'Fat Chefs' and Diabetes: An Occupational Hazard?

Paula Deen's not alone. The new show 'Fat Chef' follows a dozen kitchen pros as they try to drop the pounds and reclaim their health.

FRIDAY, Jan. 27, 2012 — Have you ever heard the expression "Never trust a skinny chef?" Paula Deen isn't the only kitchen pro who's struggled with obesity — or with diabetes. Many men and women who make their living in the food industry, whether they're professional chefs, restauranteurs, caterers, or bakers, have issues with weight and compulsive eating. A new show, Fat Chef, which premiered on the Food Network this week, focuses on 12 of them as they embark on a 16-week plan to lose weight and get in shape.

One of the Fat Chef participants, 36-year-old Michael Mignano, is a bakery owner and pastry chef who was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2009 after his weight reached 500 pounds. He told ABC News Nightline, "I allowed the stresses of work and life to just compound and just literally eat me alive," adding that when his blood sugar was finally checked by a doctor, it was "to the roof." But after four months eating lean protein and fiber and working out, Mignano has lost 100 pounds — going from a size 6X chef jacket down to a 2X. He also says he's "cured his diabetes" and hasn't taken any medication in three months.

Another Fat Chef participant, 41-year-old Ally Vitella, didn't know she had type 2 diabetes until she underwent a check-up for the show. Vitella, who weighed 345 pounds, says that her excess pounds affected her catering business, leaving her physically unable to carry equipment to her clients' locations. She told the Associated Press, "I was eating hors d'oeuvres for lunch and dinner. I would scoop up half a tray of food and eat it.…We cook things you're supposed to eat once in a while, but I was eating them every day." After doing the show, she's lost nearly 60 pounds and dropped from a size 28 to a size 16.

Another chef interviewed by the AP, Art Smith, was diagnosed with diabetes three years ago and says he reached 325 pounds on a diet of refined sugar and caffeine. Although he isn't one of the show participants, Smith, who was a former chef for Oprah Winfrey, has now lost 118 pounds and now runs marathons.

Mignano acknowledges the dangers of his chosen profession, telling the AP, "You have this abundance of food all around you…You're constantly tasting, working late hours, eating late." But the chef whose signature recipe is a "candy bar" loaded with caramel, nuts, and chocolate has no plans to find another line of work. "I love what I do, so for me to get another job and replace my profession is unfathomable," he told Nightline.

What can you do if you're surrounded by tempting, rich food all day long and need to watch your weight? One thing that may help is practicing mindful eating, which focuses on quieting the mind and tuning in to the body's hunger and fullness signals — both of which can stop that automatic hand-to-mouth motion. A recent study in the Journal of Nutrition and Education Behavior found that using mindful eating techniques when eating out helped women lose weight, even when they weren't trying to.