A very French question...

[flyingcloud]

Has anyone ever visited a nutrionist?

A couple of friends have and sworn by them and I am starting to get desperate to lose some baby weight.

I know it's eat less and move more, both of which I am struggling to do (therefore my own fault) but perhaps a nutrionist would point me in the right direction. My major problem is cooking hearty, warming meals for a DH who eats like a horse and burns it all off with his very physical, outdoor job and struggling to manage my weight when eating the same food as him.

Oh and happy New Year one and all, hope you had a lovely Christmas.

i know this is not a French answer, but my DH used to farm and ate huuuuge amounts, so vast meals had to be made. In the end I used a much smaller plate than him to make sure I controlled my portion size ... seemed to work

Sorry - eat different things than your DH is the easier way. It's much harder to eat a tiny portion of something someone's pigging out on than just eat your own thing.

Try Zoe Harcombe - food combining which also gets you addressing causes of cravings from the off, so it's easier to stick to? And also very healthy.

Good luck.

Are you in france? as there's loads of pressure on women to regain their forme and keep an eye on their ligne. Check any parenting/wome's magazine for the headlined regime articles. Would say if you're in good health just don't have the same size meals as your dh you'll see the weight come off naturally in it's own time.

Know nothing about French nutritionists sorry, but you probably do need to eat different food.

I don't always eat the same as the rest of the family because they eat meat and I don't. It's not that difficult. For example if they are having a meat stew, I will have a veggie version with pulses. It is more work for one meal but of course there are always leftovers so later meals are easier.

Also when I make macaroni cheese, I use a shallow long dish, put macaroni at one end and veg at the other end so it is easier to make sure my plate only has a little pasta and lots of leeks and cauli etc whereas everyone else gets lots of pasta and only a little veg. (It's not so easy with a deep dish as it all gets mixed up when you serve)

If you posted what sort of meal you usually make for your DH, we might be able to suggest alternatives.

Also, we do the French thing of several courses so it's easy to have lots of crudités, a small portion of the main, lots of green salad to follow.

HTH

I have a good friend who saw one, when I lived in a DOM rather than metropolitan France.

She seemed pleased with the experience, and it did help her lose weight (until she got PG, but that is another issue, I think). All I can remember of her remarks is that avocado was the devil's work and pasta in the evening a no-no. Not much help and probably not v revelatory of the actual content of the plan and advice.

She said it was useful to go over her eating habits with a stranger who was non-judgmental and professional.

If you think having a tailored plan, structure and someone else's input would help, then maybe it is worth a try...

We had a nutritionalist visit our school recently. Lots of talk of if you eat carbohydrate (potatoes and pasta and rice specifically) for lunch then you shouldn't eat carbohydrates for diner. She then went on to say that one should eat bread for every meal

Hi FC!

a good friend/colleague of mine has been to see one a few times, and she said it really helped - IF YOU DID WHAT THEY SAID.

Sounds bloody obvious but if you ignore their advice it won't work of course.

She said she had to re-learn how to make choices (ie cheese OR dessert etc.) and the nutrionist was very helpful with that.

My MIL (French) has seen nutritionists regularly over the years and they do seem to work, but she does stick religiously to what health experts say...last time she was told not to eat carbs after 5pm, I think, she has pain complet, fruit and fromage frais/soft cheese for breakfast a large lunch (with fruit at the end) and a smaller dinner without bread, pasta or fruit.
Seemed to work for her.

Thank you all for your replies.

It does seem to be quite a French thing to do. If New Year's resolutions hold fast I might be ok without one.

My DP lost 15kg in three months with the assistance of a nutritionist about 10 years ago (shortly before we met). I think that it can be helpful.

Thanks Bonsoir.

I was chatting again last night to a friend - male - who visited one before and he has put himself back on the recommended 'régime' - it sounds very healthy but is full of surprisingly obvious, yet good tips, such as NurseGladys mentioned above. This friend came for supper and I was impressed at how he ate well but sensibly without drawing attention to his regime. That is always a source of discomfort to me when I am obviously abstaining - although French people respect that a lot more.

Health has become the major driving force (although vanity has a small part to play too). If I should be so lucky to fall pregnant this year, then I want to be fit and well before hand, as it will probably be quite challenging with a 1+yo and full time job! Equally being fit and well will enhance my chances of successfully conceiving.

I think that learning to make choices about food over the day/week rather than depriving yourself excessively (and then binging to compensate) is really important, and that nutritionists are good at that. For example, my DP used to have a job where he sometimes had to eat massive meals at lunch time. The nutritionist taught him to compensate by eating an orange and a plain yoghurt for dinner on the nights where he had eaten a lot at lunch time.

It is also important to learn to eat what you enjoy in small quantities. Better a breakfast of a 1/4 of fresh baguette, lovely butter and jam and some coffee than nibbling on some dry diet crackers and then falling for half a packet of chocolate biscuits at mid-morning.

Are you in France?

Because in the UK at least the term "nutritionist" has no fixed definition, and anyone can pretty much call themselves one with no particular qualifications.

What you want (if you do want one) is a dietician.

"A Registered Dietitian (RD) is a credential just like a Registered Nurse (RN) or Medical Doctor (MD). To become a Registered Dietitian you must:

1. Earn a Bachelor's Degree in dietetics, a 4 year degree from an accredited college or university
2. Complete an internship with at least 900 hours
3. Take and pass the RD exam
4. Complete 50 Continuing Education Credits every 5 years to maintain license."

A nutritionist in France is a medical speciality (qualified doctor with a further qualification in nutrition), superior to that of a dietitician.

Thanks Bonsoir :)

Bonsoir got there first!

Yes, am in France to answer your first question.

Thank you for the info though.

Hi flyingcloud!

Just wanted to say good luck with conceiving, hope it happens quickly for you! I'm now 9 weeks PG with DC2 and I'm not particularly fit or healthy, so it does happen... In fact, I never "retrouvéd ma ligne" after DS1...

Bunny! Congratulations! I hope your pregnancy is going well and you are not having to cope with any tiredness or ms in addition to your toddler.

Thanks for your message, will be thinking of you.

No nutritionist suggestions, but have you heard of the Dukan diet? It has now been translated into English, and is very popular. I have four close friends who have done it with AMAZING results. Not one for vegetarians though!

www.dukandiet.co.uk/

Post breastfeeding I'll be giving it a try!

Doozie - thanks for your message. Yes, have heard of Dukan (it is French after all!)

I tried it last summer, got horribly tired and nearly fell asleep driving on several occasions. I did lose weight, but lifestyle couldn't sustain it. I don't think it is recommended to cut out whole food groups and this diet is fairly severe to begin with. It's hugely popular though, especially here in France where it has been around for a while.

That's not good! The Dukan does seems pretty extreme - don't you start off only eating meat for the first week or so? It also means you have to be a hermit while you do the diet as eating out is off the cards. The results are impressive though!

One of my friends here put on loads of weight with her second child and also has various health issues (thyroid for starters). She is currently doing a diet drawn up for her just by her GP, which includes regular checks to make sure her thyroid levels stay OK and she doesn't get anaemic, etc. She is doing really well on it - lost about 8 kilos so far.
Are nutritionists covered by SECU, out of interest? I can never understand the criteria for what is and what isn't, here in France!