Michael White, the Michelin-starred chef behind acclaimed Italian restaurants such as Marea and Ai Fiori, has dropped 137 pounds over the past five years — but he’s still enjoying the pasta that made him famous.
In 2010, the 6-foot-4-inch chef noticed his body was aching. He was uncomfortable, his feet hurt and he lacked energy.
He stepped on the scale and was shocked by the number he saw: 374 — 100 pounds more than he weighed as a football player at Rock Valley College in Illinois.
“I had just turned 40 and I got to the point where I needed to make a change,” White, now 45, tells The Post. “I didn’t gain the weight because I was eating bad food. It was because I was in the kitchen all day long and not exercising.”
Since then, he’s managed to shave 14 inches off his once-50-inch waist with zero professional help and zero gimmicks. Instead, he’s relied on simple, doable lifestyle changes — and a whole lot of walking.
“I’ll normally walk four to five miles a day,” says White, who lives on the Upper West Side with his wife, Giovanna, and 13-year-old daughter, Francesca. He regularly commutes by foot to Marea on Central Park South, then to his spot Vaucluse on the Upper East Side and down to his office in Soho.
When it comes to food, losing weight hasn’t meant deprivation, just moderation. Now, when he samples dishes in his kitchens, he’ll often refrain from swallowing, discarding most bites in a trash can.
“When you’re the chef, you’re tasting everything,” says White. “If you’re working at a risotto station, you’re tasting every risotto. That’s 30 calories a bite. If you make 30 risottos, that’s 900 calories, and you haven’t even sat down for a meal . . . you’re going to be f - - king fat.”
When you’re the chef, you’re tasting everything . . . If you make 30 risottos, that’s 900 calories, and you haven’t even sat down for a meal.
He’s also eating fewer calories when it comes to actual meals.
For breakfast, he’ll have whole-wheat toast with a little butter, or a small bowl of oatmeal with orange juice. He would start the day in the same way when he was heavier, but would take his coffee with whole milk, a habit he’s nixed.
He used to have a “second breakfast” at 11 a.m., indulging in “family meal” — hearty dishes that restaurant workers enjoy before starting service. “We’d have pasta, braised meat,” he recalls.
Then there’d be another similarly hefty meal around 4 p.m. before dinner service.
These days, White limits himself to just a few bites of family meals and then walks away. For healthy snacks throughout the day, he carries around 190-calorie Nature Valley protein bars.
One of the biggest lifestyle changes he’s made is forgoing late-night bites with his culinary pals.
“After service, we all used to head to Blue Ribbon and order a ton of food and drinks. There’s nothing like a couple hundred dollars of sushi before you go to bed,” says White with a laugh. “It wasn’t bad food, but then I’d go right to sleep on it. You’re not expelling that energy,” he explains.
“Now,” he says, “I go home at 8 p.m., and I’ll have whole-wheat toast and I don’t eat after that.”
He’s also lightened up his regular Sunday dinners with his family. Instead of braised short ribs, they’ll enjoy roasted chicken, salad and potatoes.
“I want to set an example for my daughter, Francesca,” says White, who will have a maximum of one drink with dinner if it’s a celebratory occasion.
And while White says he did exclude pasta from his diet when he first commenced his weight-loss journey, fans of Marea’s famed fusilli should rest easy knowing that the chef does indeed now eat pasta. Once a week, he enjoys noodles with butter and Parmesan cheese.
“I eat anything I want. I do not deprive myself of anything,” says White, who again hails moderation.
“The problem with pasta [is] it’s not meant to be an entree, it’s a middle course.”
And when he eats out, he’s learned that he doesn’t have to clean every plate.
“When you’re a chef and you eat out, other chefs send you all these dishes on top of what you’ve ordered,” says White. “But Alain Ducasse, when he would come to one of my restaurants, I would send out everything for him to try and he would sends it back with just a few bites taken. He actually taught me you could just have a bite and didn’t need to eat the entire thing.”
White’s advice to those looking to drop some pounds is to be forgiving of themselves.
“If you fall off the wagon, you just eat better the next day. It’s about not putting pressure on yourself. You’re doing it for you,” says White, who notes that losing the weight gradually has helped him keep it off. He’s been holding steady at his current weight — 237 pounds — for nearly two years.
“People fixate too much on what they’re going to eat. If you’re constantly thinking about it, you’re going to eat more. Just get a life and you’ll lose weight!”
7 diet tips
Want to lose weight and have your pasta, too? Chef Michael White’s got you covered. Below are some of his tricks for dropping the pounds — and keeping them off.
1. Walk — a lot.
White says he typically walks four to five miles a day and uses public transportation rather than cabs when he needs to get those extra steps in.
2. Make healthy family traditions.
The White family’s once-gluttonous Sunday suppers of braised short ribs have been replaced by chicken and salad.
3. Keep a healthy snack on hand.
White carries around 190-calorie Nature Valley peanut butter-chocolate protein bars.
4. Take it easy.
Lose the weight slowly and steadily. You’re more likely to keep it off that way.
5. Don’t overthink it.
White says that those who obsess over eating trip up more than those who enjoy everything in moderation.
6. Don’t overstuff.
It’s not necessary to clear your plate. You won’t offend anybody by leaving behind a few bites.
7. Don’t eat late.
Instead of post-shift sushi fests, White now leaves work early and doesn’t eat after 8 p.m.