Why french women don't get fat

[Heswall]

Please somebody tell me the leek soup thing works, I may throw up soon and am starving.
TIA

I have a friend from Paris - she said the women there go on the "Parisian diet" for a couple of weeks if they want to drop pounds quickly: they cut out bread and pasta.

As much as I don't agree with the whole thing about stuffing yourself with pudding, "because you can", because processed sugar is so bad for us, Atkins was REALLY onto something with reducing carbs.

Carbs - especially horribly processed carbs from wheat and grains, like bread and pasta turn to sugar in the body. Which turns into fat. If you really wanted to lose weight, like someone else said, eat less and move more.

But believe me - cutting out bread, just for a couple of weeks, will see you lose a lot of unwanted weight. Either from dropping the carb-induced fat, or from just not being so bloated from the bread! It's so simple, it amazes me people just don't do it. But I don't think people can cope with losing bread - which blows my mind a little bit. What exactly is so amazing about bread that you can't give it up for just a couple of weeks? You will be AMAZED at how much lighter you feel - yet people in this country are obsessed with bread. Nuts.

Stupid leek, or cabbage soup diets aren't going to do anything but make you miserable. And yeah a pay off might be getting some much needed nutrients from these (REALLY GOOD FOR YOU) vegetables, at least make them fun and nice to eat so you don't end up hating them for life.

I agree that cutting out bread and carbs is an effective way to lose weight in the short term but cutting out carbs altogether is not good for long term health. If you cut out carbs, your body finds alternative metabolic pathways to get you the energy you need, some of which involve production of ketones and another nasties which are very damaging to organs like the kidneys. You are basically simulating starvation or diabetes - who'd want to do that?

There is a big difference between processed sugar and complex carbohydrates. You NEED carbs, just smaller amounts (i.e. not the serving size they state on the back of the pasta/rice packet) of GOOD carbs with a high GI rating so the sugar goes into the bloodstream more slowly.

Agree that the whole 'fat makes you fat' thing in this country needs addressing - agree that it is much better to look at the TYPE (and amount) of carbs you are eat if you are looking to lose weight. But to say to cut out carbs like Atkins, is just plain unhealthy.

I agree, the problem is not carbs themselves, but the types of carbs and the fact that the modern western diet contains far toe many processed foods!

Wholegrain carbs such as brown rice, wholewheat bread etc are actually very good foods. Also other grains such as quinoa, buckwheat etc!

Alcohol and sugar are the real causes of the obesity epidemic, according to most of the current experts. French women rarely drink alcohol - maybe an occasional glass of wine with a meal out on a Saturday night - whereas many of my British friends drink alcohol several times a week! In fact, the last few times I've visited the UK, I've been shocked by how much wine people now drink! It's no longer a treat with Sunday lunch, it seems to be an everyday thing these days!

Alcohol is the biggest facotorI think .When I stop drinking (always within the guidelines I find the weight just drops off. I tend to give up every lent (again v. catholic). Last year I lost 10lbs. As I said upthread I do wish I didn't care quite so much tho

Constance - completely agree! Note that when I said carbs, I focused on the processed things like bread and pasta. I would never, ever agree that cutting out bread in the long term is bad for us though :)

There are plenty of nutritious carbs in broccoli, potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, nuts and beans. Your body prefers the carbohydrates in vegetables rather than grains because it slows the conversion to simple sugars like glucose, and decreases your insulin level. Grain carbohydrates, on the other hand, will increase your insulin levels and interfere with your ability to burn fat.

So - yes to natural, starchy vegetables. No to grains and wheats. You can get plenty of what you need from good fats, good protein, and starchy vegetables.

Never, ever would I advocate not eating these things. I was talking about processed grains - i.e. bread. And no - cutting out bread in the long term will never be bad for you. Even if you don't subscribe to how bad grains are, the sugar content alone in a loaf of bread, just to keep it looking "fresh" is bad enough!

