Is fitness the next foodie fad?

[Gary Marshall]

Is it just me or have i noticed a trend starting amongst foodies to match their calorific intake with equally intense gym/diet sessions?

The rather disturbing picture of gary rhodes in the sunday times and jay's piece in the observer women's magazine are just the tip of the iceberg as i know several previously high profile foodies who have retreated from the front line until their waistline can be measured in inches rather than feet again.

I got a shock post christmas when i hit nearly 16 stone and thought, i'd better have a bit of a re-think here, so i'm too on the fitness streak, though not quite cutting out the carbs yet, though i am well aware carbs=death

[Tim Hayward]

Is it just me or have i noticed a trend starting amongst foodies to match their calorific intake with equally intense gym/diet sessions?

The rather disturbing picture of gary rhodes in the sunday times and jay's piece in the observer women's magazine are just the tip of the iceberg as i know several previously high profile foodies who have retreated from the front line until their waistline can be measured in inches rather than feet again.

I got a shock post christmas when i hit nearly 16 stone and thought, i'd better have a bit of a re-think here, so i'm too on the fitness streak, though not quite cutting out the carbs yet, though i am well aware carbs=death 

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It makes loads of sense to me. So many top chefs are utter control freaks.

I've always felt that people who fight against the shape of their bodies are tragic, deluded individuals who lack the mental flexibility for acceptance and consequently enter the endless, losing battle to prove that they can defeat nature - they can't - we all end up out of condition and ultimately dead.

Ramsay and Rhodes are both runners - classic symptom of desperate middle-aged losers unwilling to confront reality. Heston is on a higher plane combining kick-boxing with various experiments in rudimentary mind-control.

Jung believed that the crucial point in a man's life came around the end of his thirties when he finally became aware of his own mortality and learned to accept decay with equanimity. 'Raging against the dying of the light' has always been the sign of those too psychologically immature to achieve self-actualisation.

Edited April 14, 2008 by Tim Hayward (log)

[Simon_S]

Great post, Tim. I think I'll trash that blood pressure monitor I just bought!

[Gary Marshall]

don't think it was an age thing for me, more difficulty in bending down to tie shoe laces.

[BertieWooster]

Loved that picture of Jay 'going through his normal routine in the gym'. ie staring into the mid-distance whilst pushing his biceps out.

SO I'm not unfit or decrepit, just 'accepting decay with equanimity.' Cool. (though Becker did build on Jung';s work to suggest those glorying too much in their own decay were subject to depressive psychosis).

[thom]

don't think it was an age thing for me, more difficulty in bending down to tie shoe laces.

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Slip-on's? Loafers? Velcro?

Cheers

Thom

[Corinna Dunne]

I see Gordo (3 hours 45 mins) was beaten by Michel Roux (3 hours 28 mins) in the London Marathon yet again. Apparently next year is going to be his last one. It will be his 10th.

[nikkib]

is fitness the next foodie fad? God i hope not!

[Tim Hayward]

don't think it was an age thing for me, more difficulty in bending down to tie shoe laces.

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You don't think it's about age. That's because you're wasting money at the gym instead of he therapist

[Tim Hayward]

...Becker did build on Jung';s work to suggest those glorying too much in their own decay were subject to depressive psychosis...

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Naah mate. I'm happy, cheery and well balanced.

You should see the picture in my attic though....

[Gary Marshall]

would love to dive into the debate further but i'm already running late for the gym....

[naebody]

Quoth Ramsay:

"'Michel Roux is gloating that he beat me but he is built like a piece of asparagus. He'll be dining out on this for the next 364 days."

Actually, sir, I suspect Michel will probably be in a kitchen for most of those days.

Jung believed that the crucial point in a man's life came around the end of his thirties when he finally became aware of his own mortality and learned to accept decay with equanimity. 'Raging against the dying of the light' has always been the sign of those too psychologically immature to achieve self-actualisation.

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Interesting theory.

According to Jung, you should have made peace with your own mortality by the age of 40, which will allow your mind turn in inwards in an attempt to re-experience what you'd previously found in the outer world. I'd suggest that the only turning inward Ramsay (41), Heston (42) and Rhodes (48) are demonstrating at the moment is in relation to head and arsehole.

[jayrayner]

Loved that picture of Jay 'going through his normal routine in the gym'. ie staring into the mid-distance whilst pushing his biceps out.

