The Sexy Chef: From fat to fit, flabby to fabulous

From your doorstep delivering your South Beach Diet meals, The Sexy Chef now steps right into your living room. Yes, The Sexy Chef now sizzles as the newest TV show catering to diet- and health-conscious viewers and airing every Sunday at 8 p.m. on Colours available on Cignal Channel 27 (SD), Channel 101 (HD), and other local cable operators nationwide.

As you probably know, the chef attraction of the show is the cooking sister duo Rachel Alejandro and Barni Alejandro-Rennebeck who will share their healthy secrets — how they transformed their bodies from fat to fit, from flabby to fabulous.  It’s inspiring and motivating to note that these two sexy chefs didn’t always have the body to die for (or starve for). Rachel weighed 125 lbs. before she trimmed down to 108 lbs. while Barni was 126 lbs. before she went down to 106 lbs.

Flashback: Rachel was addicted to food, she ate much too much. She could demolish an entire box of pizza without guilt or a whole huge bag of Cheetos. She didn’t realize she had eaten enough to feed a small barangay.  At 15, as Rachel hit a high note in her musical career, her weight hit an all-time high she couldn’t fit into her trademark short shorts and skirts. She was so ashamed of herself she would hide inside a closet and cry.

Barni was overweight and sickly, her diet consisted of junk foods. She was eating hot dogs and fried rice every day like there was no tomorrow. It didn’t help that she lived in a condo where there was a 24-hour convenience store and she had access to all the potato chips and ice cream she could eat all day and all night.

Fast-forward to the present: Rachel confesses in The Sexy Chef Cookbook, which she co-wrote with Barni, “Since then, I’ve tried every diet program known to man and read dozens of books about how to lose weight fast — so much so that I’ve become somewhat of an experiment on the subject. I thought my research would turn up a ‘miracle’ diet, one in which you could eat as much as you want of a certain combination of food, yet magically lose weight. Folks, sorry to disappoint you, but I’ve long since discovered that no such thing exists. Instead, my obsession gave birth to a business idea.”

Rachel further relates that in 2004, Barni went to culinary school (International School for Culinary Arts & Hotel Management) and became Rachel’s personal chef.

However, battling foodaholism wasn’t a breeze for Rachel — at one point, she actually even thought of getting the object of her love — a slice of pizza — tattooed on her belly — but with a heaping serving of determination, she found fresh new hope. “Old habits die hard. The only thing that truly helped me was that I had stopped focusing on what I was not allowed to eat and instead started considering what my body needs to be healthy. Now, I tell myself that I can put the fork down and just have the rest of my food later,” says the new Rachel.

As for Barni, Rachel bought her some healthy cuisine cookbooks and she started experimenting with the different recipes. Also, when Barni got sick, her doctor prescribed homecooked meals for her (surprisingly, he didn’t prescribe any medicine or even vitamins), which inspired Barni to cook healthy meals for herself.

Barni learned how to cook more wholesome dishes. She relates, “Within eight months, I lost 20 pounds, began seeing myself in a better, more positive light; and more importantly, I felt healthier than I had ever been in my life. That was the trick, so simple really — just a change in eating habits. Not a crash diet but a healthier lifestyle.”

So, here are some hot tips from The Sexy Chef. Of course, Rachel and Barni put a lot of weight on the fact that most basic knowledge about healthy eating comes from using good old common sense. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know these food facts:

• Deep-fried food and pretty much anything that contains loads of fat are bad for the health and waistline (remember, the bigger the waistline, the shorter the lifeline). Meat is better eaten trimmed of all visible fat. The only exceptions to this rule are avocados and nuts, which, if eaten in moderation, are healthy despite their high-fat content.

• Limit sugary treats, including soft drinks.

• Choose all-natural, the better choice. Preservatives, fillers, and growth hormones can wreak havoc on your health.

• Eat more vegetables and fruits than meat and simple carbs (rice, bread or pasta), and brown or whole grain versions of these are better because of the higher fiber content.

The Sexy Chef is bound to be the hottest cook show in the city.