Food / restaurant critics and overweight / obesity ... no connection

[Jingthing]

Some food critics / restaurant reviewers are overweight or obese.

Some aren't.

Just like the general population.

Being very interested in the taste and quality of different foods at different restaurants, and WRITING about it, is in no way any kind of fateful determination towards overweight or obesity.

Here is some evidence:

http://www.ranker.com/list/list-of-famous-food-critics/reference

Not me!

Why do I post this? Because over the years here and even recently, I have been personally attacked for posting about restaurants as if it is some kind of disqualifier to having a serious interest in weight control issues, for myself and others.

No, I am not a "famous" food critic, but yes I do have a reputation on thaivisa as someone who comments on food related topics, especially Pattaya restaurants.

So I hope this is settled now, and please avoid such PERSONAL attacks in future, against me or anyone else who has culinary interests, as they are not based in any kind of FACT.

This forum is not here for personal attacks against posters, and also note it is NOT OK to reference a person's issues with weight control discussed on THIS forum on OTHER Thaivisa forums. (Which happens too and it should NOT happen and is actually EXPLICITLY against the rules of this subforum.)

Speaking of culinary interests ... it is my strong opinion that people dealing with weight control issues are better off if they cook many of their own meals themselves. Eating out ALL THE TIME is risky as you aren't in control of what's in the food. Of course there are tactics you can use to minimize that problem, just like anything else, it's best to be conscious and aware all the time about what you are eating as well as the portions. I find the more I know about food, and I do know a lot, the more I can understand the health aspects of restaurant meals. We have choices, whether cooking at home or eating out.

Reference to subforum rule, as above:

3. Please be aware that anything that appears to be name-calling, condescending behavior, or baiting towards members because of their health status will not be tolerated on this subforum. Furthermore, if information posted on this subforum becomes the basis for abuse in other areas of the forum, discipline may also be applied. This is to give members a sense of safety in posting

Edited January 12, 2016 by Jingthing

[singa-traz]

It's a bit like ... an alcoholic appearing as promoting ABSTINENCE and at the same time organizing WINE TASTING sessions.

You can't really ACT surprised or shocked, if it raises a few eyebrow.

"But I'm not swallowing ... I swear!"

[Jingthing]

It's a bit like ... an alcoholic appearing as promoting ABSTINENCE and at the same time organizing WINE TASTING sessions.

You can't really ACT surprised or shocked, if it raises a few eyebrow.

"But I'm not swallowing ... I swear!"

Good you brought of booze.

Or you could say smoking.

An alcoholic giving up booze needs to never drink again. They have a definite clinical disease and drinking will often send them back into active addiction.

So that's correct, an alcoholic who claims to be not drinking can't easily be a wine reviewer.

Maybe (not likely) maybe it's possible because wine tasters SPIT OUT the wine ... but I think that would still be a big problem for a true alcoholic.

Smoking is also addictive ... so if you're quitting smoking, you can't be a cigar reviewer.

But FOOD is quite different than that. We eat food everyday. All humans must eat food. Usually every day.

Humans don't need to drink booze. They don't need to smoke ciggies.

So we all eat. That's a given. The question is WHAT we eat. Another question is HOW MUCH of that WHAT we eat.

We make those decisions every day. The sum of those decisions impacts on our weight.

Being INTERESTED in the details of the WHAT WE EAT, by tasting different foods in different restaurants, can actually be a POSITIVE thing for people dealing with weight control issues.

Now in the role of a commercial food reviewer, if they were required by their job to eat at a lot of places offering rich foods, that would be a challenge. They could taste such food, not finish them, and also balance out what they eat during the rest of the day to compensate for calories, etc.

It's not like everyone who tastes a cookie though is going to buy a truckload of cookies and feel compelled to eat them all.

Myself, I am not a commercial food reviewer so I eat what I choose. Not compelled to sample the menu at Hooters and won't be going.

