To wonder what posh Mums cook for dinner…

[Primrosecottagelover]

I have just seen Pippa Middleton’s bikini photos on the DM. Three different bikinis so far, washboard abs & nothing jiggles as she chases three kids. She could easily pass as a fibreglass mannequin. I’m wondering why it is that the Middleton women and affluent women (even middle class at my child’s school), always seem to be so impossibly slim. I struggle with my weight and I would love to see the groceries, fridge contents, packed lunchboxes and dinner plans of the other half. Obviously I know what healthy eating and cooking is but, the bodies of Mothers these days is next level. Why am I struggling to keep my tummy from flopping out while women in their 40’s pull off wearing linen mini shorts (not in UK) and high waisted jeans.

I gave birth a few years back. If you go to France all the women are slim there too post partum. This country doesn’t rehabilitate women. In France you have paid for physical rehab.

I am convinced 90% of the women in this country are walking round with a pelvic tilt. Doesn’t matter how little you eat or whether you starve yourself to death. You’re still going to die with a pot belly if you don’t get that corrected.

For me it took a year of 1-1 Pilates. That’s expensive. I probably spent about 2k on that. And that’s why these celebs and royals are slim. In my opinion anyway.

Why do you not think she's happy? I bet she is ...married , three children, welathy, seems close to her parents and siblings, no boring 9-5 drudge, lovely holidays by the looks of it. I bet she's incredibly happy!

Yeah I'd probably be slimmer if I was 'active' and didn't just roll around in my own gelatinous slime like Jabba the Hut all day.

Where does this theory come from? I always wonder. I have known a few people with private chefs over the years but even they were often more part time for dinner parties etc. Rich bankers etc.

Posh people do, of course, have private chefs some of the time. But many of them DO cook, even if they have a nanny for the children. But when time and money is no object, and choices can be made purely on health, those meals look different. When I worked with a lot of posh/wealthy bankers and the like, I was always fascinated at lunch/dinners out - steak was pretty much standard. No chops/potatoes. Steak, with salad or steamed greens, and a couple of glasses of very expensive red wine. Or grilled/baked fish. None of the women ever ordered the pork chop or the chicken in cream sauce or the dauphinoise potatoes.

There's a reason those City steak places are so popular, and so expensive.

I suspect that Pippa exercises a lot, and probably eats plenty, but does so in a way that is designed specifically to suit her metabolism with no thought given to cost or convenience. She does too much exercise to eat low carb, but I bet that she's careful about her carbs in terms of both what type she eats, and when she eats them.

😂😂😂

oh this is hilarious!

never been on a diet but i live on plain yoghurt and dust!

Anorexic tendencies. Go on the pro ana sites if you want to know more.

That's a good point . I was very slender and did a lot of exercise until I had DC in my mid 30s. You wouldn't think so to look at me now (20+ years later).

I think if you have a cook/housekeeper then you stay out of the kitchen pretty much, and this removes a whole lot of temptation. So they eat mindfully, no snacking, no random buns here and there, no licking out the bowl when they've made cupcakes.
I don't have a cook but have lost 2.5 stone since both kids are at uni because I have loads of time to exercise, don't have to cook the kind of food teenagers like, can plan a weekly menu better. Also have paid a lot of attention to gut biome/fermented foods, etc.

If you manage to remove catering for kids from your life, weight management becomes much easier.

oh my god -this thread is gold.😂
dh has just looke d at me funny as i am wheezing laughing at this

Itsallaboitthedosh, I can't think of anything worse than looking at the 'Pro Ana sites', do you really think thats a wise suggestion?

I'm having my third kid, and both times my stomach has gone back to being as flat as it was pre-kids. This is not a show-off post, but it's to combat all those that think it's because she's 'posh', 'doesn't eat' or 'it's because she has a nanny' 🙄

For me - it's got to be a mix of genetics (I don't gather fat in a particular place so that really helps), an introverted uterus so no wobbly postpartum stomach, eating mostly healthily, but importantly being very active.

Other than nursery and my DH, I don't have outsider help for childcare, I don't have time or money to go to the gym or see my PT, and I don't fast or diet.

I find "oh, it's because they're posh or middle class" a really boring take.

