French women don't get fat...

Elegant Woman

Recently, I've been noticing a handful of my favorite bloggers packing up and moving overseas to France and it got me thinking: what's the big idea? It didn't take long before I *got* it too and became fascinated with all things French.

I really got to thinking how chic and slim the woman of France are and I was quick to google the diet of France and I came across the book French Women Don't Get Fat. 

The sound of that came as a sigh of relief, to think  I can indulge in cheese and butter and wine and baguettes and good food and not get fat??!? I really liked the sound of that. This book is based more on lifestyle versus an actual diet.

This is what I uncovered:

-  French women eat for pleasure, therefore, they eat slowly and moderately.

-  French women don't exercise at the gym, however, they walk just about everywhere.

- When eating out, the platter in France is 1/4 smaller than the American platter, therefore they're "required" to eat less...

On a personal note, although I've never lived in France and I was raised on tortillas and more tortillas, I always savor my food. I eat slowly, I eat moderately and I walk on my lunch break. I sneak in snacks throughout the day and I drink plenty of water (up to a gallon a day on a good day). I don't awalys make it into the gym, and at my worst I gain an average of 5 pounds in the winter months only to lose it again come summer. This might not be the ideal diet for a fitness model or bodybuilder but it is a far more ideal diet for the ordinary woman who covets a more feminine physique versus a more toned physique.


Some arguments against the diet are that French women smoke to stay slim. While this might aid them, I personally don't smoke and I've managed to stay slender even after baking two little ones.


Other arguments are that greens aren't readily accessible as they are in France. The truth is, they are, they just take a little more time then a typical drive-thru. On another note, my family and I had never been through a drive-thru until I married my husband at 18!

You can read more about the diet in summary over at WebMd here.