'Men don't want skinny girls': Top Chef star Padma Lakshmi on her love of food and why she won't starve herself to look good

B eing surrounded by delicious food does have its weighty setbacks, but Padma Lakshmi has found a way that works for her.

The Top Chef host opens up about her love affair with food and her common-sense exercise regime in the November-December issue of Fitness magazine .

In the accompanying photos, Padma also shows off her shapely figure that she owes to a healthy diet and working out five days a week.

Fit and fabulous: Padma Lakshmi stays in shape by balancing her love of food with a consistent workout regime, as she reveals in the new November-December issue of Fitness magazine

In her profession, workouts are a must - she says she goes up two dress sizes every season of the Bravo show.

Although she prefers to be thin, the 43-year-old mother-of-one admits that men actually find her more attractive when she has a curvier frame.

'What's interesting, though, is that, in my experience, men don't want skinny girls,' Padma tells the magazine.

Not too skinny: The Top Chef host says she goes up two dress sizes during each season of the Bravo cooking competition series, but that men find her more attractive that way

She adds that she got lots of attention while pregnant with her daughter, Krishna, now three.

'When I was a size 14, I got much more attention from men than I do now,' Padma shares. 'It took 13 months to get the weight off. It was hard. I went from a size 4 to a size 14 when I was pregnant.'

Padma adds: 'I love food way too much to starve myself just to look good. I will put in the work at the gym so I can enjoy what I eat.

'I follow a clean diet: no meats, no sweets, no alcohol, no cheese, no fried food, no wheat.



Pizza, no problem: Although she usually sticks to a 'clean' diet with no meats, cheeses, sweets or alcohol, Padma says giving into cravings for pizza, chips and nachos is okay

'And I work out five days a week, boxing three days, lifting weights the other two. I carry a jump rope with me everywhere, especially when I'm working.

'It's a great way to squeeze in a quick work-out and get your heart rate up when you don't have time to go to the gym.'

She also reveals one of her healthy, homemade cleansing routines.

'I drink a homemade cleanse of two ounces of pure cranberry juice, six ounces of either green tea or plain water, one Emergen-C Vitamin C packet, and a teaspoon of fiber powder three times a day. I also drink two to three liters of water a day.'

Weighty matter: The mother-of-one, pictured at a NY event on October 16, went up to a size 14 during her pregnancy with daughter Krishna, now three Take the stairs: Padma, seen here promoting Top Chef on Extra last month, reveals that even when there's no gym around, the stairwell is a great way to tone those legs

Padma also says that she's a firm believer in allowing indulgences now and then.

'Pizza, nachos, cheese, potato chips, fried chicken. I believe in everything in moderation. I never say, "No, I can't have any of that,"' she says.

'I have it and enjoy it! After I finish this photo shoot, I'm going out for pizza, and I'm literally going to take down a whole large pie by myself!

'Also, I always try to get enough sleep because the body holds onto more calories when it's tired, and I tend to eat more when I'm tired. Rest is important to weight loss.'

What's cooking: The gourmet chef, pictured on a 2012 segment of Top Chef with guest Pee-wee Herman, is now enjoying her 11th season on the Bravo show

One doesn't have to have a gym membership to get the benefits of exercise - the office stairwell is a great toner and muscle strengthener.

'After having a baby, I didn't have time to go to the gym, and I had to be back on TV in less than six weeks,' Padma explains.

'That's how I started doing stairs. Now, whether I'm home or traveling, I climb as many as 70 flights a day, which takes me about 35 minutes.

'I don't run them. I walk at a steady pace, two steps at a time. It's the perfect workout because pretty much anywhere you go, there are stairs and they're usually empty.'