Foodies are fat, says the New York Times. No surprise here: I looked at my weight history at the doctor's a few weeks ago and noticed that I really porked up around March 2006, when I started this blog. I was at my lowest weight since college in February 2007, when the blog went on hiatus. Coincidence? I think not. I hesitate to write about my weight neuroses, but I fret about staying slim as much as I do about what I’ll eat for dinner.
My solution is to eat with abandon once or twice a week and then watch it the rest of the time. Monday through Friday, my diet is mostly fish, lean protein and vegetables (cooked in varied and delicious ways, thanks), plus some fruit, dairy, lentils/beans and olive oil. I watch my portions, and I’m never quite full after a meal. Small sacrifice, since weekends are for pasta, bread, larger portions, etc. This works: I’ve stayed pretty close to my ideal weight for more than a year. I’d sign a Faustian deal to stay at this weight for life.
(More interesting is that foodies swear that it’s only processed junk that makes you fat. Surely pork belly from that local, organic, humanely-raised pig that you bought from your good friend the farmer at a charming little outdoor market will not make you gain weight... Er, never mind.)
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4 comments:
Definitely a pitfall for the food blogger! I spend a LOT of time trying to give food away these days. :-)
I was puzzled by the gleeful malice of that NYT article. Just the same sort of scolding that followed our recent gubernatorial revelations. Can't we all get along?
Eh, I think that the article focuses on rather extreme cases, and as the newspapers tend to do, it exagerrates for effect. Your own solution sounds very sound, and you can still blog and entertain your readers. :)
I read that blog post slightly differently than you did. If eaten in huge amounts, pork belly will make you gain weight, the author does not claim that it would not. Granted, carrots will make you gain weight and so would just about anything, if not consumed as a part of balanced diet. The problem with the processed junk is that often one is not aware of what one is consuming. Which is why I strongly agree with one of the commenters on the blog that educating the public is very crucial.
BTW, I still owe you that recipe. I did not forget, just did not have time to transcribe it.
Ann--True, and it's even more of a pitfall for food professionals. I have more sympathy for them after reading Adam Levine's weight loss diary on Serious Eats. So many temptations!
Chocolate lady--I agree w/Victoria that the article is exaggerated for effect. As for gubernatorial revelations, that was a good, old-fashioned sex scandal starring the least likely (or one of the least likely) politician to get caught in something like that. I confess I followed the story closely for a couple of days. Now it's just sad and tired.
Victoria--I've pretty much given up baking because a whole pan of brownies or cookies is just too much of a temptation to have around. I agree that anything eaten in huge amount will cause weight gain. But I've noticed that foodies with a local/organic/etc. bent think that high-quality food, even if eaten in generous portions, will somehow not make you gain weight. You really have to watch serving sizes no matter what you eat.
Thanks again for the recipe.
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