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-   -   French Women Don't Get Fat (https://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/does-work/93142-french-women-dont-get-fat.html)

cbmare 09-05-2006 02:45 PM

French Women Don't Get Fat
 
Has anyone read this?

I just got it at the library and I have to say, the read is nice. I don't know if it is for me. However, I completely agree with her about freshness and in season. We grow our own tomatoes and most herbs. You can't beat it.

? about the forum, is there a way to sort? If I could have sorted by alphabet, I would have done it to see if this had been posted previously.

4myloves 09-05-2006 02:54 PM

Hey, mare,

There's not a "sort" as far as I know, but there is a search option--by forum and by thread.

I've not read the book yet, maybe I'll check it out someday when I have time for pleasure reading again.

Sakai 09-05-2006 03:00 PM

I read this book a few years back. It's more a book about the french way of life. not so much a book about eating habbits, but it was really funny and i did learn alot about it.
Like how the french walk to get their food for the day and cook it fresh and all. and how there is very little "Pre-made" foods.

mandalinn82 09-05-2006 03:00 PM

I have read the book - to me, it seemed like a lot of common sense advice (move more, eat smaller portions, reduce trigger foods) mixed with some gimmicky stuff ("miracle leek soup", which you eat for multiple days to clean yourself out). The common-sense advice is great...but anything that involves a phase of eating only leek soup and lemon water? Not for me.

I do love that she makes her own yogurt, though, as its something I really have wanted to do for a while.

phantastica 09-05-2006 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mandalinn82 (Post 1395839)
"miracle leek soup"

Ha ha ha! I forgot about this.

I've read it, too. I liked the focus on fresh, real (nonprocessed) food, and moderate amounts of food. I also liked how they think Americans are crazy for joining gyms and how they work exercise into their daily lives.

I thought the woman was a little pretentious in some parts about Americans, but whatever ... it goes with the territory.

I've heard that her company's wine (Veuve Clicquot) is great, though!

fitbyforty 09-05-2006 04:27 PM

Thirty-five percent of French people are overweight.That's what i read.

fiddler 09-08-2006 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fitbyforty (Post 1395968)
Thirty-five percent of French people are overweight.That's what i read.

That's a pretty good testimonial considering that about 65% of Americans are overweight.

Mummy_Tummy 09-13-2006 06:18 AM

Quote:

Not only American, but other countries are starting to feel their waistlines expand.
Yes but mostly because of the invasion of American fast-food chains!:D

Mummy_Tummy 09-13-2006 06:32 AM

I've not read this book but it goes hand in glove with the Mediterranean way of eating, I would assume. In The States, we want everything to be be bigger, easier and faster. When I moved to England (which is obviously not Mediterranean but is very European - but don't tell them that!), it was very hard for me to get used to the smaller ovens, smaller fridges, smaller freezers...WHAT NO GIGANTASAURUS DEEP FREEZER (and what's more no room to have one anyway!)?! I couldn't fit a 25 pound turkey in my oven and it never occurred to me that there were only 4 of us having Thanksgiving (not a big holiday in England, by the way) so I didn't really need a 25 pound turkey anyway! As boring and mundane as it seems, I think [lack of] storage space and the size of appliances in France has alot to do with why they buy fresh foods almost daily.

And that being said, there's been a rise of American-style fridges and freezers (and washers and dryers) hitting the market over here.

Suzanne 3FC 09-13-2006 01:49 PM

Mummy, I noticed that as well. I spent a year in England a few years ago, and was amazed at the differences. I referred to my oven as my "Easy Bake oven" because it felt like a toy :lol: Shopping was interesting. Cottage cheese came in little bitty containers, instead of the giant tubs we are used to. Everything came in small containers meant to serve a couple of portions. When I first arrived, I shopped as we Americans do, and loaded the shopping cart full and had to take a taxi home. My cabinets were well stocked and my skinny fridge was overflowing. My landlord gasped and said that when he was growing up, his family never had as much food in their kitchen as I did, and that was for his whole family. I was just one person. He also commented that he thought it could be too tempting to overeat :o By the end of the year, I was living more like the locals. I walked several miles round trip to Tesco, carrying home only what would fit in one or two bags, and just shopped whenever I needed a little something. No more taxi cabs filled with food.

