Can cooking shows make you gain weight?

Your food TV experience

Can watching our favourite cooking shows with celeb chefs like Ina Garten and Nigella Lawson really cause us to gain weight?

The short answer is yes. When we watch cooking shows to get inspiration for supper, there's often not a lot of healthy cooking going on. Be honest, watching Ina whip up a creamy pesto pasta is way more enticing than watching a healthy salad being thrown together, not so?

These chefs know what they're doing, so what's the problem with cooking their recipes, you might be wondering.

Food shows today

For many of us, we tune in to watch these shows because they give us the opportunity to see that mouth-watering, gooey chocolate cake, or that crispy beer-battered fish with a side of deep-fried chips.

These food shows tend to offer pleasure vicariously and many of them promote over-consumption and gratification, which is a huge no-no if you're trying to lose weight.

TV chefs use ingredients like full fat cream, sugar, extra butter, and a pantry full of other carb, fat, and sugar-laden ingredients to make their food look as appetising on camera as possible. Portion sizes are also usually exaggerated and way more than what we need to be eating.

Should you give up watching cooking shows?

No, of course not. If you're a huge Gordon Ramsey fan, by all means carry on watching him cook up a storm. But, remember – most of today's food shows are made for entertainment value and not education. The recipes chosen by producers and the chefs are usually loaded with sugar, carbs, and fat.

Save calories with your favourite chef's recipes

If you can't live without watching your favourite chef cook up her famous oven roast, follow the recipe, but find ways to make it healthier, and make sure that you watch those portion sizes. And, if you simply must bake those oh-so-gooey chocolate cakes, go for it – just save them for those really special occasions.

Recommended reading: How to pack the perfect slimming lunch box

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