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Original poster

to wonder how the hell she stays so slim??

708 replies

SequinsAndSparkles · 15/03/2011 13:41

My BIL is engaged to a spanish woman, and we spent the weekend at MIL's, all of us together.

She is very slim, I'd guess a size 6/8. Her skin is glowing and she is stunning, yet her diet perplexes me?

On the first morning, we were all having breakfast, MIL made a fry up for everyone, but I am on a diet so I had special K and some toast. SIL prepared her own breakfast (they are currently staying at MILs while they have some work done on their house), and she had some kind of cheese, can't remember what she said it was, about 10 olives and a slice of ham! Yet she said that my breakfast of Special K and toast was stodgy and apparently English women have 'very strange ideas about nutrition'.

For lunch, she had a chicken salad, but it involved lots of extra virgin olive oil, all over the peppers and a big dollop of salsa. And then for dinner she had chicken smeared in pesto, with green beans in salt, more salsa and a slice of cheese.

How is she so slim??

I didn't have a particuarly healthy weekend in the end, we ended up having a takeaway on the Saturday evening, and SIL wouldn't eat any of it, she wasn't rude, she politely declined but I just find it hypocrytical that she eats all this fatty stuff and made the comment about England having strange ideas about nutrition when I was eating Special K and toast!!

OP posts:
FabbyChic · 15/03/2011 14:09

My son is on a diet, and he can eat cheese, he has lost 10lb in 3 weeks and he isn't by any stretch fat.

I'm on a calorie controlled diet and after losing 2 stone, I'm stuck on the last stone.

flyingcloud · 15/03/2011 14:09

Niceguy - (and I say this as a 14/16) I agree that what is seen as the norm in the UK is larger than what is seen as the norm elsewhere.

Also wasn't there a recent thread about how people's size 10 jeans from their teenage years were considerably smaller than the size ten jeans they wore now. We are getting bigger.

expatinscotland · 15/03/2011 14:10

In Japan I had miso soup, salad and rice for breakfast. Mmmm.

BeenBeta · 15/03/2011 14:10

Guaranteed way to lose weight is cut out bread, pastry and biscuits. Eat more good quality protein and fruit and only use vegetable oil not animal fats. In other words mediterranean diet.

EmmaBGoode · 15/03/2011 14:10

Is porridge healthy ashamedandconfused? I am not sure if it is a cereal or not Blush

bosch · 15/03/2011 14:10

Am not really into low carbs or good fat.

But calorie count what she ate and it prob won't come to as much as you imagine.

Breakfast for example - 30g piece of cheese (size of matchbox) is 120 cals, 10 olives is (educated guess!) is 50 cals and slice of ham is aroung 50 cals.

So 200 cals for breakfast, that's not a bad start.

Whereas with 100 cals in slice of bread, plus marg and jam and you've not got much left over for your special k and milk.

onepieceoflollipop · 15/03/2011 14:10

That is kind of how I see it too Pagwatch. (especially white pasta; I know people that think 100g of pasta is a healthy dinner). Now yes, in moderation it's not bad, but it isn't the same as say a chicken breast and large plate of fresh veggies.

I was brought up in the UK in the 70s. In our family stodgy carbs were seen as the filling part of the meal. I still have to consciously make myself realise that actually a yogurt and fruit keeps me fuller than unlimited toast.

HipHopopotomus · 15/03/2011 14:12

Pag I LOVE your white carbs = cake analogy. Simple, brilliant, memorable & very correct.

You need to read ingredients too - often 'wholegrain' or 'wholemeal' breads etc ALSO include large % of refined white flour and therefore they are CAKE too!

PrinceRogersNelson · 15/03/2011 14:13

So - what is good for breakfast?

I have muesli with a handful of extra nuts and yoghurt and milk?

Is that shit in a box too?

EmmaBGoode · 15/03/2011 14:15

So what would be a healthy Mediterranean lunch?

ashamedandconfused · 15/03/2011 14:15

EmmaBG yes porridege (ie oats) is a cereal, but much better for you than the boxed breakfast cereals which are highly processed and contain lots of salt and sugar

porridge is a great source of fibre, filling, and if you are careful what you put on it, very healthy (ie dont ladle on the golden syrup and cream!)

PrinceRogersNelson · 15/03/2011 14:16

Sorry I can see that is answered above.

HipHopopotomus · 15/03/2011 14:16

"Breakfast cereals form an important and well-established grocery sector, with over 90% household penetration. In 2000, 414,000 tonnes of breakfast cereals were sold in the UK, at a retail value of £1.1bn."

