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.

Sorry, @Nots456 that sounds a horrible way to live.

Well- if anything this thread has made me vow to continue enjoying good homemade meals - to walk as much as I can (I like the pp idea of never driving anywhere under 5 minutes away) - and to cut out alcohol. I'm going to stop worrying about my 2 stone overweight figure and implement those changes only and see where it gets me. I don't have a sweet tooth so never eat puddings but I'm not going to cut out carbs or eat poached fish all day every day.

Re active lifestyles- I was not brought up in this way at all. Our family downtime was sitting reading or watching tv and cooking and eating enormous meals. I swim with the Dcs once a week but again that's all i do with them. I think I'm going to consciously change this- for me and for the DCs.

This.

Pippa’s physique isn’t thin. She has a high muscle mass and low body fat percentage. She is naturally this way, but you don’t maintain it as you get older without work. I would bet she lifts heavy probably 4-5 times per week with some cardio, eats a high protein diet and limits or eliminates HPF and alcohol.

She is wealthy and has time which is a huge advantage, but it’s not impossible to do if you put in a consistent effort. Go to any gym and you’ll find women like her, usually working out at 5am before work. I’m in the gym 6 days a week and work full time. Granted my children are now teenagers, so I don’t have young children to deal with. It’s largely about priorities. Although my physique is now very good, aesthetics is not why I do it. I’m 53 and want to stay healthy and functional as I age. I don’t want to struggle to get out of A chair in my 70’s or become pre diabetic. If I had carried on the way I was (5.5 stone heavier than I am now), I would be heading for a pretty uncomfortable old age.

I am 5’5” and weigh 55kg which is 8 stone 9lb (just did the conversion). I eat and drink what I want.
I did have an eating disorder when I was younger and then a long period where my eating was quite restricted. I basically ate enough to have periods. Then I was 49kg which is 7 stone 10lb. I reckon a lot of famous and very slim women eat as I did then - low carb, no dairy, gluten free, all dressed up as healthy eating.

I read the article, she does a huge amount of exercise! My BIL is a whippet but eats like a horse, I mostly see him eat the nicer things in life cake/ big meals because I see him eat at parties where he eats a lo. But I am guessing he sticks to healthier stuff at home. But he exercises a LOT, he loves running, doing crazy dark trail things, etc.

Pippa probably eats mainly healthy and enjoys some treats. But the huge amount of exercise will keep her slim

The main issue is that the average size of people has changed over the years. Previously, most people were of a similar size, but now being slim is considered unusual. The trend has shifted towards accepting and normalizing different body types.
The toned and athletic look of some individuals is due to their athletic involvement. It is important to note that being introduced to exercise has little to do with social class. In my case and DP's, we grew up in working-class families where exercise was considered important.

What country are you in? Most Europeans eat higher quality food and do more home cooking than British people.

Pippa etc will spend at least a couple of hours a day exercising and will eat next to nothing.

please don’t post stuff like this , you are feeding the notion that the only way is to starve and over work the body.
im 40 too i have someone who cooks our meals and a PT 4 days a week , I also went for a lengthy period of time with just sticking to workout programs on YT and preparing fresh meals myself.

I never over do it, maximum of an hour per session.I Never just eat smoothies for breakfast and steamed fish and Spinach for lunch but I also don’t eat whatever I want all day , there is a middle ground.

@Primrosecottagelover no certainly wouldn’t look down on them. It’s just a choice of lifestyle. We’re active/outdoorsy. Others might be into something completely different and spend their weekends on hobbies, art/culture etc.

But would we be friends? Maybe not - just because we might not have loads in common/might not want to do the same things at the weekends.

This weekend, it was lovely weather so I met a friend for a walk with our dogs on Saturday in the Pentlands (3 hours walk). On Sunday, a group of about ten of us plus kids met at the beach and went swimming/for a walk/coffee and cake. Most of us cycled there as it’s easier to get to by bike than car (4 mile cycle for me each way). I also did a short 30 minute home gym session on Saturday, and took the dog for a short 30 minute run on Sunday morning to tire her out as I didn’t take her to the beach. So I would say I had an active weekend, if you counted calories I’d guess I burnt quite a lot - but probably more through the social weekend plans than the formal exercise of run and gym session. My point is a healthy/active lifestyle can count for more - and for many people is much more enjoyable - than more formal exercise.

I really don’t agree with the tone of a lot of this thread that women who are slim have this miserable lifestyle eating lettuce and doing hours of exercise 😂 It definitely helps that where I live - Edinburgh - we have access to mountains, the sea, lovely countryside etc. We moved here specifically for this.

If I had friends that weren’t into the cycle/walk/swim in the sea it’s not that I’d look down on them at all, but we probably wouldn’t see each other loads as a good chunk of my social life is around being outdoors/being active.

She had a hemicolectomy due to Crohns.

Hmmmm no she is thin. I've just looked at the pics and she doesn't look to me like someone who lifts heavy 4-5 times a week. She hasn't got enough defined muscle for that. She looks like she's got a naturally slim and athletic build.

I'd say it's more likely she has a private chef, small portions, personal trainer and loads of expensive treatments - and as others have said, the luxury of time and no stress from having to, you know, work. It's easy to be skinny when you're that rich.

I’m reasonably slim - although not PMid like. I eat very few processed carbs, run do a bit of yoga and try to do a Caroline Girvan workout once a week. I also cycle and walk a lot.
I don’t have time to do loads of exercise (or as much as I’d like) and my diet is not perfect. Im extremely average looks wise and am a bit of a scruffer. But If I had time, money for a fantastic gym, enough sleep and could afford all organic, plus a stylist I reckon I could easily look like PMid. I think most reasonably slim women, who like to eat healthy and work out could- with only a few months of work and a bit of help.

