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Tourists are surprised: French women eat chocolate, croissants, a huge amount of cheese, washed down with wine, and at the same time manage to remain fragile and sophisticated. At the same time, they are not obsessed with counting calories and do not torture themselves for hours in the gym. The secret lies in their attitude towards food, which is brought up from childhood.
Women's part of the editorial office website I really like the lifestyle of French women. We think it's worth adopting their habits to help you stay in shape effortlessly and even enjoyably.
Food as a sacred act
This is perhaps the most important secret of the French woman. A reverent attitude towards food does not allow you to stuff your mouth with all sorts of nonsense, does not allow you to eat on the go and just anything. We can say that the people of France are obsessed with food, but for them this obsession results in a desire to eat elegantly and beautifully, and not a lot. French women often have lunch and dinner in restaurants and cafes, enjoying mini portions, wine and good company.
“For us, lunch or dinner is a very special time where the pleasures of good food and good conversation are mixed,” says Parisian nutritionist Dr. Françoise L’Ermita. - In many other countries, unfortunately, food is perceived as fuel for muscles. If this is how you treat food, then you are violating the most important principles of nutrition.”
French woman chooses quality
French women prefer the best, the freshest and the most selected. Their principle is more expensive and better, not more and cheaper. Let it be a couple of slices of high-quality dark chocolate or light handmade cakes, and not a large portion of inexpensive ice cream (which necessarily contains harmful trans fats), let it be better to have fish than cheap chicken of unknown quality.
French women-a living illustration of the common truth: “You are what you eat.” The owner of the Parisian restaurant La Petite Cuisine, Rachel Ku, says: “Even when I was forced to save, I went to the market to buy fresh natural cheese and baguette. It’s good that in France a person of any income can afford this.”
French woman often puts her fork on her plate
The Frenchwoman does not put spoon after spoon into her mouth, turning lunch or dinner into fuel for the body. She eats slowly and enjoys the taste of every bite, pausing in her food to pay attention to her interlocutor or family members. This is how an ordinary lunch or dinner turns into a celebration of taste and communication.
She is extremely honest with herself about food, but does not forbid herself anything.
The French woman is aware that foie gras or brie cheese are very fatty and filling dishes. She understands that she will not be able to stay in shape if she eats croissants and fresh bread twice a day.
But French women do not forbid themselves anything. It’s better to allow yourself to eat your favorite foods little by little than to experience the stress of giving up completely.. French women do not deny themselves petits riens - a daily dose of “small pleasures”. You shouldn’t say: “I don’t eat sweets” and then look at your friend’s plate with hungry, envious eyes. Why torture yourself like that? To relapse one day, and then experience a painful feeling of guilt and scold yourself for being weak-willed?
The Frenchwoman maintains moderation and balance
French women know well the difference between the desire to pamper themselves and promiscuity. If they want to stay in shape, they will never eat cake, cheese and bread on the same day, notes Rebekah Plantier, author of Lessons from France: Nutrition, Fitness, Family.
They do not deny themselves pleasures, but understand: the condition for harmony is moderation and balance. Today you can eat a cake, but dinner will not have a side dish: for example, duck breast and salad. Tomorrow you can afford chocolate, the day after tomorrow - wine with cheese and nuts.
So, Sophie Marceau eats everything, but little by little. “I don’t only eat fast food. But I love wine and chocolate, and I don’t deny myself this, like many other delicious things.”
Too much sugar or salt? This is not for her
French dishes have a delicate taste, and if they contain spices, they are designed to emphasize the natural taste and aroma of the food. Since childhood, French women have become accustomed to the fact that everything is “too much” - this is not for them. They will put a piece of cake that is too sweet or fatty aside (it would be better to choose tartlets with light cream and fruit), as well as dishes that are too salty or overcooked.
A French woman would rather wait for dinner than snack on the go
A French woman, of course, can drink coffee with two cookies in the break between lunch and dinner, but she will not abuse it. She will prefer to wait for dinner and eat a good piece of meat with salad, accepting a slight feeling of hunger with pleasure - as the best aperitif before a delicious meal.
But if lunch or dinner is still far away, and you feel unbearably hungry, then the best choice is natural yogurt without sweeteners. The French eat the most yoghurt compared to other European countries. There is an average of 20 kilograms per person per year, writes Mireille Giuliano, author of the blog French Women Dont Get Fat.