The reason I posted the link PLEASE CLICK ON IT is so that people can see that many or even most of these very famous food writers are NOT obese. Some are a bit chubby, but interestingly of the unscientific sample, the rate of overweight/obesity seems quite low.

Of course being someone who writes about food doesn't protect from weight control issues but it doesn't compel them either. It is BASICALLY irrelevant.

Anyway, think whatever you like about whether food reviewers are all overweight or obese (THEY ARE NOT, but think what you like) but to you and others, it is NOT OK to attack me (or others) personally on this forum because of what's posted on other forums (food reviews, etc.). It is also NOT OK to suggest that people who comment about restaurants on other forums lack credibility or personal motivation "will power" in matters of weight control issues. They are unrelated matters.

My personal story dealing with weight control issues is actually quite a SUCCESSFUL one ... having lost a significant percentage of body weight and KEPT IT OFF for years now. So I have something very positive to offer here on THIS forum.

Regardless of whether I know where to get a good pad krapow in town, or not. (I do.)

Edited January 13, 2016 by Jingthing

[singa-traz]

Being a food reviewer for a person with current or past weight control issue ... is a bit like being a firefighter for an ex-pyromaniac.

If you were to do Cooking review that would be different, because you will then be improving a skills that will help you and others in the long term.

I will support that.

But you can't keep repeating on how hard it is for people who are/have been obese/overweight to keep their weight under control and that it's a lifetime struggle, that the rate of success is so low ... and at the same time making recommendation for dining out???

Doesn't eating out increase the risk of obesity? (larger portion, higher calories content, ...).

I fail to see how this positively contribute to this forum.

Important:

As for your PM, please don't do it again and don't tell me what I can or cannot do.

[Jingthing]

Being a food reviewer for a person with current or past weight control issue ... is a bit like being a firefighter for an ex-pyromaniac.

If you were to do Cooking review that would be different, because you will then be improving a skills that will help you and others in the long term.

I will support that.

But you can't keep repeating on how hard it is for people who are/have been obese/overweight to keep their weight under control and that it's a lifetime struggle, that the rate of success is so low ... and at the same time making recommendation for dining out???

Doesn't eating out increase the risk of obesity? (larger portion, higher calories content, ...).

I fail to see how this positively contribute to this forum.

Important:

As for your PM, please don't do it again and don't tell me what I can or cannot do.

I posted this thread because I intend to defend myself against vicious and bullying personal attacks that have nothing to do with this weight control forum and the TOPICS it contains. Also against the continuing promotion of false narratives about what I do or don't believe about weight control issues.

What I think about weight control issues is in my posts. Others, I suggest saying what YOU think, instead of spending energy constructing wildly distorted, insulting, and false narratives about what you think others think.

If I want to post about restaurants on OTHER FORUMS, that's my business. It is unfair and an off topic PERSONAL ATTACK to suggest that my posts on a weight control forum are worthless because I do so. I posted that link to show PICTURES of all those famous food writers who are/were mostly NOT OBESE as a way of PROVING there is no logical direct connection between writing about food and being obese/overweight. At least one those writers also published books about healthy cooking. I am also interested in healthy cooking and ways to eat HEALTHIER at restaurants.

Most of us do eat at restaurants ... some of us often. It's especially common in THAILAND as restaurants are so affordable here.

Whether you "support me" or not is not the point. Not expecting support or agreement of everyone here. Nobody should. But a certain level of CIVILITY and avoidance of PERSONAL ATTACKS based on posts on other forums, we should all expect that.

I PMd you once, dude If you want to BLOCK my PM's do it. I will PM you in future if I have something to say to you by PM, or not, if I don't. If you want to guarantee that stop, block PM. How am I supposed to remember your request a year from now, we've got THOUSANDS of members.

If you are trying to imply that I am harassing you by PM, use report, because that would be totally FALSE.

