Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 93: Can Pizza Be Diet Food?
From Ken's Artisan Pizza in Portland, Oregon. Read more here» [Photograph: Adam Kuban]
Why do I ask this question? Because over the course of the last few weeks, Adam and I have been hitting pizzerias all over the country for a March Madness-like tournament of pizza we are writing up for Rachael Ray Magazine and posting about on Slice.
While Adam has been to Seattle (twice), Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix in the last three weeks, I have been to two pizzerias in Atlanta, five in Chicago, four in Philadelphia, one in New Haven, and half a dozen in New York City. You will be reading more about our adventures in the coming weeks, but suffice to say that it has been a lot of fun.
The last time I embarked on such an ambitious pizza regimen I was doing the primary research for Pizza: A Slice of Heaven. In that case I have estimated that I ate a thousand slices of pizza in the course of a year. The key difference? Back then I weighed 265 pounds; back then I just blythly accepted the fact that I routinely overate, because that was who I was. Back then I guess you could say that I was willing to do die for my art, or my craft, or whatever one-word descriptor I could come up with to succinctly depict what I did back then.
But then is then, and now, four years and thousands of slices later, is now. I'm intent on staying around for a long time, no matter what I do for a living, I and I have lost almost fifty pounds in an effort to do so. So how does one eat a lot of pizza and face the scale music every Friday?
Serious Pie in Seattle, Washington. Read more here» [Photograph: Adam Kuban]
I don't know for sure, but I am trying out various strategies and tactics in an effort to stave off gaining too much weight.
Thinner comes with me on every flight and train ride that involves an overnight stay. Silly, I know, but he helps. I weighed myself in Chicago, Atlanta, and Oxford—no matter how much pizza I ate the evening before, no matter how ugly the number was going to be.
Give most of the leftover pizza to other serious eaters. In Philadelphia my friends Fay Stanford and Craig LaBan ended up with a lot of pizza just so I wouldn't. The same thing happened in Chicago with Daniel Zemans, Nick Kindelsperger, and Blake Royer (all Serious Eats contributors) and in Atlanta with my friends David Lewis, Danica Kumbol, and John Kessler.
I paced myself, and I tried to know when to say when. Chicago was tough, because we did eat at five pizzerias in five hours. But I lucked out, because we happened to hit my favorite of the night first, so it was a little easier not to overeat at the next four stops.
The Weigh-In
So we are about to see if employing the above-mentioned tactics and strategies worked. My interim weigh-ins have been reasonably encouraging but inconclusive, but you know what, there's one more tactic I haven't mentioned that might be the most effective one of all: getting on the scale and posting my weight every Friday, like I'm about to do.
Facing all of you, sharing this diet adventure with serious eaters everywhere, not being afraid to post my weight for all the world to see, has helped immeasurably. Because whether I lose a pound or two or three or gain a similar amount while eating pizza or biscuits or fried chicken (hazardous duties all), you all have stayed encouraging and supportive. And that means an awful lot.
Most of all it's helped me stick with the serious diet. And I say that no matter what Thinner is going to say right now: 217. Same as last week, and 48 pounds less than I weighed when I finished Slice of Heaven.
Not bad, not bad at all after quite a few pizza-filled weeks. Many, many thanks, serious eaters.
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10 Comments:
It's all about how much you eat and the toppings. A thinner crust is less carbs but holds a lot more topping so you'd have to beware of cheese and meat content.
A thin whole wheat crust with a ton of sauteed spinach and garlic, a sprinkling of mozzie and parm sounds pretty tasty and healthy to me. I make my own spinach pie but I'm a bit thicker on the crust.
But tomato sauce has always been my friend. Give me a saucy, sloppy slice and I'm a happy girl.
therealchiffonade at 8:50AM on 11/13/09
We usually get pizza as our Friday treat. I like a thin crust white pizza with broccoli and eggplant lately plus garlic and sprinkling of feta. As long as I don't eat the whole pie, I feel like I'm being reasonably healthy (ish).
Good work on the serious diet, Ed!
Amandarama at 9:16AM on 11/13/09
i'm so jealous. i've had to give up pizza and bagels {two of my favorite things in the world, being the true blue new yorker that i am} in order just to stay even.
that photograph makes me want to bite my computer.
cybercita at 9:26AM on 11/13/09
Glad to hear you're doing so well on the serious diet with all that pizza. And Ed, there are health benefits there too--didn't you know that pizza is a cure for the blues?
dhorst at 9:27AM on 11/13/09
You think so?
colicistard1 at 9:52AM on 11/13/09
Sure pizza can be diet food. Except I am not on a diet. I have made a life-style change. I eat anything and everything I want, except I dont' eat the whole thing. Good that you had friends to give the leftovers to. I found that I like a nice tomato/basil white pizza far more now than the greasy, meaty ones I used to eat. Keep up the good work. You are an inspiration to me
with what you do for a living.
queenbleu at 10:26AM on 11/13/09
You are such a rockstar! Now excuse me while I go have a brocolli rabe/fresh mozz slice for lunch...
laurbelle2 at 11:10AM on 11/13/09
Damage to your weight notwithstanding, you really do have the best job ever.
marchpane at 3:08PM on 11/13/09
I order from my local pizzera asking them to take the normal amount of cheese and put a lot less on one half-- that's for me-- and the cheese they don't put on my half, put on my son's half. He is tall and 17 YO and can metabolize any amount of calories. I put loads of extra oregano and pepper flakes on it too. Yum.
Trilby at 4:18PM on 11/13/09
I cannot believe that I never put two and two together until just now. I have a copy of "A Slice of Heaven" that you signed for me while I was working at the Lombardi's in Philadelphia sitting on my bookshelf, yet the fact that it was the Ed Levine of Serious Eats fame who wrote it never crossed my mind. I was not really the foodie then that I am now, I was too busy eating pizza for two meals a day then. I feel special now. :)
annabanannas at 6:50PM on 11/13/09