She eats at a well set table
French women will not deprive themselves of the pleasure of eating measuredly and tastefully, at a well-set table. They are not used to eating, sitting at the edge of the table, or at the computer, licking their greasy fingers during breaks to tap on the keyboard.
Long lunch breaks are commonplace in French offices. “Slow” food is known to be better absorbed and allows you to enjoy the process. And when we eat in a hurry, we often don’t even pay attention to the taste or smell. Therefore, after an hour we want to grab something sweet in an effort to get our share of endorphins.
Movement is a way of life, not a way to “work off” what you eat.
In France, active leisure is part of the national culture, notes Rebekah Plantier. French women go hiking, climb mountains, love kayaking, play tennis, run in parks, ski, and so on. In addition, they walk a lot. And this is precisely a way of life, and not violence against oneself, not a way to “work off” what you eat by the sweat of your brow, and not self-torture in attempts to get closer to the ideal. French women believe that any violence against themselves is harmful to women's well-being.
Anyone who moves a lot prefers a walk to a car ride, and at the same time eats fully, efficiently and with pleasure, and does not gain weight.
The French woman does not worry about excesses and does not punish her body
We are all human and sometimes indulge in excess. This happens even to French women who take good care of themselves. But if somewhere they allowed themselves more than usual and violated the principles of moderation, then they do not see anything terrible in this and do not rush to extremes. They won’t punish their body and say, “I ate too much yesterday, now I’ll fast and work out two hours at the gym.”
“The principle of ‘no pain, no gain’ never reached France,” notes Rebekah Plantier. And when movie star Eva Green (already slim, by the way) was asked to go on a diet and lose weight for her role in the first film, she quickly gave in. “I just couldn’t diet. Food means so much to me,” she admits.
A French girl will go crazy with boredom if she has to read about calories, carbohydrates, proteins, fats and trans fats. And it will be completely sad when she begins to apply all this knowledge in relation to the blessed component of her life - food. She prefers to treat food as a pleasure, but remembers moderation and balance. This is the art of living with pleasure.
So, French women...
It's easy to skip breakfast
In the morning, a French woman would rather spend time choosing a jacket to match her jeans than preparing a full breakfast. “All the charm of a new day will come to naught if you hang around the stove before work,” says the Parisian Juliette Mercier. - My family has always had a morning ritual. Dad put on his robe, opened the windows in the dining room and brewed great black coffee. He poured some cream on us schoolgirls and gave us cookies. There was never a cult of sharing breakfast in the family; it was much more important to get together and sip a hot drink. Since then, coffee and bread in the morning have been my habit, which I have been following for 20 years.”
At work, the coffee ritual is repeated several times. Before lunch, French women regularly have 2-3 coffee breaks, and they never buy sandwiches or buns to go with it.
For lunch choose salads and vegetables
Most often, working French people have lunch in cafes. In this case, women usually order salad or grilled vegetables. A little chicken or fish, a square of goat cheese and pieces of bread fried in olive oil are lost in a heap of lettuce leaves with basil and arugula. “Sometimes I think I look like a big sheep,” says the stylist Veronique Abouer. - Every day I eat a bush of lettuce. But this has its own charm: I prefer to be a slender sheep than a ponderous puma.”
You might think that French women eat a lot of flour, because in every restaurant, before ordering, the waiter brings a free basket of fresh white bread, butter and a carafe of water. But this is only an appearance: before dinner, a French woman will actually cut off a piece of bread, spread it with butter, but only take 1-2 bites. During lunch, she will take, twirl in her hands, crumble bread, but just not eat. But he will happily drink 2-3 glasses of water.
They spend a strictly defined amount on food
“Madam, we have a fresh leg of lamb. Would you like it?" - “Oh, I would love to, but I only have money for ratatouille and some fish.” This kind of dialogue can often be heard in a restaurant surrounded by offices. It doesn’t matter that her income allows her to take out a full dining card at the best restaurant in the area. When leaving for a break, a French woman will not take her wallet, but will take a certain amount, usually not very large. If salads and hot dishes are more expensive, she will order an appetizer. The main thing is not to go beyond the allotted budget.
