# Alton, ya lost too much weight! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081 "2010-01-31T02:33:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081/21 "2010-01-31T15:32:00Z")
> [@nikonikosuru](#): > > I never understood this mindset that has been uttered by so many people. Does this mean that he was fat because he was eating his delicious food all the time? And, if so, is this implying that since he’s skinny all of the food he makes now tastes like crap? I think it’s simply that people who make food should enjoy eating. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081/22 "2010-01-31T16:01:46Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I think it’s simply that people who make food should enjoy eating. On can easily enjoy eating and not be overweight. Let’s also keep in mind that ol’ AB did have a cardiac episode a few years back (I can’t remember if it was an actual heart attack or just something similar,) so he has a little more incentive than most to keep himself healthy. He saw he was getting bigger, and didn’t want to put himself at a higher risk for more problems. ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081/23 "2010-01-31T16:10:47Z")
He went from fat to healthy, IMHO. Not seeing the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081/24 "2010-01-31T16:13:39Z")
I suspect it was the shock and awe of the change. I went from seeing ‘Fat Alton’ to ‘Skinny’ alton in the course of 30 minutes (rerun DVR to first run DVR) It may also be the lighting…he looks _gaunt_ here: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBJpmz1oduE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBJpmz1oduE) But I must admit, the photos we’ve dug up here don’t make him look bad. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081/25 "2010-01-31T16:19:46Z")
> [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > I went looking for pictures of what he looked like now, and found [this](http://foodnetworkhumor.com/2009/08/alton-brown-is-skinny/)link, that has a couple of close ups. I think he looks fine. He looks great in the shots down the bottom, but that first one is terrifying. He looks gaunt, and old. And he needs to stop doing that to his hair, immediately if not sooner. ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081/26 "2010-01-31T19:43:26Z")
I’ve never been a big fan, but the last time I saw him I was shocked. He looks ill. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081/27 "2010-01-31T19:53:49Z")
When someone loses a significant amount of weight, it takes a while for the skin to tighten up. Cut the guy some slack. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081/28 "2010-01-31T21:20:11Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#): > > When someone loses a significant amount of weight, it takes a while for the skin to tighten up. Cut the guy some slack. I see what you did there. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cantara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6f9a4e/32.png) [@cantara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cantara)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081/29 "2010-02-01T18:09:10Z")
It was obivous on an interview he did for [CBS News Sunday Morning](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/22/sunday/main5736721.shtml) last fall. Sorry transcript only, no video. > [@](#): > > “A balanced diet may be the best medicine,” he said. He says he’s lost fifty pounds this year. > > “I was eating too much good eats,” he said. “But people consider that part of your job, you know? Eat. And I do!” > > “Because so many Americans struggle with weight, did you feel in some way responsible for them?” Strassman asked. > > “Yeah. I can’t be in people’s homes and have an influence on them food-wise, and be unhealthy. It’s not right.” > > What was the key to his losing weight? > > “There’s an amazing truth: If you quit putting so much stuff in the hole in the top of your head, wonderful things happen!” > > So in his newest shows, Brown and his food are both leaner - like his newest application. > > “You can get a little more flavor on to them while not loading them up on butter and sugar and things like that.” I have not yet found the willpower to not fill my pie-hole, although I think I am approaching Altons ‘before’ picture. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081/30 "2010-02-01T18:17:58Z")
He looks pretty good to me. But as the writer pointed out in the OP’s article, apparently it’s something that people get a lot when they lose weight. Maybe we’re just getting used to seeing people bigger than is healthy? ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081/31 "2010-02-01T18:26:06Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#): > > When someone loses a significant amount of weight, it takes a while for the skin to tighten up. Cut the guy some slack. I think it’s also a matter of what you’re used to - I got told I was “almost too thin” after losing some weight, and at the time I was 160 at 5’4", in no way too thin, or even thin enough. People get used to you fat, they get shocked when you lose weight. I think he looks fine. Of course his face looks more angular now, it has less fat on it. He doesn’t look underweight to me. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081/32 "2010-02-01T18:34:34Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I see what you did there. 😃 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081/33 "2010-02-01T18:46:58Z")
