Are French women really that thin?

[ownedbymydog]

Inspired by a thread running on AIBU at the moment on the importance (or not) of calorie counting I went down a bit of an internet dieting rabbit hole (an occasional hobby) and kept coming across people telling me how thin French women are. I immediately bought two books, ‘French women don’t get fat’ (which seems a bit dated) and ‘Parisian Slim’ (which was too short) and I have two questions for you.

1. Honestly, ARE French women really that thin? (Sorry if this has been done before).
2. Can anyone recommend any other books on this topic as I’ve got a week off, the rain is obviously never going to end, and I need to read something silly…but which may inspire me to eat less chips healthily!🤭

Thank you for that @WeeGreenJumper . So, the UK is over 100 countries higher than France in obesity rankings. I started this thread as a bit of a laugh but when you consider where we’re headed it’s actually terrifying.

It's true re pregnancy weight. I had my second child in France 19 years ago and had gained 12 kg (about 26 lbs) by the end of it and the obstetrician told me I should absolutely not gain anymore but did recognise that a lot of it was water retention. Sure enough, once the baby was out and a few days had passed I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight, although my body didn't look the same obviously.

Looks like French exercise levels are higher than UK which might well be a contributing factor, said average of 3.7 hours per week in France. Obviously the better weather helps with outdoor exercise. Whereas here DH often says it's perfect weather for the indoor pool.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(18)30357-7/fulltext

Is the average height the same as in the UK? I have met some French women who are well below 5 foot tall and the shorter you are the harder it can be to carry extra weight.

It's pretty much the same, 163 for women in France and 162.4 for women in UK. CM that is.

I’m convinced half the women in the country have a pelvic tilt from pregnancy and this is why they have pot bellies or mum tums as we have colloquially named them.

In France you have postural rehab starting at 6 weeks for a considerable period.

I had that mum tum. I knew as I was whittling away in my wrists from breastfeeding that it wasn’t fat. Most people would never question it. Took me a long time to find someone who knew how to actually correct postures and corset muscles. Within 6 weeks washboard abs again. And it changed the way I walked, the way I used all of the muscles in my body. Effortlessly from an hour a week of 1-1 and not breaking anywhere near breaking a sweat.

I think the BCBG women still are, but since the arrival of fast food, especially McDo, there's definitely been an expansion in waistlines.

I didn't ever have a mum tum, in spite of having a lot more weight on me after having children. I did do post natal yoga and lots of pelvic floor exercises, and read a lot about looking after your body post partum, but I still thought it was just more luck and build than anything.

I gained four stone having DD1 but was very light for me before I got pregnant, like BMI 19. When I had DD2 I was BMI 24 and gained two stone, and was exactly the same weight at full term pregnant. I just think that's what I'm meant to weigh at full term pregnant.

Lol, this is exactly what I would buy if we were having a picnic.

😅

Good job I'm not French then. Baguettes with paté and cheese are lovely but that sort of food makes me bloat up and shit through the eye of a needle. Also white bread doesn't fill me up at all unless I have a massive amount and loads of calories worth.

I do much better on a couple of slices of high fibre seeded wholemeal, even if it is more processed.

really? I remember it being a thing in the uk way back in the early 80's....there was some French ivy based stuff that you were supposed to put on with a special glove to deal with it, also really painful thigh massage (no I never tried it) to break up and remove the toxins supposed to cause it. I thought it had become old hat, you don't seem to hear about it now.

French women don't eat baguette.

Interesting that the French will comment on weight, whereas here it would be considered body shaming and people would be anxious that they might develop anorexia as a result.

I don't think commenting on weight is a positive thing. Particularly when they were commenting on my perfectly healthy weight and slightly muscular physique when I lived there, or sales assistants making me feel massive for being a 34C bra and having size 6.5 feet or being six inches taller than them. It really wasn't the done thing then for women to have visible muscle tone. Fuck that shit. I was 21 then and could quite well have developed anorexia. In fact a year or so later I did get very thin and slightly underweight before I came to my senses.

I found The French Kids Don't Throw Food book really interesting as to how they encourage their children to eat so well.

Yes some French are very direct about weight - I used to get told I was too thin when I was first married to DH (BMI c19) by MIL and his aunt then when I put on weight due to cancer treatment MIL announced you are fat now. DH said its cancer treatment. MIL replied yes exactly its cancer treatment and are you bald as well, take off your hat. Also told my thin daughter (BMI c20) who is very sporty she was fat (and weak as she is veggie) and she is thin and does 5 hours sport a day some days. I've never known DHs friends make comments to each other or me other than compliments.

All the French women I know eat baguette with meals though not the soup course but the starter, the main and the cheese courses.

I think the french have to work at it too. A french friend introduced me to 'Je ne sais pas maigrir' https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dukan-Diet-Revised-Updated-2019-dp-1473698081/dp/1473698081/ref=dpob_title_bk
Rather extreme and not very healthy but I lost a stone in 6 weeks.

Most people in France are generally thinner than they are here.

I’m not sure, they are more likely to have hairy arm pits though

I think French men will comment on women more than here that they find attractive and give compliments to other women in front of wives normally to thin, attractive women.

My MIL is 70 and still slim but she is very careful about what she eats. Sometimes she puts worryingly little on her plate, other times she eats a more normal amount but still not big portions. She's never said, but I suspect she weighs herself very frequently and if she's put on a kg she reduces her portion sizes until it's gone. She also swims and does yoga.

@unsync try as I might I can’t work out what ‘BCBG women’ means…😂

And yes, @godmum56, now you mention it, I do seem to remember a slight obsession with cellulite in ads and magazines. Thank god it seems to have died a death.

Thanks @VJBR , another one for my pile!

BCBG means ‘bon chic bon genre’. It describes a very specific group of rich Parisian women, usually from old money families. It’s sometimes equated to British Sloanes but it implies someone much much more stylish and chic.

@VelociraptorsVelociRapping thank you, interesting. Makes me think of someone like Kristin Scott-Thomas, who I understand is more Parisian than the Parisians!