A silver lining. Celebrity chef Art Smith never expected that quarantining amid the coronavirus pandemic would lead him to lose 70 pounds in less than three months.
The celebrity chef, 60, explained in an interview with Today on Friday, May 22, that his weight loss journey began when Lucas Cancelier, a rugby player and trainer, visited Smith, his husband, Jesus Salgueri, and their four children in Florida before returning home to Argentina.
However, as the coronavirus pandemic spread, Cancelier decided to shelter in place at Smith’s home. The Florida native told Cancelier that he was unhappy with his current weight of 330 pounds and the pair set a goal for Smith to lose 30 pounds.
“[Cancelier] said, ‘Let’s try something!’ He put together an exercise routine for me. We ran to the sporting goods store and got some simple things like a yoga mat. And when nobody could go to the gym, we started running on railroad tracks turned into a walking path,” Smith said. “People never thought they could train in their house but it’s really so easy.”
Smith dedicated himself to the routine and lost 70 pounds in less than three months.
“Who would ever think that a pro rugby player would get stuck with me and that he would change my whole life? He’s more than a coach. He’s a mentor,” he said.
Smith — who has penned four cookbooks and cooked for celebrities such as Lady Gaga and former president Barack Obama — told Today that he believed his weight had affected not only his health but his career.
“When you go into a restaurant and see a chef that looks heavy or sloppy, what do you think?” he said. “You’d maybe think that the food is going to be heavy and sloppy,” he explained.”I think this affects everything. You have to be good to yourself and take care of yourself to be a good businessperson.”
The food connoisseur praised Cancelier’s efforts and showed off his trimmer figure via Instagram on May 2.
“Lucas Cancelier, pro Rugby Player and business man @iamdapower took a #60yearold #330 pound Chef that was suffering from #Type2Diabetes #HighBloodSugar and bouts of #Anxiety and under his professional guidance, even with a #pandemic we met our goal,” he captioned the post.
Smith added, “Thank you to Lucas for saving my life and believing in me.”