“Work off” the calories eaten
“It seems like the roast and mash was unnecessary yesterday. I hope it cost me no more than 600 kcal. Well, today and tomorrow - no dinner” - such thoughts out loud can often be heard in the workplace. Some people keep special notebooks where they write down the calorie content of their daily menu. If in the corporate canteen a French woman languidly touches her vegetables with a fork and refuses a night party, everyone nods understandingly: what to do, Madeleine is working off yesterday’s pork.
Choose seasonal fruits for snacks
“Colleagues, my aunt Amel sent nectarines from Spain. Who wants to try? Usually such a proposal is met with shouts of approval and a break in work for 15 minutes. Everyone drops what they’re doing and eats everything they had in a matter of minutes. The next day everyone will still eat apples from Provence and pears from the Loire. At the end of an impromptu break, someone will definitely ask: “Friends, does anyone have an aunt with vineyards in Bordeaux? It seems that the season of new wine will begin soon.”
They eat little at parties
A French party looks like this: dim lights, open balconies and a few boxes of wine. No food. “We come to socialize, have fun, and not fill our bellies” is a generally accepted attitude. Each glass of wine is usually washed down with several sips of water. It is not customary to drink alcohol.
Don't eat desserts
“The Napoleon cake was invented for tourists and foreigners. Real French women are cool about sweets after the main course. If I still order dessert, I’ll just try a few spoons,” says Véronique Aboué, whom we already know. That is why in Parisian restaurants the dessert menu is brought only upon the client’s request.
They talk a lot at the table
One of the unspoken rules of a French woman is to eat slowly, prolonging the pleasure. Each bite into your mouth will be followed by questions about the weather, the health of your mutual friend Luke, or a discussion of the upcoming elections. Sometimes food is just an excuse to discuss things that really matter, such as a rich relative's will or a promotion.
They walk a lot
French women believe that you need to know all the streets of your hometown impeccably. Using ground transport is the lot of tourists or those who cannot walk from home to work due to illness. Many are ready to go out an hour and a half to two hours before the start of the working day to walk around their area and say hello to their neighbors. Many Parisians only go down to the metro when it rains. It is known that to keep fit, you need to take about 10 thousand steps a day. Well, French women certainly score that much!
- The seats on the Paris metro are prohibitively narrow. The average American will take as much as 2 (maybe not yet e stit), and an ordinary Russian person would willingly take 1.5 (young ladies and fitness trainers do not count). For comparison with the Moscow metro: where in Moscow there are 6 seats, and in Paris there will definitely be at least 8.
- Clothing stores only offer products for slim people. In a huge lingerie store, where the selection was impressive, bra sizes proudly ended at the European number 80 D. The maximum size of panties was L. Those who bought underwear and clothes in France know that, in addition, French sizes are smaller than all others. Exactly the same as the German ones anymore. Therefore, the French L corresponds to the American and German M. The size of the tights proudly ended with a three... I didn’t have time to go to the clothing department, because the store was already closing. But, as the author of the book “What French Women Are Silent About,” writes, clothes larger than Russian 44 (European 38) must be bought in specialized stores, which is considered something humiliating. And the selection in such stores leaves much to be desired. Therefore, it is no wonder that French women have to control themselves with all their might.
- The elevators in Parisian buildings are amazingly small. They probably won’t even fit in the width and depth of my suitcase, which, fortunately, I didn’t take this time. 2 ordinary thin people or 3 children of primary school age will fit there. If your size exceeds 52 Russian, then you will have to walk... At the same time, you will lose a little weight!
- According to the authors of both books, in France no one will take care of your feelings and will openly express their “fie” to you about the kilograms you have gained. Coincidence: the author of the second book about the secrets of French women cites as an example a story from the book of a French woman who wrote “French Women Don’t Get Fat.” There she (the French woman) comes home (of course!) from America, where she gained 20 pounds in a year. Seeing her, the French father exclaimed: “You look like a sack of potatoes!” and winced in disgust. Good dad! I haven’t seen my teenage daughter for a year, and he greets her so “heartily.” In my opinion, this example is truly illustrative. If a father allows himself to make such a statement about his beloved daughter, then what can we expect from others!