SO I'm not unfit or decrepit, just 'accepting decay with equanimity.' Cool. (though Becker did build on Jung';s work to suggest those glorying too much in their own decay were subject to depressive psychosis).

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Do you know how bloody hard it is to look nonchalant while tensing like that? It's a killer I tell you, a killer.

As I said in the piece, it was not my idea to write it, but the same team that edits OFM edits OW and therefore are obsessed with body image. They nagged me and nagged me and eventually I gave in. Prose wise I did want to avoid the self-congratulatory, because that feeds off the victim mentality. It weren't me what made me fat, it was them buns. Well no, actually it was what you ate.

As to the photograph, once I'd agreed to write about it there were no half measures. I wanted a picture I could look back on when I'm 65 and it's all gone south and say there was a point, dear boy, when you were okay. The trick was to find the right balance of vanity and diffidence.

As to Tim 'where are my teeth' Hayward. Nice argument, but if you too were staring 21 stone in the face you would decide to do something about it. No Jungian analysis necessary.

[BertieWooster]

Loved that picture of Jay 'going through his normal routine in the gym'. ie staring into the mid-distance whilst pushing his biceps out.

SO I'm not unfit or decrepit, just 'accepting decay with equanimity.' Cool. (though Becker did build on Jung';s work to suggest those glorying too much in their own decay were subject to depressive psychosis).

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Do you know how bloody hard it is to look nonchalant while tensing like that? It's a killer I tell you, a killer.

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At least you weren't pulling that 'I'm suffering from severe constipation' face most middle-aged men use whan shifting weights...

(criticises he while drinking his afternoon protein shake...ach-hemm)

[algy]

I'd suggest that the only turning inward Ramsay (41), Heston (42) and Rhodes (48) are demonstrating at the moment is in relation to head and arsehole.

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I'm sure you're right: I just hope that it's happening individually rather than collectively.

[Tim Hayward]

As to Tim 'where are my teeth' Hayward. Nice argument, but if you too were staring 21 stone in the face you would decide to do something about it. No Jungian analysis necessary.

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I apologise.

Yours was a health decision and totally laudable. The Chefs are a different thing - there's something truly creepy about the levels of self-control in middle-aged male chefs, martial artists and marathon runners.

To be strictly accurate I only peaked at 20st 8lbs and entirely lacked the self-control to do anything about it. In the end a combination of protracted marital collapse and not entirely unrelated chemical abuse caused the weight to drop off.

Then I turned 38 and had the therapy.

I've been stable at 15st 8lbs for a few years now, which I probably don't deserve because I didn't work at it. I wouldn't recommend the 'Charlie Plan' diet to anyone, but I do take my hat of to anyone with the guts to make the life change necessary for lasting weight loss.

[Gary Marshall]

and the theme for gordon's next series of the f word (and book) is .....

healthy eating

from amazon....

What you are is what you eat and everyone wants to be healthy and look their best. Gordon Ramsay super-fit chef, marathon runner and high-energy television presenter is a great advertisement for eating well and staying in the peak of good health. For this third series of The F Word, he has put together over 100 dishes that are completely in tune with the way we want to eat today packed with fresh, vital ingredients cooked in the most healthy way to achieve maximum flavour. Geared around our daily lives he gives ideas and recipes for healthy breakfasts, lunches, barbecues, suppers, desserts, kids and entertaining, demonstrates healthy cooking methods that guarantee optimum flavour, and tells us which are his favourite healthy ingredients. Recipes include Mango and Smoked Chicken Salad, Griddle Squid with Roasted Peppers and Cannellini Beans, Wild Mushroom Risotto with baked Courgettes and Roasted Peaches with Vanilla and Spices. With its fresh, colourful photographs and clean modern design, this is a worthy follower to his hugely successful Fast Food and Sunday Lunch.

[Tim Hayward]

Gordo's remaining credibility has left the building.

[sunbeam]

Nigel Lawson, Terry Durack, Jonathan Meades all went on severe diets that left them looking like one of those Japanese dogs with the wrinkles. They were all getting obviously seriously overweight, so I don't blame them.

I'm less concerned with what Rhodes has done to his body than what he's done to his voice. It now veers wildly from sounding Like Lord Haw Haw one minute back to his natural Estuary the next, sometimes in the space of a single sentence. Someone is being paid to style him I suspect.

S