It's mostly true that French women don't get fat. In "French Women Don't Get Fat," Mireille Guiliano suggests that while French women eat three meals a day, often including a lot of dairy and carbs, they manage to avoid unwanted pounds. Here are some tips to incorporate into your own diet and be more like the French.
Don't Skip Meals
According to Guiliano, French women don't get fat because they have a much more balanced approach to food than American women do. Unlike some American women, who skip breakfast or lunch in an attempt to cut calories, French women avoid skipping meals. They also don't replace their meals with diet shakes or nutrition bars. Instead, they slow down and savor each meal. This is very different from the American habit of eating fast food or not eating at all. If your relationship to food feels out of whack, this might be worth trying in order to "reset" yourself.
Eat in Moderation
While French meals are famous for being long, multi-course affairs full of dairy, carbs and lots of wine, the portions are not crazy, and the ingredients are typically as fresh and natural as possible.
It's this normal relationship with food, one unmarked by excess, that Guiliano says is one of the key secrets to why French women don't get fat: "French women have...a balanced and time-tested relation to food and life." French women don't get fat, she says, because they "simply do not suffer the terror of [pounds] that afflicts so many of their American sisters."
Don't Discuss Dieting
According to Guiliano, French women don't get fat because they rarely discuss their diets. What, how and when they are eating remains something to be discussed only with very close confidantes. This is a drastically different approach than the one Americans take in which what we are or aren't eating is common dinner table or party conversation. To Guiliano, the fix for this is simple: Make subtle changes and keep it to yourself.
Keep Track of What You Eat
Too often, we grab something quick at the vending machine or coffee shop to tide us over without really thinking about the nutritional value of what we've just purchased. In order to make a shift and start eating the French way, Guiliano suggests starting by keeping track of what you eat for three weeks so that you can start to see patterns. She claims, "A clear-eyed look at what you're eating...can begin your turnaround."
Don't Think Some Foods Are "Forbidden"
When you begin to identify what and when you are eating and establish healthier patterns, there are no "forbidden" foods. Americans often think of some foods, like chocolate and dairy, as being "guilt" or "junk" foods, but it's this mentality that Guiliano argues can keep us in a cyclical relationship with food and our weight. French women don't get fat, she says, because they embrace all kinds of food as a normal part of a healthy diet.
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