Quoted from here

Wikipedia also quite interesting on breakfast cereals.

flyingcloud · 15/03/2011 14:16

Here is my low carb low budget thread - ideas greatly appreciated!

Francagoestohollywood · 15/03/2011 14:16

Again, I shall have to repeat that Mediterranean diets are largely based on the consumption of carbs: bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and pulses.
100 gr of pasta with tomato sauce is healthier than chicken breast every day, given that the chicken - unless it's organic - is stuffed with hormones and antibiotic.

happiestblonde · 15/03/2011 14:16

Good point actually - is muesli alright, so long as it's no-added sugar? I tend to eat it if I can't handle eggs in the morning, with blueberries and raspberries and a tiny amount of fat free yoghurt (because yoghurt's disgusting)

LDNmummy · 15/03/2011 14:17

TBH she is right, and her diet is typical of Spanish and many Mediterranean people. It is actually much healthier. In England there does seem to be this idea that things like olive oil and cheese is really bad for you but eating things like Special K is not. In actuallity, the majority of cereals are full of sugars, high salt quantities and have vertually no merit in actually being that healthy or filling and are empty carbs.

On my Arabic side we have a very similar diet to the one you have outlined and it is much healthier all round. My grandmother lived till over a hundred and I put it partially down to her diet.

One of my friends is Spanish and is skinny as a rake with the same diet. One thing I never understood is the dieting culture in this country, it is actually counter productive, especially when people crash diet and don't realise that it will cause thier bodies to go into starvation mode and store any bit of food they eat to preserve energy. The amount of times I hear girls saying things like "I was really good today, I only had one slice of toast for breakfast and a side salad for lunch".

Sorry if I offend, but I have always found the English diet and attitude to food to be very unhealthy and misguided. Luckily it seems that this has been changing in recent years as people here have become savvier about what they eat.

FlaminGreatGallah · 15/03/2011 14:17

If your SIL appears to do no exercise then she is obviously having all the hot athletic sex!

I'm terribly unfit but I am thinner than I should be. I eat dinner very late at night because I can't relax enough to eat until my son (SN) is in bed which can be quite late. I rarely have time for breakfast or lunch.

I take no real exercise any more beyond frequently having to pick up a kicking and screaming pre-schooler and having to carry him to a car park.

I haven't slept for a full night since he was born almost four years ago. It's terribly ageing and unhealthy. My heart races a lot these days and my nerve-endings scream.

But I get the "skinny cow" stuff Hmm so I am loathe to comment on weight.

Hence my long post on this thread Grin

StrandTest · 15/03/2011 14:18

She's hardly eating any carbs so that's a major factor. Lots of protein and good fats.

She could just be lucky though, I eat like a pig and am a size 6/8 Grin

ashamedandconfused · 15/03/2011 14:18

prince RN

museli better than other processed cereals yes but often still high in sugars even if from fruits

variety is also they key - have a different healthy breakfast every day, not the same old toast and tea every day

FreeButtonBee · 15/03/2011 14:20

I have been following a low-ish carb diet since mid jan and have lost 11 lbs in all. This is the only diet that I have ever stuck to in my entire life.

I find that I eat much much better like this. Yes, I eat fat but like others have said, it's not on top of mountains of bread or potatoes or pasta. So the amount you can eat is massively reduced.

I also eat much more vegetables than previously. And I thought I ate really well.

LadyOfTheManor · 15/03/2011 14:21

Look at the diet on the Mediterranean....olive oils, little bread, meats and cheeses.

Few processed meals, few "large plates", few "finish your plate up"...it's more grazing on low carb food stuffs.

LDNmummy · 15/03/2011 14:21

Yes there is a lot of carbs in Med food, but also lots of fresh fruit, salad, veggies and good meats. And a lot of moderation, salad with almost every meal or a vegetable side for instance is standard.

BringBackGoingForGold · 15/03/2011 14:21

I like a wholegrain bagel for breakfast, with salmon spread (posh pate or cheapo potted Shippam's stuff depending on mood/budget!) and avocado. I wouldn't be able to walk as far as the bus stop if I didn't have carbs at breakfast, and I'm not sure how the OP's SIL functions on what sounds like a rather low-carb diet, but I agree that she seems to eat loads of good fats and a good amount of protein. I'd be mildly worried about the cheese in terms of bad fats, but perhaps she doesn't always eat that much, or the rest balances it out. Agree that cereal is a big con. Might as well eat popcorn for breakfast. I treat cereal as a snack for when I'm not hungry but just need to nibble/crunch. I don't think it's real food (chunky nutty muesli-type things excepted).