The rich school gate mums at my DD’s private school:

• never eat cake. If we go out for coffee drink black coffee, won’t even have milk
• during the week only eat two meals a day. My friend described breakfast as “a treat for a Sunday”
• don’t eat the same food as DC
• Mostly don’t work and do 2 hours exercise a day. If they do work they cycle to and from the city and go for 1.5 hr runs at the weekend
• Eat vast amounts of vege and a bit of fish

I have been studying this closely for coming up to 12 years now! I’d didn’t grow up rich or in the uk and find it fascinating.

Anything that can be bunged into the bottom oven of the aga while one is getting the DC's ponies put in for the night.

It’s not rocket science!

My sister is in her 70’s and has always been super skinny. She doesn’t smoke and rarely drinks.

She eats bird size portions of food and always has done. Probably about a third the size of a normal adult portion. Because she restricted her food intake from when she was a teen, her stomach has shrunk and she genuinely can’t eat much otherwise she’d feel bloated and uncomfortable.

However, she does have lots of crinkly, wrinkly skin around her neck and face, unlike her fatter younger sister…me! 😂

Yeah exactly - was thinking the same. I'm a size 10, pescatarian, work out four times a week and walk dogs every day. My figure is pretty good for a 48 year old mum of two but if I had unlimited time and resources - and knew my bikini photos would make it into Hello! - then I could look pretty smokin' too.

Eating very little, spending long hours in the gym, and spending a lot of money on various treatments/procedures.

They must be so fucking miserable!

A lot of it is due to the genetic hand you are played. I have a friend who has a very thin / "athletic" type physique but what she actually eats is a lot of rubbish - white toast for breakfast, super noodles for lunch, "kids food" kind of thing for evening meals (fish fingers, oven chips etc). Loads of coffee, loads of carbs, and she doesn't like cooking. She is from a family of tall / thin types though and our metabolisms are hugely different. I have PCOS and am really sensitive to sugar / carbs and have always struggled to maintain a normal weight (I lift weights twice a week and eat low carb just to have a high-end-of-normal BMI). I know I would never be able to achieve a body like my friend's because of the genetic differences, and I don't strive for that. People have to be realistic with whats achievable for them as an individual and just reach their own potential, not compare to others.

Have a friend who is very slim no posh but doesn’t work, does 2 to 3 hours of excercise a day, doesn’t have much carbs; apart from the odd treat on the weekend, rarely have alcohol, not coffee or tea either; she keeps an eye on what she puts on her mouth.

We used to go to a very nice restaurant, fantastic food. It was expensive so a real treat. One night we were on our way home from somewhere and stopped to get a McDonalds. In front of me in the queue was the co-owner and wife of the chef and at the lovely restaurant. She said they often stopped for a burger when the restaurant closed.

The funniest thing was my kids being invited to their kids birthday parties. When you looked at the lovely spread of food you could instantly see what dad, fantastic chef, had prepared and the mum stuff which was like most of us would provide. Generally the kids liked her stuff and the mums liked his.

It's weird isn't it, that they're doing all this to bag/keep a rich man. Like feminism never happened/is irrelevant to posh tribalism. Pippa Middleton's husband looks like a dog's dinner in those photos. He isn't spending hours in the gym or living off steamed fish.

I don’t really understand why people make a big deal about people being slim and making out it’s something special. PM clearly works out but to be fair I seriously doubt she’d be much bigger if she didn’t. Less toned for sure, but look at her parents and siblings. They’re not a big family.

i Seriously doubt she grew up with a private chef and all that. I suspect mummy Middleton just cooked them decent normal meals, they had snacks etc but they didn’t overeat and did some sport.

The usual misconceptions on this thread!

I am a size 6 with abs and I eat 3 meals a day, totalling 1,800-1,900 calories.

I eat “clean” 90% of the time (the 10% being reserved for eating out as I would hate to agonise over which restaurants I can and can’t go to because of menu options).

I do an exercise 6 days a week (sometimes two classes in one day) and I have one rest day a week. I love exercise though so I don’t see this as a chore or particularly disciplined. It’s a hobby.

I don’t own a car and I walk everywhere.

Thanks, yes agree, the subject of the thread has brought out a bit of controversy, it’s a sensitive topic. your lifestyle sounds lovely, I have a Labrador and miss those long country walks. Currently 43 degrees where I live, the irony of the great Aussie lifestyle, is that it’s too hot to go outside sometimes. Would love to hike Scotland - one day - enjoy the dream for me x

I find it inspiring hearing from people that are slim but have nice lifestyles. I don’t want to hear that it’s only possible with a borderline eating disorder.

I don’t think I’d ever look like Pippa Middleton. I don’t really care about my abs. I would be overjoyed to be slim even with a tummy & some curves ! I just want the fitness to keep up with my crazy 8 year old, my Labrador and was wanting some inspiration.

Thanks for all the advice.

They stay slim because they eat very little and exercise a lot. Food is one of my greatest passions in life, it is not Pippa Middletons, regardless of her hosting books, like how it is definitely not a passion of Victoria Beckham as she eats fish for every meal.

Should I, a size 16, decide to eat less than half my usual calories and exercise for 2 hours everyday and not need to work, I would be slim too.

Where in the UK are you OP?