This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, March 18, 2009 - Ever see St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay at a banquet or fundraiser with a glass of water in his hand? Here's why: He really likes water, and he doesn't want people feeling obligated to offer him soda or beer or any other drink that's loaded with calories.
While Slay rarely knows what food awaits him at political functions, he figures he can at least control what he drinks. And plus, he can always just say that the ice water is a vodka tonic.
Many politicians have jokingly called themselves professional eaters, with all the power lunches and campaign dinners that come with the job. You don't have to be the mayor to know what it's like being bloated from heavy banquet meals and feeling lethargic from standing around schmoozing all night. But what if you had to repeat that routine over and over?
Welcome to the life of the public official who fishes for support at fundraising events, the company executive who can't avoid doing business over lavish meals and the salesperson who entertains customers over dinner and drinks.
After a few years, hotel ballroom food becomes all too familiar: buttery, overcooked vegetables; meat and potatoes; rich desserts. Mike Clynch, mayor of Moscow Mills, remembers one particularly meeting-heavy period when he was served baked chicken for lunch, fried chicken for dinner and chicken salad for lunch the next day.
Besides being a small-town mayor, Clynch is a sales and marketing consultant with the radio station KFAV-FM. That means it's double the amount of business lunches and formal dinners.
"I may be going to a chamber of commerce luncheon as mayor and the next hour I'm going out with a client to lunch," Clynch said. "Having that schedule, with one function after the next, doesn't give me the opportunity to do a little walking in between meals."
And therein lies the occupational hazard: It's difficult to watch what you eat and follow an exercise routine when you're traveling or faced with an endless string of three-course-meal functions.
Karen Steitz, director of the dietetic internship program at Saint Louis University, said foods that are served at formal gatherings are often higher in calories and fat. Given the sheer quantity of people being served at large-scale dinner events, choices tend to be limited.
So what's someone on the meal-event circuit to do? Employ some tricks -- like Slay's water-in-hand habit.
Clynch has, at times, discreetly put his napkin on top of his plate to hide the fact that he hasn't finished a meal. He's even pulled out the "I'm on a diet" excuse when he's particularly full and doesn't want to offend the host. "Most people accept that," he said, "provided that you don't visit the dessert table twice."
At many events, Slay manages to eat nothing -- not necessarily because he dislikes the food but because he knows he's already had his daily fill of calories. It's not usually a problem, he said, because he's busy delivering speeches and shaking hands. Slay generally sticks to this rule of thumb: If a meal is made for the masses, it's safe to skip. But if someone has made food specifically for him, it's going in his mouth. "I don't want to offend anyone," he said.
In other words, know your company before deciding whether to turn down or make a fuss over the food and drinks.
"Eating is a very cultural thing," said Tom Hastings, an internist with Esse Health. "When you're entering into a culture of another, anything that would put that person outside his or her comfort zone would leave your sales or marketing person at a disadvantage. If someone says, 'I'm on the South Beach Diet; can you leave the potatoes off?' what it does is put the client in an uncomfortable position."
For Slay, that sometimes means having more than his fill. In his early days as mayor, he remembers going to an event at a Bosnian restaurant after having already eaten at a wedding and a barbecue that day. He was expecting to greet a few people and be on his way.
"But the restaurant owner put the biggest spread of food in front of me and sat there and watched me eat," Slay said. "They wanted me to try everything. I just had to go for it -- and I should say it was great food."
Added Slay: "You can't be mayor of St. Louis and not like food. A political campaign or even a term of mayor isn't a good place to learn to eat healthy because of all the temptations out there."
President Barack Obama and his Democratic predecessor in the White House showed how differently a campaign can affect a politician. While Obama maintained his svelte physique through moderate eating and rigid adherence to an exercise regimen, Bill Clinton's weight gain was so evident, people close to his campaign repeatedly urged him to pass on opportunities for consumption -- without much success.
Slay seems to lean more toward the Obama approach. Ever the health enthusiast -- his campaign spokesman calls him "the healthiest eater I've ever seen" -- Slay said he's learned to have discipline since becoming mayor. He doesn't shy away from going to events where the focus is on food. As part of his campaign for re-election, he attended two fish fries in one day recently. His choices: baked chicken, not fried; green beans, not macaroni and cheese.
Steitz, the dietician, said the key is to focus on the total amount of calories consumed, and to eat smaller portions of these high-calorie foods.
Both Slay and Clynch say they try to avoid red meat. The two mayors share another tactic in common: They eat small meals throughout the day so they aren't famished at a big event. (Slay says he eats about six times a day, including fruit and the occasional protein bar. He stashes nuts in his desk drawer). Hastings said that's a smart strategy: People tend to be ravenous when they skip a meal and have large portions of food waiting for them.
Hastings, the Esse doctor, said it's more often people in sales jobs than politicians or CEOs who complain to him about how their work routine prevents them from eating right and staying active. He said he often sees health problems, such as high blood pressure, in business travelers who've been at it for a decade or more.
Hastings said food intake is only part of the problem. "Getting exercise into your daily routine is probably more important than the focus on diet," he said.
Slay takes walks and bike rides. Clynch walks on a treadmill or outside with his wife. Every so often he asks a client to walk and talk.
"If you're in a formal environment like sales, if you know the person well you can ask them if they want to go for a walk," he said. "But most of the time you're in an environment where that's not possible."
While the four-course dinner isn't going away, Clynch said he's noticed more and more that groups hosting formal events are asking in advance if people have dietary restrictions. It's not just a matter of having options that are meat-free; now caterers are getting used to the idea of offering meals that are wheat- or gluten-free and desserts that are dairy-free.
Jason McGraw, executive chef for Levy Restaurants at the America's Center and Edward Jones Dome, said he is accustomed to working with organizers of events with thousands of attendees to create menus that work for people with various dietary needs. Gluten-free requests are increasingly common, he said.
Milan Manjencich, co-owner of the catering company Gourmet FoodWorks, said meeting planners are more often asking health-related questions about everything that's served.
"They want to know nutritional values and they want variety -- everything from potato skins to fresh veggie rollups," he said.
Roast beef is selling less. Turkey is selling more. Lately, Manjencich said, event planners are asking for no MSG. He said that planners of smaller meetings tend to ask for healthier foods than those coordinating major events -- largely because in the latter case organizers feel the need to appeal to the masses.
Slay said it's possible to find healthy options at most events. He tries to stay away from desserts that are high in sugar -- but not all the time.
"It's what you do over a period of time that matters," Slay said. "You can't get mad at yourself if you go overboard now and then."