I’ll be honest: I thought about this article for a VERY long time. I read two books on this topic and another one about French children and their nutrition. In addition, while the article was being born, I unexpectedly had the opportunity to go to Paris for a week. Therefore, it was decided to leave writing the article until we returned. Because books are one thing, and quite another is immersion in the habitat of those same mysterious French women who, for unknown (?) reasons, do not gain weight.
First, I’ll tell you about two books on this topic that I read.
The first, “French Women Don't Get Fat,” was written by Frenchwoman Mireille Galliano, who has lived in the United States for many years. She compares the eating habits of two nations, American and French, and using this example shows the mistakes of American women and the merits of French women. Honestly, when I picked up the book in the electronic hands of my phone (I now read all books this way), I was counting on something more specific. For some advice and new examples besides those that I have already seen many times. But the book, to be honest, was disappointing. It was quite easy to read, but I didn’t find any specific advice there, other than the well-known “Don’t eat, no bread and sugar...”. One got the impression that the author did not want to honestly reveal the secret and yet was keeping something back.
On the other hand, the book contains many practical recommendations and recipes. Surely, they will be useful for beginners and even advanced housewives.
In general, without really understanding anything, I started the next book, “What French Women Are Silent About” by Debra Olivier. The book beckoned with its title because it threatened to reveal the very secret that I never learned from the previous book. In addition, on the contrary, it was written by an American who lived in France for many years. The book is not only and not so much about nutrition, but about French women in general. But nevertheless, in one short chapter I finally found answers to the question that interests me: why French women don’t get fat.
Secret 1: French women eat little
The author of the first book about French women openly declares this. And yes, indeed, portions in French restaurants are small. Especially when compared with America. I won’t even go into this “secret”, because there is no secret in it. Only the lazy did not write about the fact that you need to eat little in order to be and remain thin. Including me . So let's continue...
Secret 2: French women prefer quality to quantity
Oddly enough, there is some strange rule at work here: the more delicious food there is in a country, the less people eat. Let's take, for example, America, where fast food chains have filled the country. There is a lot of food there, but its quality leaves much to be desired. If at all one can call that set of chemical elements passed off as food food. Moreover, everything is low-fat, without sugar, without this and that, but it’s of little use. There are more and more overweight and obese people.
But in France everything is exactly the opposite! On every corner there are cafes and bakeries with fresh cakes and bread, waffle stations, an incredible number of cafes and restaurants. Supermarkets are simply a food paradise! The sheer number of cheeses can be shocking. There are also harmful semi-finished products, and their selection is also impressive. But! At the same time, the choice of vegetables and fruits does not lag behind. This means that all this is in demand.
I even visited the exclusive Maille mustard store. I couldn’t even imagine such diversity! Mustard with rhubarb, with cheese, with garlic and lemon, with basil, with mango, with eggplant, with figs and coriander, with pesto...
So what's the secret? According to the author of the first book, the fact is that a person needs not just calories, but taste sensations and variety. When you have a 3-course meal in front of you, but each of them fits on a plate, you will fill up faster than if you had a huge plate of macaroni and cheese and meat sauce in front of you.
My version is this: we really need a varied diet, because this is the only way we can provide ourselves with a variety of microelements (vitamins, minerals, etc.). In addition, when there are several dishes, there is a pause between them. And this allows us to get full faster, because our brain has time to receive a signal that food is already here. I myself have noticed several times in gourmet restaurants, where I order a menu of 3 meager, but very interesting and varied dishes, that I hardly finish the third dish. Despite the fact that when I see an appetizer, I’m always disappointed that it’s too small. But the size of these tiny three dishes is always enough!
Therefore, yes, the quality of food, its variety and versatility of taste can help in the fight against extra pounds.
Secret 3: partial fasting
The first book about losing weight tells us that if a French woman allows herself excesses, then she will definitely compensate for it. For example, if there was a dinner party, then the French woman calmly (?) enjoys the meal and drinks, but then pays for the pleasure either by going on a hunger strike on the next “fasting” day, or by eating like a mouse for the next week (!). And yes, French women do eat croissants, pastries, and pies, but only a little, infrequently, and with mandatory compensation by partial fasting afterwards. This whole system is beautifully called “Conscious Eating”.
