Glamorous European women on hols

[Yumchips]

Bit of a silly topic but in Greece at the moment on hols and I am seeing so many glamorous European women. Some or them have small children, some older and many families who have a nanny or someone there to support them with the kids. They are so glam looking, must have had some work done but it's fairly subtle but they are very very slim. Even the ones with babies that are 2/3 months old. They are dripping in designer clothes. Interestingly enough, I think their husbands seem to be very hands off with the kids, especially around meal times. I am sort of in awe but also wondering how they seem to put together and composed. Any thoughts other than the obvious, which is money.

Surgery, tummy tuck, lipo, boobs if mid 50s, helps a lot. Also shots which remarkably reduce appetite. Smoking, often too.

If you really want to get in to pressure on women being slim then try being Asian I’m Chinese heritage and it’s just totally unacceptable. UK size 12 is deemed pretty fat.

So whilst culturally there is pressure to be slim the actual food I eat is so different to my English friends but it’s just natural. Just like someone who is raised on the Mediterranean diet doesn’t find it an effort. Plus the attitude to alcohol, many Asians are teetotal as some have a real issue with lack of an enzyme and have Asian Blush, Google it if you wonder what it is but we literally can’t drink.

The first cooking lesson my Dad gave me was how to cook rice and steam fish. He then moved on how to make minced meat. My English friends all learned how to bake at home. In Home Economics at school I remember thinking this isn’t an actual dinner because it was mainly baking cakes. It seems the most admired form of cooking in the UK.

So I think the way my English friends were raised with food was just so different to me even though i have always lived here like having pudding just was not a thing when I was a kid ever. It was oranges after dinner, healthy and means good luck. I remember going to a friends house for dinner as a young kid and her Mum bought out a trifle, it was very exotic :) I had never seen one as school didn’t serve that as pudding.

I think olive toned skin looks much healthier than classic pink toned English skin too

Me too.

I'm not slim (but I'm told I'm "put together"). Personally I think it was the fags 😂

I spend quite a lot of time in Spain and France and my impressions are as follows:
people seem to be slimmer, better dressed and their overall grooming is better. It helps that they (generally) have beautiful hair and skin. The older Spanish ladies seem to favour a v good hairstyle, a good pair of shoes and a lovely handbag to complete a rather dressy look. The husbands are rarely scruffy and everyone wears a lovely cologne. It’s a generalization of course, and the weather helps in that it encourages lots of walking up and down the paseo for hours a day, and perhaps people are conscious that because of the climate their bodies will be on show and therefore watch what they eat. There’s less of a drinking culture and the diet includes smaller portions and lots of fish/fruit and veggies. Go to Carrefour and look at the quality and variety of foods on offer. I also think that Northern Europeans are (on the whole) a broader more densely built breed with broader shoulders and hips. Again these observations are all generalizations, but whenever I order a taxi, the cars are spotless as is the driver…it’s a different story at home. If you’ve ever been to a Spanish wedding, the guests always look elegant and appropriately dressed.

Why is it any of your business what other people do with their own money and for childcare?

@Ebew I think there's a lot of really unhealthy comparison on this thread. It's really toxic and misogynistic. It's good to take pride in your appearance, exercise and eat well but it's not good to compare yourself to other women and put them on a pedestal because they are skinny. It's even worse to be proud of the fact you were mistaken for a women from another country because you are so insecure in your own identify. Women from all countries come in all shapes and sizes. Much better to just be happy in your own skin.

I live near a very expensive private school.
You can always tell with groups of young people out in the town not in uniform who goes to the school and who is local, and after thinking about this and observing I think that a lot of this is down to the very good haircuts that the wealthy young people have. Very classic and neat no weird colours or home dye disasters.
I wonder If it's the same with Europeans abroad

I think a lot has to do with diet, portion sizes, and general lifestyle. When we were in Spain either this summer, every single British kid carried extra weight, the European ones didn't. It's quite sad, really.

My Eastern European family wouldn't dream of ordering takeout or eating any of the low-quality crap found in grocery stores here. My aunt is close to 70, still very slim (never smoked), and always active, but eats very little.

The lifestyles/upbringing are worlds apart.

I do find it a bit odd how many people say that Spanish and Italian women are so well dressed.

I have family who live in both Spain and Italy and whenever we go to visit, I am always struck by how many pairs of jeans there are everywhere. Everyone seems to wear jeans and T-shirts… all year round! No matter hot hot it is!

They may have looked amazing and put together but I wonder how many are 100% happy🤔

@Laquestamia Yes, I agree this is absolute rubbish. Maybe in the past, certainly not now.

Anecdotally, both the Italian men and women I see both on holiday and in Italy are slim.

I am half Belgian. I think women eat less as it is in the culture. Both the French and the Belgians are similar. Good food even rich food but not too much of it.

Didn't expect so many responses - haven't had time to read them all but will tonight!

I can see there is a level of grooming that is better than uk standards. Which I both like and dislike. I love the freedom of British culture where anything goes - I could run to the shops in the PJ's and probably no one would bat an eyelid. There isn't necessarily a minimum standard per se of what is required. However, the grooming looks very polished and clean lookhin . I suppose I wonder what motivates the women who look like swimwear models straight of a runway. I am assuming they are doing it for themselves as opposed to social pressure? Seems like a lot of effort. Do you think these women are worried about being judged?

I can certainly see that there is a lot of family help with kids - the grandma's here are ace! So definitely more time to spend on yourself and with your partner.

On another slightly unrelated note, my husband thinks that European couples are more likely to divorce over money rahter than infidelity! I wonder if that's true..

This is true. It's nit just European countries though. We all hear about how there's a major obesity crisis in the US. We have just returned from a holiday in LA staying right in the centre of West Hollywood and everybody was mostly either the lower end of average or very thin. We didn't really see anybody overweight, never mind obese. Obviously LA is an uber glamorous and extremely affluent location but I'm sure in Florida and other less affluent areas of the US, you would see many more obese people.

Ok for all pedants out there, how many of the are happy with life, no number🤔

We have had these type of posts before, right? They always degenerate into fights. But the answer is because they are generally slimmer. Generally being the operative word.

They're no such thing as "European" culture or eating habits. And anyway, Britain ,is a European country.

My opinion is that people like this who spend so much focus and attention on what they look like are usually hiding the fact that they aren't happy with their lives or themselves for that matter.