Mr Levine--- I thoroughly enjoyed the story in The Times and offer you a small way to ease some of efforts.
We have a couple of handy nutrition tools posted at http://www.MenuRx.com/NutritionTools.htm
Others have found them memorable ways to keep their diets in check.
Continued good luck in reaching your goals, but PLEASE don't overdo it!
ElDee, your comment about giving in to a craving is one of the biggest lessons I've learned. I don't have much of a sweet tooth (shwew!), but when I've been thinking/talking about something (oh, say, the coffee chip ice cream at a favorite local place) for over a week, I give in to the craving. With a SMALL cup. I savor it, and I'm done.
What a great post! I empathize with you, too, as someone who'd been overweight her entire life. I really went out of control when I started cooking school and am finally getting it under control (for the most part, most of the time, anyway). Your weekly posts and meditations on this issue are encouraging, and I continue to wish you well as I battle the bulge alonside you!
Don't take any notice of that guy who attributed it all to genetics. Saw a great show on british tv recently where they took failed dieters who blamed their weight on everything from slow metabolisms to food allergies and genetics and everything in between. They were all brought along to have an in depth analysis of all the physical factors that may have contributed to their weight.....none had any reason for being obese except eating too much and not exercising enough. Funnily while all were a little disappointed at this it was also a big motivation to them so that they actually got motivated to do something.
Anyway, horrible negative bit over. I love what you are doing. At only 29 I have already spent 2 decades trying to balance what I love (food!) with what is good for me....which can sometimes be boring.
One thing that I have noticed is that if you really want something you should just have it and then stop. I have found that if I crave something and don't allow myself to have it because its "bad" then I end up eating twice the amount of calories of something that is "good" to make up for it. So keep the jam/jelly/whatever!
Food critics, like porn stars, experience pleasure for the benefit of an absent audience and do so in quantities likely to eventually put their health and even enjoyment in jeopardy. I certainly appreciate the benefits and sacrifices of the former, but I remain dubious about the latter.
Ed, kudos for sharing your experience so publicly. I wish you the best in attaining your goals. I am in the 4th week of my "program," and as someone who has never been able to lose weight or resist temptation, I am finally finding success and freedom from cravings. I read somewhere that failure is giving up what you most for what you want Right Now. Good luck!
I think that one of the major problems that comes up here, not just among chefs or critics, but for all Americans is that we think we know about nutrition and what is healthy, but the truth is we have no idea. Look at the label of a low fat Blueberry yogurt (yes, even the organic kind) in your grocery store and you will notice that one serving of that has about twice the amount of pure sugar than a bowl of ice cream. Diet food is perhaps the most unhealthy food out there. Also, many people feel that in order to compensate for indulging on a big meal such as pizza or eating a dessert at lunch, that they should skip meals later in the day. Well, that is the worst thing you can do. The body will think it is being deprived and start storing fat.
I LOVE food and appreciate it for the pleasure it can bring and how it can bring people together, but I find it very hard to strike a true balance unless you train your palate to like (not LOVE), but be satisfied, with the healthiest of food. And, with the way American live, they do not have time to enjoy meals, so if you are going to scarf down something at your desk, it might as well be the most healthy option that exists (and not the heathiest option that is in your local subway). I eat almost obsessively healthy 85-90% of the time. This means a lunch that might be a salad with greens, a ton of raw vegetables, plain grilled salmon and a table spoon of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I meause everything, and by now can eyeball and know the calories and macros I am eating. It means not adding the little sweeteners to foods and it means not eating ANYTHING processed. It also means knowing how to time your food according to exercise, whiich means that you have to learn to exercise appropriately. Yes, cardio is great for you, but doing hours upon hours a week of steady state cardio is catabolic. People need to educate themselves about exercise and anaerobic vs. aerobic and when to eat carbs and what kind according to when you exercise. Weightlifting is an esssential part of losing weight, staying in shape or gaining muscle. If I had the choice between only lifting weights or only doing cardio, weights would win out every time, and I am by no means a bodybuilder.
But, as obsessive as I may seem, i do enjoy food. I have learned to cook food that is unbelievably healthy and delicious, but that every ingredient is the height of nutritious. And, it means that when I do indulge, I appreciate it that much more. And, many of the things that I once truly loved because they tasted good, I have come to hate b/c I now realize what it was doing to my body, my health and my overall mood. If I am eating a meal alone at my apartment, I do not find it enjoyable to indugle. I leave the indulging to when I am with friends and celebrating and truly enjoying what I am eating and the people I am eating it with.
The people that describe themselves as those that have lost 30 lbs, then put it back on, those are the people that do not educate themselves about nutrition and exercise. Just having portion control is not nearly enough. Yes, if you ate just 2000 calories a day of pizza, you would probably lose weight, but the key is you would lose weight, not body fat. Losing weight is not just about losing weight, it is about becoming a more healthy person and feeling better everyday. I am not trying to preach, but this is what I have learned and the lack of education in this society about such a large issue is horrible.
Ed, I applaude you for losing weight, especially given the temptation that is around you 24 hours a day and I certainly don't mean to belittle any attempts you are making to become healthier. But, I think everyone who battles with their weight or just how they feel, even if they seem to be at a healthy weight, needs to educate themselves.
This is just my 2 cents and sorry if I rambled. This is a topic that frustrates me to my deepest core.
I, too, was shocked to see Shaw's take on it. While I do realize that genetics may play some part in obesity, to blame it solely for your weight issues is a cop out.
It's been great to see Ed struggle with his diet—both online and offline here in the Serious Eats office—and to make advances through small changes in habit.
And not to take away from Ed's triumphs, it's even more stunning and inspiring to see Jason Perlow go from the over-the-top meals he once blogged about on Off the Broiler to his current healthy-but-pleasure-focused eating.
Gawker actually had a pretty damn funny take on the article: Fat Food Critic Has Death Wish
You can't know how happy I am to see this post and how happy I was to read the NYT article. As an overweight food/wine writer, I have searched the internet high and low for pieces such as this from others in the industry, that have some sort of found wisdom to offer. I'm often obstinate and if I read in a diet cookbook that I'm supposed to use no-fat butter substitute in my faux hollandaise sauce I toss the book out the window...the purist in me can't get there. And so I guess what they say is right....portion control. Thanks again.
Good for you for facing this head on, Ed! I feel the same way about Jason Perlow. Eating and enjoying it is one of my favorite pleasures, but not at the expense of overall health.
Over the years (my first diet was at the age of 8, I'm now 42) of on and off dieting, I have learned every trick in the book, and in the last decade or so have realized that I physically can't eat as much as my brain might want me to, so I don't. It's that simple-feeling so full that I can't move or feel sick isn't (pardon the pun) appetizing. I'd much rather have a few bites of everything I want to try and enjoy the leftovers than inhale it in one sitting (usually too fast, to boot) and not really savor what I'm eating. Despite my consistent battle with weight, I am, according to my doctor, very healthy. I do eat what I want to, and I also MOVE. I'm convinced this is the balance we all need.
Call me Presbyterian or presbyopic, but I don't see "glutton" and "gourmet" as synonymous, nor "fat" and "foodie". My use of "fat and happy" as a screen moniker has always been figurative (ahem), not causal.
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