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.

@kidyounot2 yes all the research on genetic links ets are fascinating. I am one of the (many) people who have a huge appetite and am generally always hungry but as being overweight would make me very unhappy have to constantly exhibit iron self control. I stay a size 10 but boy does it require effort.

I think it’s easy to assume that it’s somehow “easy” for slim and fit people to be this way. While this may be the case for many it really isn’t always the case. The last thing I feel like doing every morning is getting on my exercise bike and saying no to every lovely food treat.

Actually meant to quote this post rather than the other one

Like I said earlier, I had a virus once which left me, once I'd recovered, absolutely uninterested in food beyond satiating my hunger. It's was just fantastic. If I could always feel like that I wouldn't struggle with my weight

@LetusandLoveit
@pokebowls I am thinking that PM knows one heck of a lot more than you do about nutrition and health. She's recently completed a Masters in Physical Education.

Er you have no idea what I know and a PE degree is not a degree in nutrition any more than a floristry diploma is a degree in arboriculture 🙄

The United States spends the lowest percentage of their income on food.
that just proves very cheap Processed and UPF food is unhealthy,
The US is the most obese first world country ,cheap super market food chains , cheap fast food everywhere , huge portions.
Drive out of big cities the majority of accessible food in supermarkets doesnt even look real.

The thinnest country in Europe is one where food is quite expensive <meaning it’s of better quality with a lot of restrictions on additives > moving and exercising is part of everyday life for most.

Yes, and hence meds that mimic the GLP-1 hormones have shown such great promise as they work at the level of hormone regulation and have been shown not only to stop food cravings but also cravings for alcohol and even drugs.

I've never been super skinny but I'm reasonably slim (for my age, but wasn't always). I do love everything about food, including having large portions at times. I suppose I still favour the enjoyment of food (and occasional large portions) to cutting right back and being hyper focused on my food intake. I suppose some people feel more strongly about looking a certain way; I usually say I like food more than I care about the size of my thighs! :)

I took have been blessed with the thick thigh @Goatymum

@queenofarles and the US has very low food standards. It is quite difficult to buy healthy meals to eat out in some parts of the US. Everything in some states is pretty unhealthy unless you make everything from scratch. And organic meat and fruit and veg can be very expensive in the United States. Far more expensive than many other countries.

@Westfacing
She's slim now

I would not say I am a “posh mum” but we are a high income family (1% as opposed to .1%) and echoing what other posters who are slim but don’t really dirt say, we don’t have processed foods in the house, even DC eat plain yogurt that’s just organic milk and culture. We have things like crackers but they tend to be water biscuits or similar. We have ice cream and cookies but I’ll make them from scratch. Our menu this week was:
Salomon, brown rice, broccoli
chicken grapow and crab fried rice
takeaway enchiladas/tacos for DC because we are going out but from somewhere that cooks from scratch
Chicken soup (all from scratch with homemade sourdough)
Macaroni cheese, made with Gruyère/organic milk etc

I eat what I’m hungry for and also usually run or swim for about 45 mins a day and walk most places.

I think a major difference for wealthier families is time. I theoretically work full time but in practice I only work about 25 hours a week, fully from home with total flexibility on when, as does DH. So we have plenty of time to shop and cook and rarely resort to ready anything, literally never fed DC a jar sauce of any kind for example. It’s just easier for us to eat healthily and be active because we don’t need convenience short cuts.

Should also say I’m 8.5 stone and the same size I’ve been since age 15, barring when I was pregnant with DC.

I think it's a combination of things.

Habit.
Historically, education.
More time.
Fewer other things to worry about, so more emphasis on worrying about weight/health (and that of your kids).

Also when you have a lot of money, you focus on how little time you have because you can't expand that to infinity in the same way, even though you can delegate and buy things that make life easier. Which is also the obsession about looking young, cosmetic surgery etc.

