You’re a foodie. Your dream job: restaurant critic, New York Times. Your job description:

Eat out at fine restaurants most nights.

Bring along 3 companions, each must order an app, entrée, and dessert. You MUST every dish ordered.

Order a variety of wines.

Visit each place at least 3 times, so you know the consistency of the food and service.

Send your boss the tab.

NY Times restaurant critic Pete Wells, whose job entailed all of the above, recently announced he’s throwing in the napkin on what he admitted was HIS dream job: being paid to eat and critique meals at the best New York restaurants.

What made him want to leave?

His health, for one. He wanted the job, to be sure, until he didn’t. For years, he OD’d on lots of rich food, and so had his body. He avoided getting a physical in “longer than I’d care to admit”.

                          Graphic: iStock

Maybe he secretly knew what it would ultimately reveal about his health:

• Elevated cholesterol
• Elevated blood glucose
• Elevated blood pressure
• Obesity

This combo is the perfect recipe for pre-diabetes, fatty liver, and metabolic syndrome, all terms he said were “thrown around” by his doctor.

Wells’ Epiphany: Hail To The Hernia!

Taking a few weeks off to recover from a hernia repair gave Wells a chance to step away, exhale, and get back in touch with simpler pleasure, like the joy of long walks. He learned to listen to his body’s internal hunger cues. This is often the hardest thing for many people, and it takes practice. (Some of Wells’ walks ended in bakeries, he admits.)

Props to Wells for getting real and admitting it was all too much for too long. His daily eating style would be a “once-a-year” dining experience for the rest of us.

           Photo: Beeldbewerking/iStock

How could it NOT take a toll on his health and waistline?

 But Wells’ found the real payoff, and pretty fast:

• Better sleep
• More alertness during the day
• A heightened sense of when he was – and wasn’t – hungry

Food Critics Spill Their Tea

Restaurant critics don’t tend to speak of the health issues that accompany the job; that loses some of the fizz for the reader. This is where I give Wells a lot of credit: He went warts and all: Too much rich food is too much for your health.

He also got other restaurant critics to spill their guts about the job:

“It’s the least healthy job in America, probably,” – Adam Platt, New York magazine’s restaurant critic for 24 years.

“In truth, I would have to say that I probably have pursued this career as an excuse to overeat,” — Mimi Sheraton to NPR reporter Terry Gross in 1987. “I think that the people who are really good at it are all in that position.”

A pricey meal, made “authentically”, uses only local ingredients, and looks like a painting, only means it’ll probably be tasty, not necessarily healthy.

You don’t have to be rich to eat rich meals. Most restaurant meals are higher in fat, salt, calories and sugar than home-prepared meals. And they tend be in portions no one needs.

Wells’ takeaway: Too much of anything is too much.

So… We Shouldn’t Indulge?

Of course we should!  The key word – “indulge” – implies it’s the exception. Wells routinely (like, almost daily) overate high-calorie, fatty, sugary, and probably delicious foods. If eating at restaurants or take-out meals is typical for you, a routine that serves you better is worth considering.

Cut-To-The-Chase Tips

LOVE my summer fruit! 1/2 for breakfast, 1/2 for snacks!

Rethink “perceived value” of restaurant meal. Wells admitted all that glittered wasn’t so gold. He eventually found pleasure in the simplicity of his life and his eating style after his hernia repair.

His “perceived value” had changed, and so can yours. Sure, improved health may be an outcome, but it’s a long-term one. Let your motivation be more immediate gratification: feeling better, sleeping better, and being more content. Some easy starters:

• Stock (and eat!) FAVORITE fruits and veggies. Start at breakfast, the best way to form a habit. (The pic at right is a daily fruit intake for me — some for breakfast, the rest for snacks or with lunch. Summer fruit has always been a huge treat for me.  
• Cut the availability of your “trigger” foods! The good stuff doesn’t need the competition.
• Take 10-minute walks – WITHOUT PHONES – after meals and during work breaks. It’s “me” time. 
• Stop eating 2-3 hours before bed. The GI tract needs sleep, too!
• Eat at home! Use healthful convenient foods, like pre-washed salads and cut-up veggies you can roast or steam.

Take the money you save and indulge with a good massage (my personal fave). It just might feel better than ANY restaurant meal tastes!

(Featured photo: JonGorr/iStock. It’s Fettuccini Alfredo — & probably one of the richest & highest-calorie restaurant dishes.)