H e a l t h y C h e f T i p !Go full-fat, suggestsWhite. “I have half-and-half in my coffee.I drink whole milk,” headds. “I’m not goingto have skim milk,because I don’t needto have two cups ofmilk. I’d rather havea half cup and have ittaste really good.”

M i c h a e l W h i t eC h e f a n d c o - o w n e r o f t h e A l t a m a r e aG r o u p i n N e w Yo r k C i t y

Growing up as a football playerin the Midwest, White was alwaysin good shape, but when he startedhis career at Spiaggia in Chicago, headopted the unhealthy habits oftenassociated with chefs. “You getdone at work, and you always havesomething to eat because you’resurrounded by food,” says the part-ner in the Altamarea Group, com-prising 15 restaurants includingthe Michelin-starred Marea andhis latest, Vaucluse in New YorkCity. “It’s not bad food; it’s just eat-ing at the worst time.” Late-nighttaquitos or roast chicken withSwiss chard and wine with hiswife, Giovanna, right before bedbrought him to 374 lbs. by 2007.When he turned 40, an “epiphanymoment” inspired change. “Isaid, ‘I’ve tasted everything, whydo I have to finish everything?’ ”Down from a size 52 to a 36 waistafter five years, White, 45, walks14,000 steps per day and doesn’tcount calories but focuses onsmall amounts of quality foods.“I might have a couple spoonfulsof vegetables with General Tsochicken, but instead of having 10pieces, I have two,” he says.

C h e f s W h o S h e dt h e W e i g h t

Talk about temptation!How 5 cooks droppedserious pounds despiteworking in the foodworld By Ana Calderone

H a l f T h e i r S i z e “We’re guiltyas chefs

of overfeedingpeople,” saysWhite. “Nowwhen a peer

comes in, I justsend one thingof gratitude.”

PEOPLE January 23, 2017 81

W A S374 lbs.

N O W245 lbs.

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: MICHAEL PERINI; DANIEL KRIEGER; EEKHOFF PICTURE LAB/BLEND IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES

C h a e F i e l d sFo u n d e r o f S a n Fr a n c i s c o o r g a n i c - m e a l - p r e pd e l i v e r y s e r v i c e a n d c a t e r i n g c o m p a n y E a t S u i t e

“My weight was a hugeissue all my life,” says Fields,who lost 135 lbs. “slowly andsteadily” over six years. “Thepressure I put on myselfat such a young age to loseweight is how I ended upgaining so much weight.”Daily fast-food runs and asoda addiction led her toreach 300 lbs. by age 21. As aCal Poly student in 2006 witha “strong desire for change,”Fields moved to Australiato study abroad and startedwalking everywhere andcooking for herself at home.“That was the first time Istarted to tap into how my food was sourced, how it’sprepared and the ingredients in it,” she says. Whenshe began posting her healthy creations like egg-white scrambles and Paleo pancakes on Facebook,friends reached out for advice. That eventually ledto a career change from graphic designer to chef andcertified fitness nutritionist. In 2014, Fields, now 31,started cooking for private clients and now offers“comfort food with a healthy spin” like quinoa friedrice delivered twice a week in San Francisco’s EastBay. She credits her success to the day she “stoppedmaking it about weight,” she says. “It really wasabout health, love and acceptance, because that wassomething I never had in my life.”

H a l f T h e i r S i z e

M i k e S t o l l e n w e r kO w n e r a n d e x e c u t i v e c h e f o f

Tw o F i s h i n H a d d o n f i e l d , N . J .As a graduate of the Academy of

Culinary Arts with a degree in FoodScience from Drexel University,

Stollenwerk knew what to eat, but“I wouldn’t apply my knowledge of

nutrition to dieting,” he says. Instead ofthe healthy seafood he served customers,

Stollenwerk, 40, munched on late-nightpizza and cheesesteaks. “Nothing’s really

open when you’re done working in arestaurant,” he says. After reaching 390

lbs. in 2013, Stollenwerk restricted hisdiet to 1,500 calories, started working

with a Muay Thai instructor and lost 160lbs. in one year. He’s so diligent that whenhe’s making something at the restaurantwith added sugar like a dessert, “I’ll taste

it and spit it out,” he says. “It takes a lot ofwillpower, but I’ve been doing good.”