Is there any hope for those of us who live in the fat, ugly cities do you think? I'm a lapsed Catholic as well dammit

So I need to holiday more in France? Or can I make do with a few day trips to Cambridge and Bath. Or perhaps a weekend away in Brighton?

Betty, the reason wholegrains are good is because they also contain lots of fibre, which slows down the rate at which they are metabolised (i.e. lowering their glycaemic index).

Refined carbs don't have this fibre, which is why they cause a blood sugar peak, followed by insulin release and then storage by the body as fat, when it is overloaded with far more glucose than it actually needs at that time!

In fact, it is possible to lose weight whilst still eating bread and other white carbs, if you add enough fibre to your diet from other sources (figs, raspberries, apricots...), although it would me a much more expensive way to achieve the same result!

Betty - yes vegetables are a good source of carbohydrates, although some of them are particularly indigestible to humans (some vegetables store excess sugar is inulin rather than starch which has to be broken down by intestinal bacteria as we have no enzyme to break it down resulting in wind!). I disagree that bread and pasta are so bad though - there is bread and there is bread. Bread made via the Chorleywood process (i.e. industrial, quick rising times etc) made using wheat varieties that have a high amount of gluten = bad. Bread made in a more 'artisan' way, e.g. sourdough, using alternative wheats (e.g. spelt) with long rising times = good. They are a world apart.

I haven't eaten bread or pasta for about 15 years as I have an intolerance to wheat.

I can cope with small amounts- by that I mean the amount in 1 biscuit or a tablespoon of a sponge pudding for example, but not daily.

I eat oats in small amounts, and have gluten free bread etc made with rice and potatoe flour. It's not especially healthy but I only eat perhaps 1 slice a day with an egg at breakfast. I also eat gluten free pasta made from corn and/or rice- but again, maybe once every two weeks.

I do eat sweet potatoes about 3 times a week, or more, and other roots like parsnips, and lentils & chickpeas several times a week.

I did lose about half a stone to 10lbs when I first gave up wheat, but now my weight has levelled off and my BMI is 19.5, and I weigh just under 8 st which is right for my height- just a small one!

I love leeks boiled in water. Add some spices and just a bit of oil, seriously yummy. I'd eat that for breakfast in preference to most things.
I have a BMI around 21, btw.
the problem with lunch cancer statistics is you're trying to look at the effects of lifestyle factors over the last 40+ years. It's a very long lead in, it doesn't tell us about the risks of today's behaviour.
Although I wonder if French women often tend to smoke in small amounts, just 5-7 a day. As opposed to the standard 20-40/day of other countries. 5-7/day would reduce their risk, too.

French women do get fat.

HTH

Trills what you should have said is that any human being on the planet can get fat if they overeat and don't exercise :o

Found this site comparing French and British health

Interestingly the French have higher rates of cancer deaths but much lower rates of heart disease deaths which sort of ties in them smoking more but eating better.

But, that theory is sort of blown out of the water by the other interesting thing which is that the percentage of smokers is roughly the same in both countries although that doesn't tell you how much they smoke. I am wondering if the British smokers smoke less because they don't have so much opportunity. You either smoke in the street or at home these days which must surely have an impact on how many fags the Brits smoke. It also doesn't show the rates over the last 40 or 50 years as somebody said. Maybe the gap has historically been bigger.

Smoking law is exactly the same in France and the UK.

Because they are too busy hitting their kids.

But it's the same in France, Bertha - smoking is banned in all (indoor) public places these days! That said, smokers are more visible here, because most restaurants have a terrasse, where the smokers tend to eat/drink!

The difference in number of cancer deaths is probably because whilst the same numbers smoke, a lot of French smokers (especially older males) smoke gitanes and gauloises with no filter! I agree, though, that we have no idea how much people have smoked in the past from these figures!

Life expectancy in France is one of the highest in the world - due to both its healthy diet and lifestyle and its excellent healthcare system (cancer survival rates are considerably higher than in the UK, for example!)

