French Women Don't Get Fat

I just read a book called "French Women Don't Get Fat", and I must say it was very insightful! It's no suprise French - and most European/Asian - women are not as fat as American women. They don't feel guilt over every bite of bread or chocolate or glass of wine they have. Their secret - or lack there of - is basically this: Small portions, high quality of food in small amounts versus low quality of food in large portions (Think 1 Godiva truffle versus 6 mini Snickers), SAVOR everything, and everything in moderation. They don't deprive themselves of anything... If they want bread before a meal, they have it - but only 1 slice, not 4 - and if they want dessert, they get it.. but in return get a lighter dinner and they usually share a dessert with other people. It's so simple and yet we Americans can't seem to grasp it. I'm definitely going to live by these philosophies from now on!

i love that book. so entertaining and a great look into the differences in culture. makes me feel bad to be a lazy american. i have never been to europe but i would love to enjoy the lifestyle she raves about in the book.

the focus on enjoyment of life. a passion for food and wine and chocolate. the fresh ingredients. walks in the city. the lack of emphasis on "diet". yes please!

One difference between Europe and the Americas: GM foods. The europeean union has nothing to do with genetically modified food and they are not sold in the participating countries, but almost everything here is GM in some way.
I really do believe in the quality vs quantity thing. Fresh foods and vegetables give much more nutrients to the body in smaller amounts opposed to highly processed things loaded with chemicals. I tend to shop at the asian grocery stores in town when I can, and I recently bought a Japanese cook book. The portion sizes are a very big difference that I notice in that. Foods involve minimal processed things (even the oil called for in frying tempura should be a higher quality oil than we usually use and it should be soaked off of the food before it is eaten) My goal, once the summer begins, is to eat an asian food diet for as long as possible. Authentic asian food is so full of nutrients and the servings are very sensible. Its easy to see why Japan has the lowest obesity rate in the world (plus hte fact that drivign there is quite rare, subway and walk everywhere)

Yeah, but one really hard thing is that there is not enough nutrition info on food in the country where I live. For example, I love tuna, and here they have these cans of mexican tuna salads with beans, corn and peppers right in the can seasoned and ready to eat. I LOVE them. They are so conveinient and easy, however they are not labeled at all. No calories, no fat, no sodium, nothing. So I have given it up because I am trying very hard to lose a stubborn ten pounds and I am calorie counting very strictly. The lunch meat has no info on it... it is amazing, very few things are labeled.

 This is more common than you think. Most of the breakfast cereal is very, very sweet too. No special K, no regular cheerios, maybe cornflakes. The rest tends to be sweeeeet granola. (yuck) And once again little to no nutrition information.

No skim milk either, here, it is either 1.5% or 3.5%. And no nutrition info, I have no idea whether vitamin D is added or what.....sigh. I miss the fresh food back on the farm in Wisconsin. Fresh raw skim milk....sigh. Now all I have is super processed milk .....

I have given up eating almost everything except veggies and fruits. Because I have not a clue what I am eating. I like Europe, you walk a lot more, but man I really ate a lot healthier in the States. It was easier, much easier for me there than it is here.

lol  this just reminded me of something by the way I was just at one of the international parties this weekend.... there were  a bunch of very nice french girls there :)

I was thinner and in better shape than ALL of them :D and I am 100% American

Don't give up hope America! We can get healthy and stay that way!

Great thread!  Just for the record I think it's interesting that Spain has the highest European incidence of anorexia, followed by Italy I think (?).  It's women and young boys who suffer from it there!  I'm in Italy and the anorexic people that I see in summer time wear tight clothing, as opposed to their American counterparts who wear loose clothing.  Clothing is very tight here, I have a hard time finding things I like.  The food is very good when it's not genetically modified, you can really taste things here!  Even tomato sauce tastes extra-good.  A doctor told me that there are a lot of middle-aged people here in Tuscany that suffer from high blood pressure and hypertension, so the so-called Mediterranean diet may not completely hold sway here.  They eat a LOT of pork product here.  And a LOT of steak.  Girls and women are basically fit here, they look tiny to me, and the jeans are SKIN TIGHT, makes me uncomfortable just to see it.  How do they move their arms in these TIGHT shirts, I don't know.  I got really fat in Germany from eating all the marvelous baked goods, wonderful!

