Rebecca Caras is the famous Rebecca of Rebecca's Cafes and
Rebecca's Restaurant. And although she's not associated with the chain anymore,
she's still in the kitchen, with a booming business as a top-tier private chef
and professional caterer. For 33 of her 35 years as a professional chef,
Rebecca Caras ate, a lot. Constantly. And then three years ago, she started
losing weight, eventually dropping 120 pounds. We sat down with the local
foodie to find out just how she pulled it off.
You used to be large; now you're small. What happened? I'd
been obsessing about my weight for years, and I was sick of it. I was a broken
record. Three years ago, my brother David decided to give me a birthday dinner
party - friends and family coming to wish me well. I started a conversation
with myself: how did you get to 60? Maybe you needed to be 60 to decide whether
you want to deal with this body issue - or you need to be quiet and not talk to
yourself about it anymore. A day later, I was having a facial, and the lady
asked me, "Have you ever thought about going to Weight Watchers?" I said, "No.
I don't like community." But somehow I found myself at a meeting. And I went
every week for a year. Two years later, I was down 120 pounds. I didn't even
own a scale. I had no real body image. When I started at Weight Watchers, I had
no idea that I was the heaviest person in the room.
How do you stick with it? I'm in year three, the
hardest, most pivotal year. Statistically, people who lose large amounts of
weight gain it back - and more - by the end of year three. I won't do that.
This is my primary focus. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I plan
is what I am going to eat and when. So I never get hungry on the job. Nothing
is random.
Are there any specific things that work for you? I
know my triggers. I don't eat spaghetti and bread. I don't graze. I taste
everything when I am cooking, but I spit it out. If I know I am going to be
working hard and be busy, I cut myself a few slices of turkey and some lettuce
- and I sit quietly and eat it so I won't be hungry later. I have my rules. I
don't let them bring me bread when I eat at a restaurant. I don't eat sweets.
Although I never really cared about dessert and candy, I used to eat them
anyway since I was always just sticking things in my mouth. Now, I pay
attention to everything that goes in my mouth.
Is this a natural occupational hazard for chefs?
It is. It isn't just the cooking piece either. The job is all deadlines - lots
of pressure, lots of arduous physical work. And you begin feeling sorry for
yourself, and you start doing things that make you feel better, like drinking
and eating. Also, you are out of pace with the rest of the world. How do chefs
wind down when you finish working when everyone else in the world is asleep?
You eat and you drink.
What is the impact on your professional life? Do people
notice? Fat is insulation, and it puts off people. People are more
comfortable with me because I am not obese anymore. I am four times busier than
I was three years ago. Plus, I'm happier, and as a result, I'm nicer.
- Louisa Kasdon
Louisa Kasdon can be reached at
louisa@louisakasdon.com.
