Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 21: I Hope My Reviews Won't Prove Too Costly
Don't get me wrong, I love reviewing restaurants. It's a dream job, really, but for someone like me, who loves food but puts on weight easily, it can pose all sorts of problems. Just tasting something and pushing it away because there's so much other food coming is incredibly difficult to do, especially if that something is seriously delicious.
How am I going to write a restaurant review every week and continue to watch my weight? That's the zillion dollar question.
Now that I've been doing it for a month I can see that this is not going to be easy, serious eaters.
These are the tactics I have been employing:
- Eat a reasonably substantial breakfast every day. That way I am not starving until lunchtime
- I try to eat at least one banana a day. They're filling, nutritious, and when they're perfectly ripe they are nature's gift to healthy, creamy, sweet deliciousness
- Bring people with big appetites with me. Let them do the heavy eating, or should I say lifting
- Limit my bread and butter intake. That's hard to do, particularly at a place like Scarpetta, where the bread basket is so great
- On days when I'm not on reviewing duty eat lots of fruits and vegetables
- Limit my empty caloric intake. That means no chips, no cheap cookies, and no generic candy bars
- Eat bialys instead of bagels. They have far fewer calories and need much less cream cheese
- Make a point to tell my dining companions that I am trying to watch my weight. That puts them and me on notice
I have followed most of these tenets this week, but the bread basket at Scarpetta, which I reviewed this week was a killer. I figure every week I'm going to have some trouble following at least one or two of these.
Any other advice from other serious eaters would be most appreciated. In the meantime, it's time to jump on the scale. Yes! I'm down a pound for the week and eight pounds in all. Maybe this reviewing gig won't be as disastrous as I thought.
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11 Comments:
Hello!
8 pounds, I am jealous....
When I go out to dinner, I sometimes get 2 starters (is that the same name as the US?) instead of a starter and a main course. I find that I am just as full but I have eaten less and not had to choose boring food for health reasons.
As the for the bread...I am the same, if it's there, I HAVE to eat it. But if I order some olives, it distracts me from the bread - a bit.
Man83 at 9:39AM on 06/06/08
When you go into these restaurants, do they know you are reviewing their food? I was always guessing they did, because you try so many things? If so, could you ask them to just bring you a bite size portion of each dish?
sarahdlr at 9:42AM on 06/06/08
It sounds like you are doing great! I would add just a couple of things:
- Eat as slowly as you can, and really enjoy your food. Eating is one of life's great pleasures, and just because you're watchng your weight doesn't mean you can't still relish the experience. Plus - you'll eat less because you'll let yourself feel when you're full, instead of being led by how empty your plate is.
- You've talked about exercise before in your columns, so I assume you're keeping up with it. It's so important and if you're consistent, it will really help you keep the weight off.
- Drink lots of water.
- Don't ever let yourself get super-hungry, especially if you're on your way to a restaurant. Carry a banana or apple with you at all times, or a granola bar -- any low-cal snack to keep the hunger-grumblies at bay.
All the best to you!
CookiePie at 10:11AM on 06/06/08
I get a "to go" container at the start of the meal and put half (or more, if it's a huge plate) into the container before I even start eating. Bringing hungry folks with you is a good idea. But the best thing you can do, since your job limits you limiting your caloric intake, is exercise. Seriously. Walk places, do a workout video, take dancing lessons, swim, join a social sports league, whatever makes you burn some of the calories you HAVE to eat for your job. Plus, if you find something you like, its an awesome bonus! Eat yummy food, do fun things!
leeapeea at 10:14AM on 06/06/08
Ed, I recently saw you on an episode of Iron Chef America (secret ingredient: langostines) and thought you looked fabulous, dahling.
So, whatever you're doing, it's working!
wookie at 10:25AM on 06/06/08
I am a meeting planner and have finally learned that eating everything I'm served to avoid waste is bad. "Waist" over "waste" if you will, has to be my mantra when I am doing food tastings. Despite requests for small portions, most places I do tastings or where I am sent food gifts from the kitchen are big portions and I am usually only with one other dining companion.
I have learned that ONE bite can actually suffice as a taste, and that it's actually just fine with me. At my most recent tasting, I was so conservative in only taking one bite of everything that when they were done with everything I was actually still hungry and felt like I hadn't eaten enough! This is the complete opposite of the spectrum, where I normally feel stuffed like after a Thanksgiving meal after doing a tasting. My guess is the happy medium is in the middle somewhere, and that it's better to end up leaving the table hungry than overly full if you have to pick one.
I've also found the week of a tasting that I try hard to eat very lightly before and after the tasting if I'm going to be unavoidably eating a lot of food (even if I just take bites). If nothing else, at least for several days after I try to eat more vegetarian meals and increase my veg intake.
rockandroller at 10:38AM on 06/06/08
I have to agree with Wookie, you looked great on Iron Chef. and Leeapeea
is right on target, eat great food and do lots of fun things! The bread basket at a good resteraunt undoes most of us hun, there is a reason they call bread the staff of life! Enjoy your job and just eat sensibly. I'm sure as the summer progresses it will be alot easier to lose weight! If not you might think about spending it in the south where the heat and humidity conspire to make yankee's lose weight. ;)
huneybumper at 10:43AM on 06/06/08
I know this is probably not ideal for you, but since I eat out some nights and just can't let myself gain that much weight... I limit my lunchtime intake as well. I eat a really filling breakfast (whole grains, the like), and pack a bento for lunch, in a little bit smaller than the recommended size for my height/age, and then I feel full, really. Portion size for your other (non restaurant review) meals is really important, it will help keep the extra weight at bay... like the bialy thing you mentioned.
PS I saw you on Iron Chef langostines too, you don't look fat =P
feistyfoodie at 10:52AM on 06/06/08
Oh... and lots of veggies and fresh fruits, that always helps.
feistyfoodie at 10:53AM on 06/06/08
Back in the 1980s, I was having a burger at the Great Jones Cafe when Lauren Hutton walked in. She was alone, and ordered just about everything on the menu. She ate two or three bites of each dish, and that was it. A good, but expensive (well, not at Great Jones, necessarily) strategy.
Barbara Hanson at 11:38AM on 06/06/08
lCan you review a restaurant based on a one bite sampling of its offerings? Is this sufficient to convey to the reader what going there for a meal will be like? Aren't there things that a 'civilian' diner might order that don't hold up after a few more bites - that become boring or tasteless? And then, isn't this a completely different experience from the reviewer's?
islandexile at 2:47PM on 06/07/08