Books: French Women Don't Get Fat

J

jdifischer

Cathlete
Hi,

I am home recouperating from wisdom tooth extraction. One tooth has about did me in. Fever, swollen, PAIN . . . I was wishing for a c-section the other day honestly!

In the meantime since working out is not on the list I picked up the book "French Women Don't Get Fat". It received a great review in the USAToday. I am totally intringued with it. Makes so much sense. I always attributed it to smoking but actually there national average among women is only 2% higher than ours.

Anyway if you are wandering around Barnes and Noble or Borders - grab a java and sit down and check it out.


Dawn
 
It's on tonight at 7 pm. Dateline NBC. Hoda Kotb interviews Mireille Guiliano about her dieting book, "French Women Don't Get Fat."


I am going to watch,
Lori:)
 
This subject has yanked me out of newbie lurk status.
The basic concepts of the French diet are:
- Three meals a day only.
- Eating slowly to savor the food
- Using fresh ingredients
- Protein sources are mainly fish, chicken, eggs
- Fat sources are mainly whole fat dairy, olive oil and real butter in moderation
- They eat lots of fresh fruits & veggies.
The food mentality for the French is completly different and they train their children early. Even the schools have 4 course meals with cheese at the end. For the French, a meal is an event. They eat to nourish their bodies, but also to be with family and friends. Mealtime can and does last between 1 and 3 hours. And the truth is that French women come in all shapes and sizes. Just not the obese size.

Violette
 
Dawn,
Did you have lower wisdom teeth extracted? You may have a dry socket (I've had one and it's really painful, I know) which usually occurs a day or two after extraction. If this is the case you may need to get it treated- instant relief. Or you may be having an allergic reaction to either the anesthetic or pain medication.

Take care,
Wendy(a Dental Hygienist)
 
Wendy,

Thanks for your concern and advice. My SIL is a dental assistant and I was also at a basketball game yesterday where my niece plays with the daughter of two dentists. Everyone thinks that my body just did NOT like having this done. It was my upper left. The mother dentist was shocked at how swollen I was for it being an upper. It is now a lovely banana yellow color. I was trying to do Cathe on FITTV this morning - just going through the legs of IMAX 2 on the 8th and 9th rotation. No jumping or step or anything. Man did I feel that. If the pain doesn't start to subside by tormorrow I will call the Doctor. I also grind my teeth at night and have new braces on as of December 15th so I am wondering if that is not playing into it. I am 44.

Violette - You pretty much hit the nail on the head on the description of the book. Did you read it or read about it somewhere. I think I will watch Dateline tonight. I wonder if it would work for men also - tehehe.

Dawn
Dawn
 
Thank you for starting this thread Dawn. I also wanted to add that French people don't depend on their cars as we do. They walk most of the time. Lunch break is 2 hours and people usually walk to their home or meet with family or friends to have lunch. Lunch for me lasts about 10 minutes! x(
 
not that I actually got to visit him (rather pregnant and then a new mommy-so not really up to traveling) but my brother spent 9 months in France and made many of the above mentioned observations as well (hmmm, if only he had written a book!). Anyway-he also commented that he missed shopping for food in France, he was in southern France (Montpelier) and he pretty much relied on the open markets of fresh fruits, crusty breads, good cheese, fish and wine. He was always amazed at how laid back everything was around meals, he is used to our Midwest don't-stop-to-chew attitude (mainly during busy times, other times we MIGHT chew but never savor:) )and he had to completely retrain not only his palate (steak and taters) but also the tempo and attitude. We definitely could benefit from such attitudes towards food!
julie :)
 
When I visited France, I observed the same thing. Get this though, this summer I visited Eastern Europe (Germany, Poland, Czech Rep., Hungary). They had the biggest portion sizes of anyone I've EVER seen. Puts the US and our supersizes to shame. But EVERYONE is thin. And beautiful too. Glowing skin!! I think it's because they walk everywhere. Lots to be said for just being active. There are restaurants but not a whole lot of "fast food".

I love going to Europe for two reasons -- I love the slower lifestyle and also I feel more comfortable there. In the US I am considered "thin". In Europe, I am Size 3 -- Medium. It's nice not to be considered an anomaly to be a healthy weight. I am 5'7" and weigh around 130-135. It's easier for me to shop for clothes my size in Europe than in the US. Also, their clothes have real waists in them.

JuliN
 
Hey JuLIN - your the same height and size as me - although we may be proportioned differently, and in Australia, Im considered medium to large compared to some. Youd fit right in.

As for the French, my DH travells alot to Europe for his work, and he agrees that the French not needing to/ or wanting to, drive everywhere makes a BIG difference to the size of their backsides.

Also making eating a very social and extended occasion, certainly helps them eat slower and helps them feel full for longer. Isnt it something to do with drinking wine as well?

What is interesting however, is that once some French woman turn 30, their bodies do change shape rather quickly, and you can get some very LARGE older French woman. This seems to happen to the Haiwain woman as well, and after 30, most no longer look that great in their itsy bitsy bikinie on the beach.