Secret 4: French women only eat at the table
During all my 5 days in Paris, I never (!) saw a French woman during the day who was eating something in a cafe or on the go. In restaurants - yes. But even in cafes or bakeries, the majority sat without food. They drank coffee, water, wine, and even beer. True, the girl with the beer was a clear exception, and despite her young age, she was not thin. I listened to her conversation with her friends for a long time, not believing my eyes that the Parisian woman drinks beer and is not thin. But here is the answer to the question: why don’t French women get fat? Because they think about every bite they are going to put in their mouth. They will sip on a mini cup of espresso or glass of wine for hours. And, again, they will prefer wine to beer or juice. And they prefer to eat in restaurants or at home. Views at the dinner table.
Secret 5: no snacks and strict 3 meals a day
It's hard to snack if you only eat at the table. In our hectic times and on the go, you don’t always have time to have a snack. And the luxury of grabbing a handful of nuts and carrots or a cake while sitting at the table is out of the question. Therefore, with this rule, French women can really eat no more than 3 times a day. After all, they also go to work, give birth to children, get manicures, and their maternity leave lasts only 3 months.
To be honest, with my current schedule, if I stuck to this rule, I would be left without breakfast. Today I even had to cover the already carefully prepared breakfast right on the plate with cling film, put it in the car, take it with me and eat it in the office. It’s just an amazing feature of the time in the morning: no matter what time you get up, you still don’t have time to have breakfast. Or is it just me? If there are any secrets to conquering time in the morning, I would be grateful if you share them in the comments.
Secret 6 (MAIN): being fat is not only embarrassing, but also inconvenient
Here! Finally, we got to the main secret of French women. This is motivation! Without her - nowhere. This secret was shared by an American woman, the author of the second book. For which I thank her so much! It is precisely this feature of French realities that all French women are silent about. They are thin not because they have some special gene for their structure. Yes, they are certainly a little small, especially in comparison with the inhabitants of Scandinavia, but short stature does not guarantee thinness. Alas.
In France, it is not that it is common to be thin (although this feature also exists). It is simply NOT ACCEPTABLE to be overweight there. Not fat, but even just plump. Let me explain what I mean:
To sum up, I can say that, as it turns out, there is nothing mysterious about the thinness of French women. All this can really be put into the formula “control-motivation-awareness”. As, in other matters, in any other business. But still, I was personally inspired! I try to diversify my menu even more and inspire my children to do the same. Now we have soup for dinner, an appetizer, and fruit for dessert (for those who ate dinner). As for me personally, I really like the rule of eating at the table, consciously and thoughtfully, without books or tablets in front of my eyes. I'll try to put it into practice!
Why do French women, who are considered the most gourmets in the world, have no problems with their figure? This mystery is revealed by journalist Mireille Galliano in her book “Why don’t French women get fat?”
Madame Galliano, who in her youth had problems with excess weight due to her excessive love for hamburgers and croissants, claims that Parisians achieve unsurpassed grace not through self-restraint, not through fitness clubs or the most severe diets, but through love of life and love of cooking. And she knows what she's talking about.
At the age of 19, Mireille went to study in America. Thanks to the American way of life, from a fragile teenager the girl turned, according to her own father, into a “sack of potatoes.” The family doctor gave the girl some advice, and she was able to fit into her old swimsuit again. Mireille Galliano, by the way, who until recently headed the Veuve Clicquot champagne trading house, still remains a slender lady. At the same time, she has to attend up to 300 dinner parties a year. She also loves to cook and enjoy sweets and cookies.
But here are the basic rules that, according to Galliano, a lady should follow in order to remain forever slim:
Analyze it
For three weeks in a row, write down in a notebook what, in what quantities and when you eat. This is the only way you can get a complete picture of your habits and purposefully begin the fight against fat deposits.
Enjoy in French
Analyze your notes and choose the dishes that give you the most pleasure. In the future, do not refuse them, only avoid cheap and tasteless food. Monitor the quality of products, refuse too large portions of anything. Allow at least 20 minutes for each meal.
Be picky
Learn to be picky eaters. It is better to fry yourself a steak from fresh meat than to cook something from semi-finished products. Arrange a small portion of food elegantly on a plate. And be sure to eat two packs of natural yogurt a day.