Edited January 13, 2016 by Jingthing

[singa-traz]

DUDE,

I told you once already, don't PM me ever again.

This will effectively be considered as harassment.

Do I need to remind you of the Forum rules, as you so nicely did in your PM?

As for your contribution to this forum, it's priceless ... in a certain way.

But let's come back to the topic: Food Reviewer and obesity

The question is not whether food reviewer are obese or not, the question is, for people who are struggling to keep their weight long term, does it make sense to take on this activity, especially knowing that eating out frequently is listed as one of the cause of obesity.

My POV is that people with weight issue should do their possible to reduce their exposure to this environment, and avoid the temptations.

This is actually one of my goals for this year, to reduce the number of time I eat outside.

It's harder to control the portion when you go eating out.

I can't order a 1,000 THB steak and then only eat 1/3 of it ... it's hard for a lot of people.

I can't go to an "all you can eat buffet" and then later lament that my weight loss is not going according to plan.

So, you might have a different opinion, and think this is irrelevant. I will just not let this nonsense unchallenged on this forum.

[Jingthing]

Good luck with your weight control goals. If you think you need to avoid eating out then don't eat out.

We're not all the same. I have eaten out at the same frequency when I was losing a significant percentage of my body weight as now. It's a matter of choices when eating at home or out.

I won't accept my contributions on this subforum being trashed only because I eat out.

If you want to block PM you can do that yourself.

[saakura]

Depression, low self esteem can also lead to finding comfort in food and cause weight problems.

[Jingthing]

Depression, low self esteem can also lead to finding comfort in food and cause weight problems.

That's true but I don't see how that relates to this thread. Navigating eating at delicious restaurants while losing or maintaining weight is the opposite of depressing. People don't need to give up enjoying food. They do need to be smart about choices when eating in or out.

[saakura]

Depression, low self esteem can also lead to finding comfort in food and cause weight problems.

That's true but I don't see how that relates to this thread. Navigating eating at delicious restaurants while losing or maintaining weight is the opposite of depressing. People don't need to give up enjoying food. They do need to be smart about choices when eating in or out.

No, i mean could one possibly be in sub-conscious denial of personal issues (i mentioned depression and self esteem only as examples, could be many others) and binge on eating good food as a statement of 'look, i am eating at delicious restaurants and enjoying, so i cant be having any issues!'

[Jingthing]

I suppose so. But the stereotypical depressed binge eater is in private at home. Such as a gallon of ice cream. See the OP for what this thread is actually about.

[Jingthing]

The limited scope of this thread is mainly this.

Writing about food and restaurants is not determinative either way of overweight and obesity.

Photographic evidence was presented.

Also personal attacks on members on this sub forum based on the nature of their posts on other sub forums should not be tolerated.

[robblok]

The limited scope of this thread is mainly this.

Writing about food and restaurants is not determinative either way of overweight and obesity.

Photographic evidence was presented.

Also personal attacks on members on this sub forum based on the nature of their posts on other sub forums should not be tolerated.

Why don't you apply to be a mod, you seem to always want to tell others what they can and can't do.. when threads should be closed and so on. Looks like you got some control issues.

Your photographic evidence says nothing, fact is if you have a weight issue and you are constantly going to restaurants your not helping yourself. Its proven that preparing your own foods and knowing what goes in and what you eat gives far more control about how much and what you are eating. Now you have no way of knowing what they put in and how much sugar and stuff.

Your in denial.

[Jingthing]

I do not want to be a mod.

I've got control issues? Coming from you, that's rich.

Otherwise I'll let your abusive personal attack comments stand as it seems you have a psychological need to dump garbage like that directed at me. So you did the dump. Hope you feel better.

As far as the pictures supporting the thesis of the OP. I agree that is not proof worthy of a court of law. This is not a court of law. It's a health forum.

Edited January 15, 2016 by Jingthing

[SoiBiker]

I have to say, this looks more like attention-seeking than anything else.