As someone who just recently got into “Good Eats” and has been making up for missed time primarily by watching early season episodes (seasons 1-6 mostly) on [FoodNetwork.com](http://FoodNetwork.com), I really don’t see what the fuss is all about. He looks pretty much identical (okay, slightly older maybe) to the Alton Brown of those early “Good Eats” episodes. I think the people who think he’s “too skinny” now need to go back to those older episodes and remember that he wasn’t always pudgy. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081/34 "2010-02-01T18:57:18Z")
> [@badbadrubberpiggy](#): > > I think it’s also a matter of what you’re used to - I got told I was “almost too thin” after losing some weight, and at the time I was 160 at 5’4", in no way too thin, or even thin enough. People get used to you fat, they get shocked when you lose weight. Do you think it’s also jealousy? I’ve heard people who experienced a similar thing speculate that that’s a motive as well. ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081/35 "2010-02-01T19:04:01Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > (This comes from me, a guy who’s kids thought he was on TV when Good Eats was showing, a couple of years back.) > > Good on-ya for dropping 50, I’m working on getting rid of some of it too…but you swung past healthy on your way to cadaverous. > > Not a good look for someone who makes a living making a cooking show, IMHO. I agree with you here. He looks like he lost 10 lbs too many, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081/36 "2010-02-01T19:05:45Z")
> [@badbadrubberpiggy](#): > > I think it’s also a matter of what you’re used to - I got told I was “almost too thin” after losing some weight, and at the time I was 160 at 5’4", in no way too thin, or even thin enough. People get used to you fat, they get shocked when you lose weight. > > I think he looks fine. Of course his face looks more angular now, it has less fat on it. He doesn’t look underweight to me. You could be correct - I just feel that he looks too gaunt. This could be because his face is more angular or because his skin is loose or what have you. I remember seeing him on IC and my wife and I thought he was battling an illness. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081/37 "2010-02-01T19:14:25Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > I think it has to do with a chef will be tasting his dishes all day to check/adjust seasonings and flavor, doneness, etc. thus consuming a lot of calories. Thing is, A.B. is not a chef. He does not own or cook in in a restaurant, he’s more of a food scientist/teacher. That’s an odd requirement. He graduated form culinary school. He creates recipes, and makes a living cooking food. I’d say he’s more of a chef than Joe Blow who opens up his own hamburger joint and cooks in it. The chef is the head of the kitchen (_chef de cuisine_.) Why wouldn’t Brown qualify? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081/38 "2010-02-01T19:21:49Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > That’s an odd requirement. He graduated form culinary school. He creates recipes, and makes a living cooking food. I’d say he’s more of a chef than Joe Blow who opens up his own hamburger joint and cooks in it. > > The chef is the head of the kitchen (_chef de cuisine_.) Why wouldn’t Brown qualify? Not a chef in the sense he’s not spending 8-12 hours a day in a professional kitchen, tasting hundreds of dishes(hence the stereotypical fat chef). I didn’t intend to ignore his culinary training, he’s using it in a different way than the word “chef” implies. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081/39 "2010-02-01T19:24:45Z")
> [@Meatros](#): > > You could be correct - I just feel that he looks too gaunt. This could be because his face is more angular or because his skin is loose or what have you. I remember seeing him on IC and my wife and I thought he was battling an illness. This is probably it, plus he started the show 10 years ago. Your skin loses elasticity as you age, and he’s in his later 40s now. People forget he used to look like Thomas Dolby’s brother (I’m showing my age here) in body shape as well as hair/face similarity. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081/40 "2010-02-01T19:26:30Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Not a chef in the sense he’s not spending 8-12 hours a day in a professional kitchen, tasting hundreds of dishes(hence the stereotypical fat chef). Neither is everyone who owns a restaurant or cooks in one. (Your definition.) If a person cooks for a living, and is in charge of the operation, he’s a chef. Most definitions available online agree with that description. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-ya-lost-too-much-weight/527081.md?page=3)