C h a e ’ s O a t s !Place 1⁄ 2 cup steel-cut oats (soaked

overnight in water,strained and rinsed),1 cup milk and nuts,spices or dried fruit

in a jar with a lid.Shake vigorously for

30 seconds and enjoy.

Stollenwerk finally hadenough when he neededa seatbelt extender on

a flight to the Caribbean.

W A S390 lbs.

N O W240 lbs.

W A S300 lbs.

N O W165 lbs.

January 23, 2017 PEOPLE82

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H e a l t h yC h e f T i p !

“I eat a lot of peanuts,raw almonds, cashewsand macadamia nuts,”says Lachowicz. “I roast

them myself withoutany additional oil—justa mist of water and afine dusting of salt—and then put them ina 300° oven for 12 to14 minutes. They’re a

quick protein fix.”

R u s s L a n eP e r s o n a l c h e f a n d

t e a c h e r a t We K e e p I t O f fi n N e w Yo r k C i t y

Lane was already 50 lbs. intohis 200-lb. weight loss when hewas offered a food-writing job

for McClatchy newspapersin North Carolina in 2004. “It wasan interesting challenge,” he says.The former music critic struggled

with keeping his old habit ofeating two large pizzas with extra

cheese at bay while reviewingeight restaurants a day for

his job. “I was learning fromgourmet chefs while I was learning

nutrition, and I began cross-referencing them together,”

he says. By walking three milesa day, eating low-carb and

incorporating skills like reducingvinegar to syrup to add sweetness

and thickness to sauces, Lane,37, reached his goal weight intwo years. In 2008 he startedtransitioning away from food

writing and began cooking forprivate clients, catering events

in New Orleans and teachingthe obese how they can still enjoy

food and flavor at his companyWe Keep It Off. “None of

us is going through this processto suffer more,” he says.

M i c h a e l L a c h o w i c zO w n e r a n d e x e c u t i v e c h e f o f R e s t a u r a n tM i c h a e l a n d G e o r g e Tr o i s i n W i n n e t k a , I l l .

Food was only one culprit in Lachowicz’sjourney to ballooning up to 432 lbs. “My addic-tion is food, booze and narcotics,” says theclassically trained chef, 46, who was inspired togo to culinary school after living above his grand-parents’ restaurant as a child. “Everythingworked in tandem. Drugs and alcohol reducedmy inhibitions, so I didn’t have a lot of remorseabout eating ridiculous amounts of food.”Although his specialties include venison and foiegras, Lachowicz was never tempted by Frenchcuisine. “For me it was about garbage food,” hesays. At his heaviest, he was consuming 12,000calories a day of hot dogs and French fries dippedin beef juice. The turning point came in 2011,when “I was lying on the carpet looking for pillsunderneath the couch,” he recalls. He checkedinto 28 days of rehab in Chicago to kick all hishabits at once. Lachowicz reached his weight-loss goal two years later byworking out six days a week andstructuring his diet to 1,800-1,900 calories per day of mealslike egg salad and his go-to din-ner: roasted cauliflower withlean turkey. But maintenanceremains a constant struggle.“I’m a chef,” he says, “and wehave to eat.” Although in 2015 heopened a new restaurant with anine-course $180-per-persontasting menu, he still is notenticed by fancy food. Instead heallows himself a weekly cheatday where he indulges in acheese omelet, bacon, hashbrowns and toast. Sober for sixyears and a newlywed, Lacho-wicz says he is in the best shapeof his life: “I’m really lucky.”

H a l f T h e i r S i z e

“I take it one meal at a

time,” says Lachowicz.

“It’s that simple.”

“I dare thoseI teach and those

I feed to findthe differencebetween savoringand craving,”

says Lane.

W A S432 lbs.

N O W238 lbs.

W A S350 lbs.

N O W150 lbs.

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