"Trying to get me to cry by looking at this ugly picture? There are worse ones..."

That's how Richard Blais reacts to a photo taken 10 years ago, when Blais was almost 60 pounds overweight - and 60 pounds heavier than he is today.

"I just really lost control of myself because I was tasting food all day long and partaking in the social aspect of our industry," Blais, 41, tells HLN.

The acclaimed chef - "Top Chef: All-Stars" winner, the owner of Trail Blais and operator of Atlanta-based restaurants The Spence and Flip Burger Boutique - lost all that weight and kept it off, he says, by overhauling his lifestyle.

Working in the restaurant industry makes it easy to overindulge, he says. Imagine working a 16- to 17-hour day, tasting food all day long, cooking, talking about food, being on your feet all day but not getting any actual exercise, and just wanting a beer after a mentally draining shift.

"You get off work, it's one in the morning, you go out, talk shop, and you end up eating a whole pizza or (drinking) a whole bottle of wine," he says. "You do that 60 or 70 days in a row, and I put myself in really bad shape."

In a matter of months, Blais ballooned to about 225 pounds.

Read - How 'Top Chef' winner Richard Blais lost 60 pounds

Previously:
You can trust a skinny chef! How the pros stay slim
How to lose 40 pounds without giving up delicious food