Love onions
Onions are truly a magical vegetable that stimulates metabolism, removes water from the body and loses two to three kilograms in 48 hours. This is the recipe. Take a kilogram of green onions, cut off and discard the feathers. Immerse the turnips in a liter of boiled water, leave for 20 minutes and drink a glass every two hours for two days. If you get tired of this option, you can pour olive oil on the turnips, season them with spices and lemon juice and eat them in unlimited quantities.
Move more
Stylish ladies never sweat like fools in the gym. French women have neither the time nor the desire for this, but they are always on the move. They walk a lot and go upstairs only by stairs, avoiding elevators. When working sedentarily, you need to strain your tummy, and in the mornings do squats and lightly dabble with dumbbells. The best leg and butt workout.
Maintain style even in everyday life
French women are busy ladies. However, they find time to go to the market, buy fresh food and cook something with it. French women despise fast food and do not go to cafes for lunch, but take a sandwich or salad with them to work. But they have dinner with family or friends according to the full program: at least four courses and a glass of dry wine. True, the portions are small, without bread, instead of potatoes and rice, vegetables are used as a side dish. After a hearty dinner, they do not immediately flop into bed, but go for a walk around evening Paris before bed.
Of course, the author of the book did not mention the real secret of Parisian women - the coffee and cigarette “diet”, which, unfortunately, works flawlessly. But we do not recommend this diet to anyone.
Source -http://looking-a-way.livejournal.com/ 
How to explain the “French paradox” or why French women are slim?
Have you ever heard of the French eating oatmeal for breakfast, counting calories all day, and eating lettuce for dinner? Most likely not, and you are unlikely to hear. The French eat tons of white bread, fresh, still warm, a lot of cheese and butter, bacon, and breakfast is unthinkable without croissants or at least toast with jam. And yet, the French and French women, the envy of the whole world, remain slim, and they have much less cardiovascular disease than Americans who are always counting calories. How to explain the “French paradox”? Simple enough. One has only to look at how the French live and what they eat, and it will become clear why the nation of natural gourmets looks so good.
“The French Paradox” - the secrets of French slimness
Some time ago it was announced on television that the secret to the slimness and health of the French nation lies in French wine. Allegedly, it contains flavonoids that strengthen the walls of blood vessels. The whole world rushed to buy French wines; as a result of a clever marketing move, profits from the sale of wine increased significantly, but this did not make anyone healthier or slimmer. The next object of close study was olive oil. But even here the “French paradox” could not be explained - other peoples also consume olive oil in large quantities, but few can boast of being slim. Everything became clear when it became clear how the French spend their day and what kind of lifestyle they lead.
Here are the five most noticeable differences:
No snacking between meals. The French do not have a habit of snacking. In rare cases, they can afford a biscuit or waffle, or, as a last resort, a baguette. But fast food and especially snacks at McDonald's are not accepted.
The French drink a lot of coffee. But not just any coffee, but rather strong espresso. Traditionally with a piece of chocolate or biscuit, which is always served on a plate. So to speak - a portion, and no additives. Coffee is drunk early in the morning before breakfast, coffee is drunk after breakfast, in the middle of the day and even after dinner. Up to five cups of strong drink are taken per day. It goes without saying that this speeds up the metabolic rate.
The food is prepared from natural and high quality products. France is the birthplace of cooking, and everyone here is interested in preparing dishes - from the president to the ordinary housewife. The country does not subsidize programs for industrial food production. In other words, the state does not welcome or support the production of semi-finished products, synthetic products, or products with chemical additives. They have a right to exist, but the demand for them is minimal. Manufacturers are interested in supplying the market with high-quality, natural products, and the state supports them in every possible way, providing benefits, subsidies, and loans.
Lunch – one and a half hours, dinner – two hours. For the French, food is one of the greatest pleasures. Their lunch lasts an hour - this is the time needed for a leisurely meal. And another half hour is added to drink a cup of espresso after lunch. The French eat very slowly and do not overeat. In addition, the French have small portions.
Dynamic lifestyle. A car in France is a very expensive pleasure, so many people use public transport. City dwellers walk a lot or rent bicycles for one trip, for a week, for a month - whatever suits you. You can’t call them fans of a healthy lifestyle, but rarely do they spend their weekends on the couch in front of the TV.
Isn’t it true - an amazing nation! They don’t bother themselves with diets, don’t count calories, but simply live and enjoy life. While still managing to look great at any age.
