Top Chef‘s Padma Lakshmi has been open about the fact that she gains 10 to 15 pounds while taping each season of the show.  So of course, Meghan Trainor was concerned about the issue when she signed on to host the new Peacock cooking competition Top Chef: Family Style. But as Meghan tells ABC Audio, she wasn’t going to let it happen to her.

Meghan started out with two strikes against her: Not only was she required to eat delicious and fattening food every episode, but when she started hosting the show, her son Riley was just two months old. “I was [also] trying to lose my baby weight,” she tells ABC Audio. “So I was on a mission!”

“I worked out every single day before that show — and after that show, sometimes,” she reveals. “But I was the only person — I think I’m the only person in history, dare I say — to lose weight on Top Chef!

Yes, believe it or not, through diligent workouts and a nutrition plan, Meghan was able to avoid packing on the pounds while shooting the series.

“I was very excited. I kept coming in each week telling people, like, ‘We’re another pound down!’” she laughs. “So I worked very hard, and it showed me, too, like, you don’t have to be afraid of carbs and all the treats. Because if you balance it out, you can still lose weight. So I did very well!”

Top Chef: Family Style, which features kids and their relatives competing in teams, will be about halfway through its first season when Meghan’s other show, Clash of the Cover Bands, premieres on E! on October 13. She’s also working on a new album.

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