT training, daily cold plunges, and of course discipline, he was able to lose 30 pounds.

“I don’t want to die young,” Fieri told People in 2022. “I want to be around for my kids. I want to be around for Hunter and Ryder’s kids,” he said of his two sons whom he shares with his wife Lori.