Constance and VitaminC

shrug I just don't agree :)

Ever since I cut out bread and pasta - and yes, I did the whole cutting down from white to brown/wholemeal thing too - I just feel so much better. No longer bloated, tired, head achey, sluggish, stomach aches etc. I don't believe we need anything that's not readily available from the earth (or sea or whatever!) Why do we need to do so much processed crap to things to make them edible? It's just really wrong, when you stop and think about it.

Whatever works for you guys, but I'm never going to agree that grains are any good for me. I follow the Paleo lifestyle - I live off high quality protein, really good fats like coconut oil, get my sugars from fruit, carbs from vegetables - I don't even really eat beans or things like houmous anymore because as one of you pointed out, legumes and things also cause similar bloatedness.

I grill fish, fry chicken, make flourless pancakes, have fry ups, make all the curries and puddings and things I made before, now just Paleo style. God if you could see some of the recipes - the other day I had homemade lamb burgers with pistachio pesto - I mean, YUM! And genuinely, I've never felt better in my life. I'm not here to persuade you otherwise if you really feel there's no reason you ought to cut those things out. To each their own. But personally, I no longer put that kind of thing in my body and the benefits show themselves.

C'es la vie and all that.

It's not rocket science. You take in more calories than you burn then you put weight on - simple as.

We can argue all day, but there are no magic cures and nor do the French have any.

I spend half the year in Europe, and I am always shocked to come home and see so many fat peoplle.

It's all about self control at the end of the day. If you believe you deserve treats al the time - and yes, alcohol, chocolates etc are treats - because you subscribe to the 'because I'm worth it' school of thought, then if you do not get off your lady ar5e and burn it off then, hello, that Lordy ar5s will get lardier!

Ah thank you snail, so enlightening, it's a good job you came along when you did I think we were all struggling for a moment there to put 2 and 2 together.

Bettybat it's likely that you have a wheat or gluten intolerance. Far, far more people have than is realised- there are people who have symptoms like coeliacs but who are not coeliac.

If you feel better now you don't eat it, then that is proof enough that it didn't agree with you.

Well Heswall it was you that said you had zero willpower wasn't it? Yet another thread looking for a magic cure...

Bonsoir and VitaminC - I stand corrected.

I was very aware of smokers when I was in France about 18 months ago but I didn't really notice where they were - I just seemed to come across them more than I did here in the UK. Admittedly it was even worse in Germany. Not sure why they seemed to be so visible in France if they are banned - possibly it was an illusion because that is what I expected to see.

Heswell - if you are looking for willpower, eat. Willpower is a limited resource linked to glucose levels in the brain. If you don't eat your blood sugar will drop and you won't have the 'brain power' to make the difficult decisions i.e chosing to eat what is good for you over chosing to eat something that will give you an instant sugar hit even though it is likely to be bad for you.

Willpower isn't everything, though - depending on how overweight a person is and for how long, once insulin resistance sets in (and metabolic syndrome in general), a viscious cycle of weight gain starts, which can often only be broken with medication such as metformin!

Exercise will also help to kick-start the metabolism to some extent, but is rarely sufficient on its own at that stage!

bettybat what do you use to make flour less pancakes ?

"French women rarely drink alcohol - maybe an occasional glass of wine with a meal out on a Saturday night"

Are there two countries called "France"? I'm wondering, because it seems unlikely that we are talking about the same people

Here in the South of France, there is wine with pretty much every meal for men and women. In the summer, it is rosé. Otherwise it is red, white, or both. Quite often preceded by an apéritif?

Most French women I know are quite wealthy, but I have seen none of this Catholicism that you speak of. In fact, the only practicing religious women I know around here are either English or Jewish French.

Who are these wealthy French women who are devout Catholics and who drink wine only once a week as a treat? Not in the Cote d'Azur, I assure you.