I was brought up on chicken nuggets, but when I went to a posh uni I met people who wouldn't so much as drink a diet coke. They didn't miss it because they'd never really had it, and it wouldn't occur to them to choose it. I think life is a lot easier when you've been brought up with the healthier choices from the start and you don't have to unlearn everything and aren't predisposed to craving sugar etc from childhood.

Teach me your ways.

I have come across many people throughout my life who have said similar nasty things in regards to my weight

Discipline, an iron will, portion control, and a very boring life full of strict food and exercise rules.

Pippa isn’t ‘very / ultra skinny’, or ‘starving herself’…?

She is obviously very athletic (i.e. enjoys and does a lot of exercise). Her natural body shape (like her family) is slim, and if she eats healthily and works out, she will end up with a slim, athletic body.

She can’t manufacture curves….?

So if she eats well and works out, she gets the body she gets.

It’s not all about attracting men…? We all come in different shapes and sizes - and funnily enough, virtually every shape and size manages to attract partners. Apparently personality also has something to do with it.

I personally would love to genuinely love exercise, do loads of it, and end up with a figure like Pippa’s. I do exercise, but it doesn’t come naturally for me, and I’ll never have a figure like hers!

Don’t forget - many women’s motivation is other women, and what we as a group deem to look good. Not just what men decide for us.

www.hellomagazine.com/cuisine/20220523140960/pippa-middleton-daily-diet/?viewas=amp here is what she says she eats

I wrote similar about calories further up the thread - I think people think ‘its just a coffee and croissant’. 1000+ calories later, thats half the days calories gone (for an active adult) in one quick Costa stop. Fine as a treat meeting a friend, but not everyday. The drinks on offer in Costa/Starbucks are absolutely full of calories, especially the special ones at Xmas. I’ll have one on perhaps a special Xmas day out, but thats it.

There are really simple changes people can make - cut out buying lunch/snacks, take your own to work and have takeaways as an occasional treat. We have one takeaway a month from a very good Indian and that is enough (it tastes delicious, but I know its full of fat and wouldn’t want it more than that as I know its not good for me). I think people have lost sight of the fact takeaways are a treat to have infrequently, not as your normal meal several times a week.

Same. I ‘snapped back’ like others after having my DC, but my body has changed in my early to mid 40s, with peri menopause. I walk everywhere daily as I don’t drive and exercise on top of that too, and I don’t drink alcohol.

Carol is a fairly good indicator of how peri/meno will affect Kate and Pippa.

Plus, when you’re in the public eye, you don’t necessarily have the ‘luxury’ (dripping sarcasm) of succumbing to peri-related weight gain.

It doesn't always work that way. My mum has got incredibly thin in menopause. I.. have not. Despite otherwise being my mum's double

Right, but … it usually does work that way, and my comment was more a gentle riposte at the doom-laden, ‘she may be naturally slim - at the moment’ comment.

It’s my personal opinion that people’s craving to eat so much is driven by the types of foods they are eating. UPF is designed to make you want to eat more and more of it. It’s not entirely a lack of willpower that fuels people’s eating habits. I know that as soon as I eat processed foods, i just want more. It’s a physical response I don’t get when I eat normally.

For me I know this isn't true. As an example...I started this morning with a coffee... standard cup you make at home. I don't eat first thing but by 11am I was very hungry. I had a slice of sour dough toast...I sauted about 8 cherry tomatoes and half a red onion in some olive oil. I added one egg to that and scrambled it and ate on top of the toast. I don't know how satiated others would feel after eating that but I was very hungry afterwards. ...not a bit peckish but as in i could feel my stomach rumbling. I didn't eat anything else but I certainly didn't feel full up on it. I've never really eaten bad food though. Fast food and junk doesn't particularly appeal. I hate fizzy drinks and never drink alcohol. I cook from scratch. It's portion sizes for me.

Menopause seems to have affected Carol as it does with many women. During the whole royal wedding etc she worked really hard to keep trim. She did the whole Dukan, no carb thing for years. I think she's relaxed now that her daughters have been married off and she doesn't have to be so rigid. She has thin legs and a menopausal mid section. It's normal