All of us are different....some people will be a healthy weight whilst eating three meals a day, others, like me, in order to maintain a healthy BMI absolutely cannot eat three meals a day...but we then judge others based on our own experience. The only time my BMI has been in the healthy range (top end at that) is when I ate one meal a day... conversely I lived with a girl who was a healthy weight and she ate breakfast, lunch, dinner and would then eat a substantial snack right before bed. Therefore if I see someone very thin, I assume they must eat even less than a meal a day. And if my friend sees an overweight person may assume they eat huge amounts.

eating whatever you want works if what you want is not crap. It is possible to crave healthy food.

It's mostly genetics, she has a basic tall, slim frame and keeps it that way by regulating her diet and exercise.
She's sporty, and has time to take care of herself.
I would love to look like that, but at five foot nothing with a bum the size of a small asteroid, there's no chance.

Ironically the only 40s mums I know who are that slim, fall into two categories. The ones who've never had much of an appetite and don't usually like anything spicy or rich. And the ones who'll eat anything in sight and love a good take away, but just don't put weight on.
The women who follow healthy diets, cook from scratch and avoid carbs etc are the ones who've been battling their weight for years. It never ends.

I worked as a Nanny for several high profile women, plus millionaire/billionaires. Honestly - they just barely eat at all. No breakfast, no lunch or a tiny salad, and plain fish/chicken with veg for dinner. A PT who comes to the house 7 days a week. Plus lots of very expensive treatments.

I used to do kids cookery parties at people's houses years ago. I can tell you the posher and fancier the kitchen and oven the less it had been used.

That's not to say that all the parents were thin, but I don't think there was a lot of home cooked food going on.

The ones who've never had much of an appetite

Appetite is really key I think and I think can be genetic. I'd love to just not care about food...but I'm obsessed. I don't eat shit food....I eat decent food and am a good cook but calories are calories and it's made me fat. I remember being very ill with a virus...once I recovered, I had a couple of weeks afterwards where I felt totally neutral towards food. It was amazing. Nothing tempted me. I ate when I was hungry to fill the void then stopped. I wish I could always feel like thay. I wondered if that's how thin people feel?

I stay with someone like this every year and she never has any food in the fridge / cupboards. She seems surprised when her husband and children return from a morning of exercise that they might want something to eat.

I treat my annual stay with her as if it’s a visit to a fat farm, certainly a lot better than paying through the nose to stay at the Mayr Clinic or somewhere and same end result!

Plenty of these types in my friend groups. I absolutely couldn’t keep up with them.

It’s competitive. It’s a mindset thing, in the same way bagging a rich husband or a top career would be. They don’t relax, ever!
I’m sure the Middletons are genuinely lovely, but let’s be honest - underneath all that is a will of cold steel to achieve and be the absolute best.
Chefs, nutritionists and a daily exercise regimen that would put athletes to shame. Yes, it’s about good health, but it’s also about being and looking the best. Sadly, often in order to prevent their partner replacing them.

Some people don’t like the kind of shit food that others get fat on. It’s hardly revelatory.

Some MNers seem to see any kind of moderation and self control as a “diet”. But we’re not all junk binge eaters by default.

Exercise really doesn't help with weight it's all diet. They don't eat many calories and everyone is capable of that regardless of income (although stress of money worries doesn't help). Count your calories anyone can be slim is the reality.

I’m not convinced by the posh mums don’t cook thing. I know a lot of extremely wealthy women. They have full time live in help but they cook. The helper might prepare all the veg, do the tidying up etc and when the kids were younger, make their dinner on occasion but the mums do all the cooking, shopping and food planning, most of them are amazing cooks but don’t have the hassle of cleaning up afterwards

See I eat well and am slim but absolutely see the joy in food. Go to a good food market (especially in a warm country) and the produce looks beautiful, so many lovely colours of fruit and veg. Good meat that's been responsibly reared ... I'm always thinking of my next meal and often enjoy the process of meal planning. I definitely find joy in feeding my family not just food that's good for them but makes their mouth water when they smell it cooking and see it on their plates.

This will make me sound very sad but one of my best food memories is tucking into a bruschetta in Italy made with beautiful bread and heaving with garlic scented fresh cherry tomatoes and basil. Eaten in the sun with a small glass of wine. I can still picture how shiny the tomatoes were from the olive oil and how dry the wine was. Food heaven right there but so simple and good. Mind you I did have a cannoli and coffee after

I do think however that years of ultra processed foods and sugar mean for many our bodies have become accustomed to joy in food = generally stuff that's bad for you. And eaten daily.

‘A quality croissant’ is peak mumsnet