Not counting anything out, though, may just be the secret of the Thin Foodie’s success. “This new Thin Foodie person is about the vast enjoyment of food and becoming very flexible,” says celebrity nutritionist Oz Garcia, who adds that variety makes the way of life both exciting and whole. “Many urges and cravings people have show up in the absence of choice. Someone who’s got a working relationship with food has a sense they can be more relaxed with it, hence they eat a lot less.”
But no matter how balanced your choices are, eating out means less control and more calories. To counteract it all, nearly everyone I spoke with credited a steady workout regimen with keeping them trim. Padma Lakshmi, the much drooled-over host of Top Chef, says that she gains 10 to 15 pounds over the course of filming each season. “I’m a glutton,” she admits. “Anything fried is my weakness. When I’m doing the show, I just try to get in the gym and do cardio, cardio, cardio.”
After all, refusing the work of a talented chef is not an option—especially for any self-professed epicure. When you worship at the altar of Thomas Keller, it’s downright sacrilegious to ask for his salmon cornet without crème fraîche. “I want my customers to be foodies because then they’re not going to mess up the menu,” says Arpaia. Like Garcia, she sees an adventurous attitude as beneficial to the diner—and her waistline. “When you respect food, you don’t abuse it.”
