Paula Deen

It turns out that Paula Deen is treating her diabetes with more seriousness that it first appeared a few months back when the announcement was made. She recently appeared at an event and was a few sizes smaller than in prior appearances. She says she's cut the amount she's eating and is walking regularly, something she wasn't doing before.

I am glad that she is taking her health seriously. I still find it distasteful that she's making money off of selling horribly unhealthful foods, though. At the same appearance, she served waffles, fried chicken, jambalaya, and mousse. I really wish she were adjusting her food to reflect her diagnosis.



Her son Bobby said, "I just try to show by example. I live my life, if that affects Mom in a personal way, that's great" He did present her with a pedometer for her daily walks. He is using his life as a runner to try to show her how to be healthier.

I understand that she's not our doctor or our mother, but she is a public figure and that changes her responsibility. It's the trade-off that people have to make when they're rich and famous. Every action is witnessed by many more people, and that's your true legacy. I hope she continues to improve her actions so her legacy isn't death-inducing food.

Fit Chefs

When people think of overweight chefs, they may think of Paula Deen or Paul Prudhomme. There are others that may come to mind, and it makes sense. If your job is food, gaining weight is not that far-fetched of a concept. I know that when I worked at a restaurant, I gained weight. Food was readily available and there was no limit. I think that's the concept behind Food Network's "Fat Chef"

When I was looking for info on Prudhomme, I found out that in 1991, he lost 130 of the 485 pounds he was carrying in the picture here. It turns out that he did it by eating fewer calories. He actually put that weight back on and then got down to 220 pounds in 2005. "I eat everything," he said, "Just not as much of it."

Not all chefs have such a public struggle with weight. Anthony Bourdain has always been thin, but I don't know if you'd call him healthy. He smokes a lot and has a history of drugs.

Rick Bayless on the other hand appears to be really fit, not just thin. I noticed how strong he looked while watching "Mexico: One Plate at a Time" today. Even when they showed his head and shoulders, his neck hinted at the fact that he clearly works out. The photo I found online proves my suspicions.

My favorite celebrity chef weight loss story is Art Smith's. Part of it is his great personality and another is that he's in Chicago. I also love that his personal charity is fighting childhood obesity. His tips for how he lost the weight are pretty straight-forward. Basically, he ate fewer calories and exercised.

I find many stories of how people lost weight to be inspirational, but people who are constantly around food earn a special admiration from me. Their jobs require them to taste food all day and night. Each taste may be only 5-10 calories, but hundreds of those tastes add up to an entire day's allotment of food.

Cooking

Cooking at home is one of the best ways to take control of your diet. Not only do you get to control all the ingredients that you consume, but you're fully aware of what you're eating. It's really easy to be removed from your food and ignorant of the ingredients when you're dining out. That does not mean that all home-cooked food is good for you. In fact, some cookbooks are downright dangerous. Luckily, there are people who analyze the recipes and let you know which cookbooks to avoid and which to seek out. Here are there list of the five worst for 2011.
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Cookbook	Nutritional Shocker
Jamie Oliver’s Meals in Minutes	One serving of the Meatball Sandwich contains more fat than a Big Mac and more than double the calories, cholesterol, sodium, and saturated fat.
Guy Fieri Food	Jambalaya Sandwich contains bacon, smoked sausage, and Andouille sausage; such processed meats raise colon cancer risk.
Paula Deen’s Southern Cooking Bible	One serving of Hot Buffalo Wings (three wings) contains 910 calories and 85 grams of fat; meat-heavy diets raise obesity risk.
The Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook	More than 50 pages of recipes featuring grilled meat, which increases cancer risk.
The Neelys’ Celebration Cookbook	Bourbon Bread Pudding is saturated with butter, half-and-half, and whole milk; high-fat diets increase heart-disease risk.

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I am not surprised to see

the Neelys,



























Paula Deen and Guy Fieri on the list, but Jamie Oliver's name really surprised me. It just goes to show that you really need to check out the nutritional information on recipes before making them at home. Many cookbooks contain that information on the recipe page. If not, you can go online and calculate for yourself.