See Padma box. Photo from the NYT

In a predictably high-concept, low-payoff ditty, today's New York Times Fitness section includes a piece titled "Staying Fit When Eating Is Your Job"—surveying a vast panel of experts amounting to, well, Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi, the owner of Graham's Fine Chocolates, and, the ultimate Times hat trick, Dan Guerrera, a Wall Streeter-turned-baker. (Really, what's a lifestyle piece without a corporate refugee?)

Their message? Pace yourself. Work out. And after you have to eat a lot—stop eating a lot. Thanks, guys.

While I'm sure Padma packs on a few pounds after the hundred-plus plates she nibbles at over a season of Top Chef (not to mention all those Hardee's Thickburgers), it's a bit hard to relate to diet advice from a lanky former model with a legion of trainers at her disposal, especially when her career rides—it's sad, but let's admit it—on her remaining svelte and lovely. (As opposed to us writers, who can happily pad our frames in relative anonymity.)

The subject, of course, is one that all of us at Serious Eats are well-acquainted with. Our own Ed Levine is the master of moderation—losing more than fifty pounds over the course of his very public Serious Diet, despite having one of the most delicious jobs known to man. How does he do it? Small portions, squash games, and bike rides; no Padma-style "detoxes" or swearing off food groups. The basics haven't changed. It's all in whether you live by them.