One of the most interesting lose weight story i’ve found so far. Get you thinking a little about lifestyle, diets and the food marketing methods in US.

“To lose weight move to France. Seriously.

I have lost about 10 kilos this past year while living in France.

The French are still pretty thin and there is fabulous rich food everywhere. There are just cultural norms surrounding food that cannot be broken.

There are boulangeries everywhere, bakeries, yet you rarely see people go into a bakery, and then walk on the streets eating their bagful of pastries. In fact one day I bought a pastry and thought I’d stroll and shop while eating. I felt everyone was looking at me and judging me for daring to eat while walking around.

While the regimen surrounding food can be irritating, it cannot be denied that it help “regulate” what you do in regards to food.

Great cheese is everywhere. The first time we went to a formal dinner in France it was for about 10 people. After dinner before dessert comes the cheese. 2 small rounds of cheese. I thought, this is going to be interesting, it is not enough. Yes they eat cheese but just a small amount to give the taste and that is it. This I have witnessed over and over, just a bit of cheese.

How many times I had been to dinners in the US when we were served excellent cheeses AND for 6 people there were like 8 different cheeses to choose from and people cut generous portions and had seconds and thirds.

It is a combination of portion size, exercise, and attitude toward food.

It’s not that France is a panacea, it is that I live here so I can talk accurately about it.

Go to a brasserie or cafe in the late afternoon, say 4:30. Often you couldn’t order food even if you wanted it. They serve 12-2 and after 6 for dinner. Of course there are exceptions but think of what impact that has when you grow up. There are times when you should eat and there are times when you shouldn’t. In the US you can get food, good or bad quality, any time you’d like it with relative ease.

I teach English at an engineering graduate school here in Toulouse. Yesterday I met a few students for a coffee in the afternoon, 3:30. I was getting hungry and I knew I wasn’t going to be home to eat dinner until 8PM or later. I wanted to buy a yogurt at the cafe. The students all asked me, is it common to eat at this time in the US? I said I don’t know but I am hungry, they looked unconvinced.

I asked them what they would do if they were hungry, they thought that was funny, who would be hungry at this hour, at 2 you just finished your biggest meal f the day, how could anyone be hungry at this hour. They often weren’t hungry until later at night.

I could go on and on but of course it would not be that interesting. Living here has made me acutely aware of the fact that I never thought there was a time and place for food, eating, and food ritual. Now that I have a food ritual I have lost weight.

That and the small elevators in apartment buildings. Our building says it holds 4 people but really 2 is the space limit. Then get this, it says 4 people 275 kilos, that’s 70 kilos a person, not entirely unreasonable but it is easy to get 4 people together in the US and all of then weigh more than 70 kilos.

portion control, move, habits”

Posted here by francetales

What is your conclusion on that?