Padma Lakshmi says she eats up to 9,000 calories a day on 'Top Chef'

• Padma Lakshmi says she eats up to 9,000 calories a day on "Top Chef."
• Lakshmi previously revealed she gains 10 to 15 pounds during the filming of each season.

Padma Lakshmi has tried thousands of dishes during her 17 years on "Top Chef," and they come with plenty of calories.

Lakshmi recently revealed on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" that she eats up to 9,000 calories a day while filming the hit series.

"First half of the season when we have a lot of contestants, eight or nine thousand calories a day, easily," Lakshmi told Kimmel on Monday night.

In a 2013 interview with Fitness magazine, Lakshmi said she gains 10 to 15 pounds during the filming of each "Top Chef" season and goes up two dress sizes.

But Lakshmi added that she never tries to limit herself while she's on the show. After each season, she eats healthier and exercises five times a week.

"I love food way too much to starve myself just to look good," she told the magazine. "I will put in the work at the gym so I can enjoy what I eat."

And Lakshmi was even more motivated after she was asked to appear in Sports Illustrated's iconic swimsuit issue this year. The issue will hit newsstands on May 18.

"I was like, 'I gotta go to the gym. Oh my god!' Luckily, I was already hitting the gym pretty hard because it had been just a month since I got home from filming 'Top Chef,'" she told Kimmel.

Lakshmi also told Kimmel it was "definitely meaningful" to be asked to appear in the issue.

"I would have killed for it when I was in my 20s and a model because it is the holy grail and they never even called me for anything like this. And I really thought that ship had passed, to be honest," the 52-year-old said. "So when I got the call now a few months ago, I was like, 'You're fucking shitting me, really?' I did not believe the news on the phone. And then I started freaking out."

In a video for Sports Illustrated shared on Monday, Lakshmi said it's "sweeter" being in the swimsuit issue in her 50s rather than her 20s.

"It's important to show women of all ages, body types, skin colors and show that beauty is so vast and broad of a spectrum," Lakshmi said in the clip. "And so when young women see this, I hope they see that they have a long life to live and that experience and wisdom actually makes you more interesting."

"I'm thankful for my body, for it allowing me to have a baby, for it allowing me to eat like I do, and all that it's given me," she added.