Celeb Food Hosts Whose Weight Has Fluctuated Over The Years
We all love to eat, so landing a gig hosting a food show would be a dream for most people—but it doesn't come without consequences. Whether we're talking about celebrity chefs, or just hosts who travel around sampling cuisine, there's ample evidence that spending most of one's professional life in kitchens tends to wreak havoc on one's waistline. Here are some celebrity food hosts who've battled with the scale.
Rachael Ray
Rachael Ray got her start on the Food Network in 2001 with the series 30 Minute Meals. From there, she parlayed multiple guest appearances on Oprah into her own self-titled daytime program in 2007. One of the most notable achievements to come out of the show is the widespread public embrace of her abbreviation for for extra virgin olive oil, "EVOO," so you have her to thank for that when your annoying foodie friend says it. But Ray has also contributed other wonderful things to the culinary world. Never proclaiming to be a health food guru, she seems to specialize in hearty comfort fare like her Bacon Burger Mac 'n Cheese, as well as something deliciously called Waffle Brownies. We don't even know what that is, but just thinking about it made our belts feel tighter.
Joey Fatone
Former NSYNC member turned Dancing with the Stars contestant (turned host of virtually any kind of show imaginable) Joey Fatone is no longer the slender one-fifth of the boy band that made Justin Timberlake famous. Since the band said bye bye bye to one another, Fatone has appeared on Chopped, Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off, The Kitchen, and many other food-themed shows. The dude likes to eat, and he appears to have carved out a nice little niche for himself doing it on television. And look, we're certainly not trying to fat shame anyone here at all. Fatone still looks great. We're just saying we're not sure he'd still be able to pull off that sweet marionette routine without needing a few breaks between pops and locks.
Emeril Lagasse
Remember Emeril Lagasse? He's the guy who made you think it was cool to yell "Bam!" while squirting a sad glop of sriracha into your ramen noodles. He's also an award-winning chef, restaurateur, and television personality who helped the Food Network become what it is today. Which also kind of makes him partially responsible for the existence of Guy Fieri, so we don't feel so bad anymore pointing out that Emeril's belt size has "kicked it up a notch" over the years, or the fact that he could basically be the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's twin. But we're also sure that between his multi-million dollar restaurant, cookbook, and television empire, he doesn't do a lot of Googling to see if the internet thinks he got fat, so we're in the clear.
Tom Kerridge
While a number of the food fanatics on this list have yet to turn their weight gain around, Chef and BBC star Tom Kerridge has lost over 100 pounds by dieting and exercising. He told The Telegraph, "I've done it by going teetotal, taking up swimming and watching my carb intake," which is amazing considering he runs a pub and has a Puff Pastry Pizza recipe that looks like a cross between a Chicago deep dish pizza and a giant donut. One of the ingredients is "a 500g all butter puff pastry," which for our American readers adds up to a little over four sticks. That's a dish not likely on Kerridge's personal menu anymore—and one that if we're being honest, should probably only be featured on a poster at a cardiologist's office, pictured inside a giant red circle with a slash over it.
Nigella Lawson
Another culinary pro and TV host from across the pond, Nigella Lawson, also dropped some of the excess pounds that come as a byproduct of being a professional awesome eats maker. She lost around 40 pounds with the help of pilates as well as a little push from a double bunion surgery. "I couldn't walk to the fridge afterwards and, actually, it's quite a good diet, "she jokingly told The Telegraph.
Paula Deen
Of all of the people on this list, Paula Deen, the queen of the deep fryer, has had the most high-profile battle with weight loss. She got her start as a home-based caterer before writing a few cookbooks and doing a QVC segment which led to a pilot that caught the eye of Food Network. From there her career exploded into multiple shows, more cookbooks, product lines, and endorsement deals, building a chicken-fried empire that was later threatened with a diabetes diagnosis and the now-infamous racism scandal that cost Deen her lucrative publishing and television deals.
In 2012, before any whiff of scandal, Deen got out in front of her diabetes diagnosis, spearheading an awareness campaign, becoming the spokesperson for Victoza, a diabetes medication, and making fundamental life changes that included dropping around 40 pounds. She also altered some of her favorite recipes to make them healthier, but refused to touch her favorite: Fried Pies. There's just no healthy way to make a sugar-filled grease pocket.
As far as the scandal that brought down the house that butter built, Deen has proven to be as resilient a decade-old circus peanut. In 2014 she launched her own web-based network, and she's also slowly worked her way back into the mainstream with appearances on Fox & Friends, Dancing with the Stars, and Celebrity Family Feud.
Adam Richman
On Man v. Food, Adam Richman tackled some of the toughest eating challenges on the planet, most of which involved him eating a portion of food more suitable for an entire family. He also spent a few days in each location sampling local eats that were almost always of the greasy, fatty variety. But the gorging took its toll, and four seasons and 60 pounds later, Richman had his fill. Towards the end of the show, he had developed sleep apnea and was unhappy with his appearance, so he put down the fork, picked up the weights, and streamlined his diet with healthier choices. He reportedly also went vegan at some point. Richman doesn't have a show at the time of this writing, so let's hope he doesn't find himself wandering back towards five-pound pizzas or burritos the size of an infant. It's not worth it, Adam, no matter how much we secretly still want to watch you eat both of those things.