So I get the differences that Guiliano was trying to point out in her book. However, several critics have said she was describing a lifestyle from several decades ago, and that the French no longer live that way. They are living busier lifestyles, eating more convenience foods, and they are gaining weight. Maybe not at the rate we are, but they are gaining.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/05/03/news/obese.php
Quote:

Doctors here are perplexed by the runaway success in the United States of the best-selling advice book "French Women Don't Get Fat."
"Oh, but they do!" said Dr. France Bellisle, a prominent obesity researcher here. "I work in a nutrition department where we see lots of people who are overweight. And I can tell you that French women are getting obese - and some massively obese - these days."
In fact, France is suffering something of an obesity crisis, with rates here rising "at an alarming rate," particularly among young people, Bellisle said. True, absolute rates are still lower here than in the United States and most other European countries: 11.3 percent of the French are obese and nearly 40 percent overweight, compared with more than 50 percent overweight in Britain and the United States.
But the sudden sharp rise - 5 percent annually since 1997 - is causing great alarm in a society renowned for thinness, a country that long seemed exempt from a worldwide epidemic of obesity.

forest faerie 09-13-2006 04:20 PM

french women.....
 
there is another book out now about the french way of eating and living.
i went out and bought baguettes,cheese,dark chocolate etc.but overate because iwas tempted.i think moderation is how they stay thin,plus they probably don't snack like we do.

Mummy_Tummy 09-14-2006 05:06 AM

Quote:

So I get the differences that Guiliano was trying to point out in her book. However, several critics have said she was describing a lifestyle from several decades ago, and that the French no longer live that way. They are living busier lifestyles, eating more convenience foods, and they are gaining weight. Maybe not at the rate we are, but they are gaining.
Well, even Americans 50 years ago weren't as overweight on the whole as we are now. In fact, just once try buying vintage clothing from the 50s and 60s! People were just slimmer back then. I suppose I am taking this thread OT when I say we can blame fast food, television, video games, growth hormones in meat and fruit & veg, and more driving/less walking. I guess the French (England, too) are just slowly starting to "catch up" in the race to unhealthy living. Sad.

But we all know the "old ways" work. Healthier, less processed meals, fresh air and exercise, smaller portions...I'm guessing Guiliano's book wouldn't have sold so well if it were called Many French Women Don't Get Fat, Especially The Ones Who Stick To The Old Ways, hehe.

And Suzanne, I had to really adjust to the individual portions of crisps (potato chips)! It's a good thing really because instead of just dipping down into one big ol' bag, I now eat the individual portion and then have to face the prospect of opening a SECOND bag if I want more. I don't anymore. I'll have to share the humiliation of out-eating my oh-so-English husband with you one day!:D

CherryCrush 09-14-2006 11:40 PM

i'm a french minor/ psych major and from what I've learned about their culture and eating habits is they tend to view eating completely different. They focus on it more intensely. Like how American's might have a big family dinner once a week every sunday(or in my case every few months), they do that every day! It's not about eating fancy expensive foods, (but I'm sure this woman was wealthier and eats/lives higher class,) its about the company. So they view a meal as a chance to have great conversation. The Quality of Conversation is central to French mealtime. They also eat several different courses, but not alot of each. The entire process probably takes 2-3hrs. They also eat a small breakfast (petit dejeuner), and many also eat a large but not quite elaborate lunch. It was pretty customary for Schools and Buisness to allow their students/employees home for lunch for 1 1/2hrs. And most all people do go home to eat with there family. But I've heard with in the most recent years it is at the early stages of eroding that custom. That's probably thanks to the American Fast Food Invasion and fast way of life. But the daily family dinner remains a custom. Well that's all my input.


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