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Allison Adato, a senior editor and former food beat writer for People magazine, is out in April with a book, "Smart Chefs Stay Slim," offering insights and tips from three dozen of the biggest names in the industry. "Paula Deen's revelation may mark a turning point for some viewers and diners," Adato said. "My hope is that this moment creates a broader awareness that the way a person eats does have an impact on his or her health. Fortunately, there are a lot of chefs who have already thought about how to balance a healthy lifestyle with enjoying wonderful food." Surrounded by rich, decadent food and their need to earn a living from it, Adato's chefs stay fit by keeping hyper-aware of every calorie. Some balance out their food excesses over a few days, indulging one day, but "eating clean" the next. They know the difference between tasting the food they prepare without gorging on it, and exactly how much dessert to enjoy. As a pastry chef, Mignano said his problem wasn't so much the chocolate he was surrounded by. It was the junk food he'd slam down before and after work. Ally Vitella, 41, a New York City caterer, discovered she had Type 2 diabetes at the first health check-in for "Fat Chef." At 5-9, she weighed 345 pounds (156.49 kilograms) and was forced to sit guiltily by as her husband and mother-in-law lugged catering ovens and other equipment up and down the stairs of their Manhattan clients. After a job, "You're kind of a scavenger. I was eating hors d'oeuvres for lunch and dinner. I would scoop up half a tray of food and eat it. We were ordering pizza and Chinese food at home because we were exhausted all the time," she said. "We cook things you're supposed to eat once in a while, but I was eating them every day." Vitella, who lives in North Caldwell, New Jersey, dropped from a size 28 to a size 16 during the show, losing nearly 60 pounds (27.22 kilograms). Her goal weight is 190, but the important thing, she said, is she can play again with her 7-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter. "I've learn that tasting means tasting, not tasting the same dish five times," Vitella said. Escalation of Type 2 disease in the U.S. has been closely tied to obesity. Roughly 23 million Americans are believed to have the most common Type 2 diabetes; patients' bodies either do not produce enough insulin or do not use it efficiently, allowing excess sugar, or glucose, to accumulate in the blood. Deen, who's made a lucrative living as a TV chef by going over the top with butter, cream and sugar, faced a torrent of criticism when she disclosed her diabetes diagnosis and her contract to lend her face and recipes to "Diabetes in New Light," a project of the drugmaker Novo Nordisk. The campaign's website includes detailed information about Victoza, the drug Deen has taken for nearly five months. Smith calls Deen's endorsement deal "a mistake, ill advised" but said her personal health and her style of cooking "are her own business." He said he dropped the weight and redefined his lifestyle for himself, but also to show the public that it CAN be done. "At this moment, chefs in America, particularly those fortunate enough to be embraced by the public as celebrities, have enormous influence," he wrote in the foreword to Adato's book. "I've tried to use mine responsibly."
[Associated
Press;
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