For what it's worth I have met many overweight French women...

Anywhooooo, I think as others have said, that it is a mentality thing. I have yet to meet a European that would want to eat, for instance, a cereal like those cookie crisp things, or those SImpsons ones with cookies in them. Sausages are for the most part real meat. I could go on. I used to live in the States and everyone I met (who wasn't a confirmed veggie like me) ate meat everyday, when in actuality meat should be a 'side' dish, not an everyday meal in and of itself. The differences between the American diet and European one is marked....but we are catching up and Britain certainly has seen a massive increase in obesity in the last 5-10 years and it is now costing our health service like 3 billion pounds a year to treat obesity -related illness. It is set to overtake smoking as the biggest killer in the UK very soon.  

I don't think European's should rest on their laurels as far as diet is concerned that's all. We are getting fatter. And lazier. We on both continents need to find balance that's all. (let's face it eating disorders are now at an all time high too. Ironic, non?)

hem ,i am french and overweight bmi (25)and that is after losing 11kilos and it is hard not to gain weight even in france!but when i was growing up there was this mentality in france of "children must stay skiny" i have seen parents refuse food to childreen even if they are still hungry.
its the french way but i dont thing it is a good way all my friends weight themselves every day if 400g is put on they fast for the day etc

sorry to upset everyone but being American isnt the reason youre over weight. I agree that being in America makes it easy to get larger as the portions are huge and food is so cheap and you drive every where. Ive been in France many times and the crossiants made with butter pastry then covered in butter and jam are not what make french women thin.

Do remember that genetics pay a large part in your shape. Im in London and we have huge numbers of scandinavians and easten europeans who are generally tall and slim with long legs, yes english women get jealous of them. But theres also a lot of other nationalities who seem genetically set to be shorter, stockier or gain weight in certain areas.

So i think you need to be aware you are naturally whatever shape you are and that wont alter though you can keep fit and loose weight and become a better model of yourself.

I heard a French lady, yrs ago, on TV, say the same thing.  If she wants chocolate she has it.  She leaves a bowl of chocolate out but only has one pc a day.

I'd never be able to have a bowl of chocolate, 'sit out' and only have one pc.

I lived in France for 2 years and lost weight, to the point that a ring fell off my finger without my noticing it. In the last 6 months I've applied some of what I learned there to lose 50 lbs:

-Walk everywhere.  I had a car, but gas is a lot more expensive in France than it is in the US, and the streets are a lot less car-friendly (narrow, no place to park, etc), so walking was convenient.  I'd guess that on an average day I walked at least 5 miles.  That's a 350 calorie burn, and I didn't even consider it exercise.  It's harder to do that here in midwestern suburbia, but for the past 4 months I've managed to keep the walking up to 40-50 miles per week.  I doubt I'll be able to maintain this in the winter, though.....France has a permanent advantage there.

-Eat a variety of foods in small portions.  This was enforced on me in restaurants, even cafeterias.   Over the past 6 months of dieting I've increased the number of utensils and serving pieces - cheese plate, dessert plate, salad plate, ramekins of fruit/yogurt, half filled winestems. Lots of fuss over a little bit of food.  Instead of just dumping in the chow in a hurry, meals have become a more leisurely occasion.  I remember my French boss coming back one time from a weekend extremely pleased with himself. The trip was inexpensive, the skiing was great, and dinner had lasted until 2:30 in the morning.  Dinner in France takes time - 2 hours was not unusual.

-Eat quality when you can.  There's not a lot to a tarte.  It's just a cookie with fruit or chocolate on top.  But it's a production which involves a lot of labor (glaze, fruit placement, crust molded in a special moule pan, custardy underfilling).  I get a lot more enjoyment in eating a tarte (or part of one) than in cramming down a Hostess pie or a candy bar.  I feel the same about eating duck confit, which is about like eating KFC calorie and taste-wise.  By eating carefully prepared food, I'm more careful about how I eat it, and don't tend to gorge on it.  [One writer mentioned this in another topic: "Respect the food"].