Marion
:)
 
I agree that the comparative thinness of Europeans is because their infrastructure is set up in a way that makes it more convenient and even necessary to walk or bike everywhere. Old and young alike walk or bike to market, the bank, downtown, etc. Or they take busses and trains but walk to the stations, often lugging their bikes on and off the trains. They probably walk hundreds of more miles per year than the average American. Simple, daily movement has been engineered out of our lives and, IMO, plays a bigger role in the opesity epidemic than all the junk food available here.
 
Dawn, it's just something I've been reading up on for years. Will Clower wrote a book called The Fat Fallacy that pretty much said the same things. The problem is that he can come across as a little condesending at times. Anyway, he has a website www.fatfallacy.com if you want to check it out.
How was dateline? I haven't watched TV in weeks because we just moved and I'm too busy unpacking.

Violette
 
My sister has visited France. She said it is difficult to find conveinience foods like candy bars, and chips. She said a few stores have them, but not every store, like they do in the USA. I don't think Europeans are obsessed about weight loss and dieting as Americans are. They don't snack like us either.

It is very difficult to exercise and diet your way into the American ideal image, and if you don't succeed your self esteem suffers. Thus begins the cycle of not feeling good about yourself, dieting, feeling deprived, and then going back to over-eating.

I think it is too much on our minds. The author of this book will sell a million copies and then we will be ready for the next book. I would love to change my mindset about food.

I think the French author gave a lot of common sense tips. The most important one I think is cooking your meals at home. A close second is portions. You can have creme brulee, but just a bite or two.

In Sweden the longevity is about the best in the world. They eat potatoes with everything and sausages and bread galore. They have one of the lowest obesity rates in the world. They are not on South Beach or BFL. They just don't gorge themselves with fast food and sit on the couch. I could go on forever. Sorry for the long post. Maybe my focus this year will be "live like an European".

Lori:)
 
Hi,

This is more about Italy but it's in the same vein ...

my DH and I are over in Europe... Italy ... right now with the military. I recently read an article about why Italians stay slim... There were three "secrets" they talked about:

1. three meals, period (snacking and fast food not very popular here..it's funny to walk in a grocery store and not see the long isles of snack food soda etc....)
2. in italy they eat dark greens daily
3. olive oil is their principle source of fat ... also dishes like lasagna are more for special occasions.
4. fruit for dessert (they don't eat a lot of sweets here ... more for special occasions)

I have even started walking a lot more since I've been here and notice a difference!

The meals here are also an "event" ... every day all of the stores (and schools!) close for about 3 hours so everyone can have their big meal of the day ... from about 1-4!... even in the restaurants you are there for a long time ... they really savor their food.

Gosh I think I've babbled enough!
Cathy
 
I think American suffer more stress than Europeans generally - a totally uninformed opinion except for the fact that I have read more than once that Americans work longer and harder hours than any other country and take fewer and shorter vacations.

With all the demands on our time - even for those like me, who doesn't consider herself particularly important, it seems something is always being thrust upon me in the way of another time committment. And somehow, if you're not wall-to-wall busy, apparently you don't have enough to do or you are lazy.

Just an opinion!:*

Susan L.G.
 
Europeans eat "clean" on a regular basis...unlike we Americans who gravitate towards processed foods. They take time to prepare their meals and savor them.
 
The earlier poster is right. Americans do work long hours. Most European countries people are very busy too. They have children to take care of, activities, and jobs just like us. Maybe as Americans we over-extend ourselves. We are working our fingers to the bone to have a nice car or bigger house that doesn't mean diddly squat. I think our priorities are out of whack and as a country materialism has taken over, and we are controlled by Madison Avenue.

Don't get me wrong I am proud to be an American, and I am proud to live in a flourishing economy. That is one of the things that makes America great, but in our effort to have the bigger and better we are more stressed and we are bombarded by advertisments for junk food and it is all around us. We buy it so they are going to keep selling it.

Sorry to go on and on off topic,
Lori
 
Hi Cathy,

Since you're in Italy right now, I have a question for you. How does one order a dish to include greens? I was in Italy (Navy base in Naples) last year on business and never saw veggies on the menu. I split a pasta and entree dish with a co-worker at a few restaurants. What's the secret in being served green vegetables????

Thanks!
Lorrayne
 
Hi Lorrayne,
I think they were referring to the insalata or salad entree where they tend to use a lot of dark greens rather than iceberg for example. Here there is a popular salad that is called "insalata mista" which is made up only of mixed greens. Very simple but very good! The salads are usually one of the last courses. Also the article mentioned the use of greens such as spinach (spinaci) in some dishes such as pasta (like ravioli filled with spinach) or meat dishes. I think the point with the darker greens is that they have more nutritional value than greens like iceberg lettuce?

Oh and another thing I forgot to mention that we noticed about the food here is that it is very simple and without a lot of additives that might add extra fat/calories etc... etc...

We are fairly new here so we are still learning our menu items ... we had a funny experience the other day where we THOUGHT we were getting "small balls of mozzarella" and instead got a huge bowl full of some sort of snails still in the shell! Yes the language barrier can create some funny experiences!

Hope this answers your question!

Take Care!

Cathy:)
 
Thanks, Cathy, for your response. I'm sending you a private e-mail to ask further questions.

Ciao,
Lorrayne
 
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