I guess I’ve read or skimmed just about all the main or most popular diet books ever written. But I can honestly say…I’ve never read one that made me ‘feel good’just by reading it, until now. I kept hearing about this book “French Women Don’t Get Fat” and it’s an old book now, but the first book was so popular, they now have a follow up book. Just skimming that book, set my mind on a path to peace and tranquility. It made me want to have sit down dinners…maybe with even candle light and a vintage table cloth. I tried that several years ago with this old geezer.
I had just bought the book Creating a Charmed Life
But this book is not only powerful, it is ON THE MARK!!!
And I can say that with extreme conviction because I kind of followed the French Women’s Diet…during my 13 weeks on the love seat with my broken leg…I just didn’t know I was on their diet at that time. But I DID LOSE 24 pounds without even trying OR without ANY EXERCISE whatsoever…
Did you know…that the French have the lowest average body weight in the Western world? Yet they eat like Kings and Queens. There is only an 11% obesity rate in France and they are MUCH thinner as a general rule than us Americans. They also have excellent cardiac health, despite living on a daily diet of rich cheeses, high quality meats and even fruits and veggies.
SOOOOOOO what is their SECRET? Ooooooooooh THEY DO HAVE ONE!!! It’s called “The French Lifestyle“
According to the book and other research I did for this article, most people in France eat at home 75% of the time.
Frozen foods and dinners are literally almost unheard of in France and you have to hunt to find a fast food establishment.
They make several trips a week to the local butcher, the baker, the cheese factory and to their version of the Farmer’s Market where they buy only the best fresh fruits and veggies.
In American…there’s a fast food eatery on almost every corner and our many buffet’s have a long line that goes right out the door and down the sidewalk. We’re looking for places with TONS OF FOOD…cooked by people we’ve never met and we’re wanting as big a bang for our buck as we can GET! “STUFF YOURSELF JOHNNY….DADDY’S PAYING $12 FOR YOUR PLATE…YOU EAT THAT AND THEN GO BACK FOR MORE!!!”
In France, they still have what we used to know as “the family meal table”. Everyone is expected at the table AT meal time and it’s common for family meals to last about an hour. Because they sit and slowly enjoy their mealtime and share their stories of the day. Aaaaaahhh just like all of US used to do … way back before 1970 when this old world began it’s nosedive……OR here in the canyon…we did that the whole time the kids were growing up at home….So HEY…maybe it ISN’T the whole world going to the devils hometown in a hand basket. MAYBE…JUST MAYBE it’s just us doe doe birds here in the United STATES.
Because all these countries fighting each other….they’ve been doing that since the beginning of time…and they’re going to KEEP on doing that….and now we learn there are countries that still value family and quality time together…like in France…It’s the people of the United States that are springing bad wires in their brains. Well shoot a monkey!!!
SO … WHAT IS the secret of the people of France? Well they know how to live…that’s the main thing! They have not allowed their heads to be slammed into the gutters of life trying to look like something they’re not…or trying to out do…John and Jane Smith next door. They savor quality in everything…especially home and family and food.
They walk pretty much everywhere they go because gas is so expensive, parking is sparse and public transportation will get you within a couple blocks or so of pretty much anywhere you’d need to go.
They buy only high quality food and it has to be fresh. They eat slow and only small portions at a time and enjoy their meals and the company they’re sharing that meal with…especially if it’s at home…
Their food is low glycemic and of the highest quality. AND they can afford to DO that because there are few junk foods to buy. Soft drinks are almost unheard of. They drink mainly water, coffee and wine…now on that wine….you all know how I feel about that…but that’s what the story said. Welch’s 100% Grape Juice is just as healthy … if not more so…than any wine on earth….
They eat much smaller portions of EVERYTHING than we do. You know those big bowls of chips at the Mexican restaurants here? And when you’re done with that bowl…they bring you another…complete with more cheese dip and salsa. But in France you’d get just 10 chips and a tiny bowl of dip and when that’s gone…it’s gone. We’d be saying “Well the neeeeeeeeeerve”
A good and common meal in France is grilled steak, full fat cheese, Crème Brulee and then a long stroll to let it digest and rev up the metabolism a bit.
Yogurt is a secret weight control food in France. But now, not the foo foo yogurt like WE have. They have REAL yogurt and put their own fresh fruit in it with no additional sugar. They consider yogurt to be very healthy and the perfect food, convenient, delicious and loaded with protein and a good balance of a few carbs and fat…AND they eat one or two a day.
The main thing with the French…they just never over indulge…They eat good quality food and just a little of it at a time.
That’s why I know this diet will work and work well. When I was down with my broken leg…you all know I just had one complication after the other and one complication was extreme nausea. I could only eat a bite or two at a time…and I LITERALLY MEAN…ONE BITE OR TWO…at a time. Geezer would bring me soup…and I leaned towards the Progresso Gumbo Soup and the Progresso Potato Soup. But he’d bring that to me and I could only eat about 2 bites and I’d say…”That’ll do me…just take the rest back” THEN in a few minutes, he’d bring me ONE LITTLE SQUARE off of a Hershey Bar…Now I don’t mean one little section of 3 squares like the Hershey Bar HAS….I mean just ONE of those little 3 squares in the row…and I’d eat that one square and that would hold me till the next meal. And all the exercise I had….was hobbling to the bathroom and THAT was IT. And I lost 24 pounds during that 13 weeks. I’ve gained 8 pounds back but so far….I’m still 16 pounds lighter than I was before I broke my leg…and hoping to go back on down a little more…
We are stuffing ourselves to the point of almost exploding…and WHY? We’re doing all the wrong things and we’re paying dearly with our health and well being.
It just seems like in France…all those little things add up to a LOT.
And LOOKIE HERE…what “I” found….
I think I’d like to try my own run at living a French Lifestyle in Round Knob Canyon….but no candle light dinners for this old geezer…he’s too goofy for a candlelight dinner…but the quality is about to be RAISED and the quantity is about to be CUT…shall we pray…
Peace and love from the canyon…I love you all gobs and thanks so much…for stopping by….
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