The Gourmet's Dilemma

"When I'm at home or not eating for work, it's healthy food to the extreme," says Phil Vettel, who's been a restaurant critic for the Chicago Tribune for 19 years. "People are always astonished that I eat so plainly at home, but if I didn't, I'd have to widen all my doorways."
Although Vettel, unlike Fernau, has no idea how many calories are in any of his meals at a restaurant (he says if he knew the exact calorie count, it'd probably kill him), his guess is that if he ate everything presented to him at a sitting, it'd be upward of 4,000 calories. "I remember starting this job and thinking, 'Now this job could literally kill me if I'm not careful,' and so I've been careful, very careful," he says. "My saving grace in this profession is that you have to try everything, but you don't have to finish it. Doggie bags are my lifesaver."

Vettel, who eats dinner at four restaurants each week, says unlike most professions, he doesn't have the luxury of choice. "If I'm going out to eat, I can't choose the healthiest thing on the menu, I have to eat what they're bringing me."

While Vettel exercises when he can,  Joe Yonan, a food editor at The Washington Post, has intensified his exercise habits since he started the job two years ago. Yonan says he realized early on that he was gaining weight and promptly hired a personal trainer to meet with three times a week, on top of his cardio training three to five times a week. "There are certainly perks to tasting such great food," he says. "But it presents an uphill struggle to staying fit."

Still,  it's a struggle that many Americans might envy. After all, it's one thing to get your calories from lobster tails poached in butter or a delicate chocolate soufflé and quite another to get them from sodas and fast-food burgers.

© 2008