Arrive Magazine - May/June 2012

Rocco
DiSpirito

After a doctor suggested he treat high cholesterol with pills, the Queens native turned to diet and exercise and became a triathlete

Ten years ago, if you had suggested to Rocco DiSpirito that he consider writing a diet book, he would have thought you were crazy, but it’s been two years since his Now Eat This! Diet hit bookstores. The famous chef, who a decade ago had hardly ever lasted through a workout longer than one of his routines on Danc- ing with the Stars, now has almost a dozen triathlons
under his newly tightened belt. It’s amazing how a single doctor’s
appointment can change your life.

Back in the days when DiSpirito was named People magazine’s Sexiest Chef, he had never paid attention to what he ate. Not that he was spending his time scarfing down McDonald’s. Raised in Jamaica, Queens, by Italian parents who forbade soda or junk food, DiSpirito ate right.

“Literally, my father would beat us up if he found out we ate fast
food,” Di Spirito recalls. His brother would sneak home Yodels and
candy, eat everything and hide the evidence before their dad came
home, but the budding chef never had a taste for the stuff.
“All I wanted to do was learn how to make the perfect omelet,”
he says.

On the line at Union Pacific, where he made his name as a hot young chef in the ’90s, he never watched what he ate, thanks to the genetic wonders of a speedy metabolism. But about 10 years ago, when DiSpirito was 36, his doctor said his high cholesterol had become a matter of urgency. He offered DiSpirito a choice among three pills—one that would damage his liver, one that would render him impotent, and one that would come with a whopping helping of depression. His doctor also mumbled under his breath, “There’s also diet and exercise,” which seemed like a better plan.

“So what did I do? I thought I’d attempt one of the most difficult races ever concocted by two drunk Navy SEALs,” DiSpirito jokes. He dug his bike out of his parents’ basement, and he started