[mauvaisroux]

Is anyone here actually going to try to follow the French plan?

I would be curious to know how it goes

[ginavisko]

I read French Women Don't Get Fat, The Fat Fallacy and several of the Fench Chic and Slim books. I have been adapting the new principles to my life for about 2 weeks now and I am thoroughly enjoying it. What a relief to eat just real whole foods that taste wonderful. I threw every fake food out of my kitchen and now shop almost exclusively at a whole foods market. I can't tell you how many Atkins bars, slim fast shakes, etc I had to get rid of.

The author of Fat Fallacy (which by the way is my favorite book about this way of life) believes that high fructose corn syrup is highly addictive as well as a promoter of fat storage. It is in almost every product on the market these days including those very addictive soft drinks. He also believes that many of the chemicals in our food promote weight gain, hence the whole natural foods thing. I have not had any high fructose cs or trans fats or suspicious chemicals in 2 weeks and I am hoping I will reap the benefits soon.

The other component of this lifestyle is eating slower, taking smaller bites, putting less on your plate and really savoring your food, plus no snacking. It took some getting used to but I really am getting the hang of this. I find I have less hunger every day and am really able to cut my portions easily.
This diet is not for everyone, but for me it has been an awakening. I can easily see myself eating this way forever.

In 2 weeks I have lost 4 lbs, not much, but it has taken me awhile to learn these new habits. So, wish me luck, and if anyone wants to join me I would love it!
Gina

[mauvaisroux]

Thanks for your input Ginavisko!

I have been eating along those lines for the past year or so - processed and fake foods taste terrible to me now

I have heard a lot of negative things lately about high fructose corn syrup - not good at all!

Another interesting book that I have just started reading which also seeks to dispell the notions about low-fat food products is Lights Out - Sleep, Sugar, and Survival by T.S Wiley and Bent Fromby, Ph.D. very interesting information and ideas.

[ginavisko]

Thanks Mauvaisroux for the info on the book. I'll check it out.
Just curious... are you at your goal weight?.... did this way of eating help you to lose weight? .....are you on a particular diet?

Thanks again,
Gina

[mauvaisroux]

I've done WW but had to quit due to job changes and $ difficulties. I lost 20lbs the first time by combining WW and South Beach diet - this was before ww came out with their Core program. When I quit I gained it all back. Then I lost 15lbs again and I am now down to losing my last 10- 15 lbs. Which will make a total of 30 by the time I am done.

I rejoined in June and am making slow progress. I have however over the past year or so eliminated most processed foods and "diet products" out of my life. The only things I do have are Crystal Light and Healthy Choice fudgesicles and I switched to brown rice and whole wheat pasta when I do eat them.

After cooking fresh food and relying on seasonal produce I just can't eat any other way now Everything that is canned, frozen of prefab just tastes lousy to me.
I even started an herb garden - nothing like fresh basil!

We don't have any "junk food" or cookies/baked good in the house since we are not used to eating them anymore and did not substitute the "low-fat" kind for these items.

I do treat myself now and again to something really good like real Baklava at a Lebanese restaurant or a good piece of chocolate. It really has to be worth it for me to eat it and a substitute just doesn't cut it.

I bought the French Women don't get fat at lunch time today so I will be reading it over the next few days.

[mauvaisroux]

I started reading the book last night. The intro is a bit long winded and I am finding the use of French words here and there annoying. I speak do French but peppering English sentences with foreign words just seems like an affectation to me

I do agree with what I have read so far. Not sure about Europe but North Americans eat sweets too often. When I was a kid I grew up spending half my time with Italians and half the time with my Scottish parents.

The Italian meals at my babysitter's house and my friends houses were always simple, hearty and homemade with fresh ingredients, often from their own back yard. Dessert was a on occasions only.

My own parents rarely had junk in the house, rarely served instant food and dessert was reserved for Sunday dinners and holidays. Pop and chips were a Friday night treat while watching movies.

By comparison, whenever I stayed at my Canadian friends homes they always had meat, potatoes, bread and butter, soggy veg and always had dessert, even during the week.

I've never been a dessert person and still only eat them occasionally and not as a regular part of a meal.

[Mamacita]

Hello~~

May I join this thread?

I've read the book several times through. I love it. The whole relationship to food makes much more sense than our American neurotic relationship that has led us to rampant obesity over the last 40 years.

I've been doing South Beach, but with the FWDGF twist. If I decide to go off program, I do it with conscious thought and I compensate for it the next day or two. I've lost almost 20 pounds along with a whole boatload of guilt.

Weight loss is hideously difficult for me anyway, and I've found it makes little difference if I eat a square of dark chocolate or not. But the chocolate or the occasional bite or two of a decadent dessert on a special occasion makes the journey so much nicer!

BTW, I'm a non-smoker and have no intentions of starting!

[mauvaisroux]

Welcome Mamacita

I have to finish reading the book. I went on holidays for a week so I will finish up this weekend.

[jbbm]

Very interesting thread....my Grandmother was French and she would walk everywhere, to the bank and grocery store. Even in the winter. She ate anything she wanted in small amounts. When she was almost seventy people thought she was in her fifties. She was a beautiful thin woman and I admire her zest for life.