This doesn't encompass all of "FWDGF",  the "French Paradox", or the concept of the Mediterranean diet.  By no means is this a diet of health food.  Meals in France were often eaten under a blue haze of cigarette smoke.  I think that what I eat here is actually better for me than what I ate there (much less fat, for starters).  But following the guidelines above I've been able to steadily lose weight and eat anything I want.

I absolutely agree that it may have a lot to do with processed foods. My husband is Canadian and always ate a lot of food, but as soon as he moved to the US he started gaining weight, a lot of it , fast! He always complains that the milk & dairy taste weird and that he can sense a chemical taste. He says the closest thing to canadian Milk is Trader Joe's Milk. I am assuming this is because TJs doesn't use as much process and chemicals, etc. I think a large amount of Grocery Store foods are processed. Since i have been buying at only Health food stores and TJs, we have been keeping a steady weight, and not gaining. Now that I am eating only whole grains, limiting to super high quality foods, i am losing rapidly.

I have to be honest, if I ate more than one piece of chocolate in one sitting i'd puke, i don't know how anyone gorges on chocolate, yuck!

It is something to respect about Americans how honest they are about their country..their own nation..

But why are you so harsh on yourselves?

I think it is because you are passionate about your country...

well,whether Americans are fat or not...America is still the most passionate...most diverse place on earth...

There are fat people everywhere...

Original Post by niiko:

One difference between Europe and the Americas: GM foods. The europeean union has nothing to do with genetically modified food and they are not sold in the participating countries, but almost everything here is GM in some way.
I really do believe in the quality vs quantity thing. Fresh foods and vegetables give much more nutrients to the body in smaller amounts opposed to highly processed things loaded with chemicals. I tend to shop at the asian grocery stores in town when I can, and I recently bought a Japanese cook book. The portion sizes are a very big difference that I notice in that. Foods involve minimal processed things (even the oil called for in frying tempura should be a higher quality oil than we usually use and it should be soaked off of the food before it is eaten) My goal, once the summer begins, is to eat an asian food diet for as long as possible. Authentic asian food is so full of nutrients and the servings are very sensible. Its easy to see why Japan has the lowest obesity rate in the world (plus hte fact that drivign there is quite rare, subway and walk everywhere)

I live in Japan, and driving isn't rare at all.  It's pretty much only Tokyo and other large cities that have a good enough public transportation system where people don't have to drive.  If you live anywhere else driving is pretty much a necessity.  Some rural towns don't even have bus service or train stations.  However, like Europeans, Japanese people ride bikes a lot. 

I agree that the traditional Japanese diet is quite healthy.  Lots of fish, tofu, and fruits and vegetables.  Most women are housewives and have the time to go shopping and prepare three meals from scratch every day.  However, American style fast-food is very popular, and portion sizes are growing, so people are getting bigger.  I do see overweight people, but it's nothing compared to America.  I am shocked every time I go back by how big everyone there is.

Despite the Japanese population being relatively thin, there is a lot of pressure to be even thinner.  I think it might be worse than in America.  It seems most girls are on some kind of crazy, unhealthy fad diet to maintain their low weight.

I think Americans have an advantage in some ways because there is more of a health food movement there than here.  Detailed nutrition information is available for everything.  Foods with more whole-grains, fiber, protein, antioxidants, and less trans-fat and sodium are booming.  Organic foods and health foods are showing up more and more in normal grocery stores.  Many Americans are trying to eat better and be more active.  In Japan, you are lucky if your food has the nutrition information printed on it.  All of the rice they eat is white, and brown rice is difficult to find and expensive.  Like I said before, western food is very popular.  The Japanese are not interested in eating healthier, they are only interested in preserving their food traditions, like eating white rice and things drenched in soy sauce, but at the same time they are introducing more and more fatty and sugary western foods because they idolize America so much.  From here on, Americans might get slimmer and healthier, but I can only see the Japanese getting fatter.