Why French Women Don't Get Fat

[My_Friend]

http://independent.com/news/2007/oct/25/eating-french/

cliffs:
-went on holiday to france only gained 1 pound despite delicious food and lots of wine
-stress=fat storage: french eat relaxed, talking to family while eating instead of eating in the car.
-portion control: french value quality (great sauces) above quantity

[dfohio]

I'm not buying it. Obese people are obese for a reason...They ate a lot more than they were expending in any given day. The man's experience was hardly controlled. How does he know he wasn't just expending as much as he was eating? He didn't keep track. Sure stress as negative effects, but you can't just assume every American is stressed out and then use that excuse for their obesity

[My_Friend]

I think he's right about some points though. The french do take their time to eat. They eat at a table with family or friends. Americans will often watch tv or drive while eating.

Also the portions. In french restaurants you will get small portions that are very tasty. They are very caloric (cream, wine,...) but there is not so much of it. American meals are much bigger.

[Spottydog]

Well, the portions are much smaller too (no biggie fried! No buckets of cola!). And the french also walk a lot more than the average American.

[My_Friend]

Spot the difference:

[Sibrek]

It's all portions, and the french obesity rate is climbing as they adapt our eating habits(mcdonalds)

[scoch]

i dont buy into the whole stress thing though :/ at least i dont want to :/

[Sibrek]

Spot the difference:

Very fair comparison. Crappy take-out vs random gourmet dinner

[semperfismhs]

okay so i live in Santa Barbara(the city where this magazine is published) and this particular writer, michael seabaugh, has been known to write very far fetched articles. so i would take everything he says with a very small grain of salt. FWIW.

[Aindreas]

i dont buy into the whole stress thing though :/ at least i dont want to :/

Well obviously you're not going to get fat if you're starving yourself to death, regardless of how stressed you are. But good luck refuting that for the average person.

Anyway, good article. When I was in Europe last summer, pretty much the only fat people on the continent were the Americans in our tour group, and some of them were f*cking massive, lol. I think another factor is that when you eat really high quality food, be it a pastry, local cheese, or whatever on a consistent basis, you don't put it on a pedestal where it's the greatest thing on Earth and you're constantly craving it. Craving leads to overindulgence.

[KryptoKnight]

There's always been talk about how French people are not as fat as Americans, and that is completely true. They don't eat big portions and they can eat whatever they want. Butter is something they use a lot of and that helps them feel full longer, especially in the morning. HOWEVER, I wouldn't go so far as to say that the French necessarily have healthy diets; weight doesn't necessarily indicate health, though it makes a big difference.

[buddhastalin]

what a generalized article. i am highly stressed due to the field of work i'm in, i eat hella large portions, and i never eat with anyone unless you count cartman, stan, and kyle as family. btw, i'm not fat or even chubby.

[KryptoKnight]

Well obviously you're not going to get fat if you're starving yourself to death, regardless of how stressed you are. But good luck refuting that for the average person.

Anyway, good article. When I was in Europe last summer, pretty much the only fat people on the continent were the Americans in our tour group, and some of them were f*cking massive, lol. I think another factor is that when you eat really high quality food, be it a pastry, local cheese, or whatever on a consistent basis, you don't put it on a pedestal where it's the greatest thing on Earth and you're constantly craving it. Craving leads to overindulgence.

It's damn true that people over there prefer quality > quantity.

[tinyman5000]

i dunno guys i saw some chubby chubs in france 6 years ago when i went. Irelands a different story, every night i had two 6 oz deep fried battered (each one had to have been 800-900+ cals)hamburgers with fries and i actually lost weight on that trip. And they eat huge portions as well, but its stuff like mashed taters steak and buttered toast. Not as many obese people. I think it comes down to the fact they eat probably 3 800 calorie meals a day and walk 4-6 miles a day.

[KryptoKnight]

i dunno guys i saw some chubby chubs in france 6 years ago when i went. Irelands a different story, every night i had two 6 oz deep fried battered (each one had to have been 800-900+ cals)hamburgers with fries and i actually lost weight on that trip. And they eat huge portions as well, but its stuff like mashed taters steak and buttered toast. Not as many obese people. I think it comes down to the fact they eat probably 3 800 calorie meals a day and walk 4-6 miles a day.

You do realize 800 calories is nothing to many Americans...

[tinyman5000]

You do realize 800 calories is nothing to many Americans...

800 cals for me-
2 potatos 200 calories
1.5 tbsp butter 150 calories
4 oz chicken 130 calories
16 oz milk 160 calories
1 large salad with evoo 150 calories

for a normal person-
the three free refills on their soda at MCD's

lol never thought about it

[KryptoKnight]

800 cals for me-
2 potatos 200 calories
1.5 tbsp butter 150 calories
4 oz chicken 130 calories
16 oz milk 160 calories
1 large salad with evoo 150 calories

for a normal person-
the three free refills on their soda at MCD's

lol never thought about it

Yup, 800 does seem like a lot to us, mainly because we try to have more than the average 3 meals a day. But like you mentioned, 800 cals can EASILY be achieved, especially with fast food.

[tinyman5000]

Yup, 800 does seem like a lot to us, mainly because we try to have more than the average 3 meals a day. But like you mentioned, 800 cals can EASILY be achieved, especially with fast food.

that was my fourth meal today lol

[sugicalmike]

that was my fourth meal today lol

I went to an amusement park with my Fraternity brothers for a fundrasier this weekend..... that was all they had there... it was horrible, I seriously wanted to plunge off the top of a rollercoaster to make the greasiness go away!

[The Solution]

http://independent.com/news/2007/oct/25/eating-french/

cliffs:
-went on holiday to france only gained 1 pound despite delicious food and lots of wine
-stress=fat storage: french eat relaxed, talking to family while eating instead of eating in the car.
-portion control: french value quality (great sauces) above quantity

you can say these people dont get fat etc etc etc..

at the end of the day it comes down to a few things

Genes, calories, and metabolism

thats what i would say

[MattyH7688]

the french have never won a war.. why should we eat like them

[ChingChang]

the french have never won a war.. why should we eat like them

LOL I'd rep you again if I could.

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/text/victories.html

[phabphour20]

the french have never won a war.. why should we eat like them

Because French food is delicious.

[The Solution]

the french have never won a war.. why should we eat like them

damn matty u really pulling out the **** this morning.. classic line right there.. reps for u brother

any date on coming dwon to tour campus? let me know if ur interested in coming here ill look for apartments and get u a job @ the gym..

[grapemaster]

Well, the portions are much smaller too (no biggie fried! No buckets of cola!). And the french also walk a lot more than the average American.

I think its this... I've been and lived with some local people a few times in France... but its the same way in Italy/Switzerland also.

[KryptoKnight]

I think its this... I've been and lived with some local people a few times in France... but its the same way in Italy/Switzerland also.

Heh are you sure about Italy?

[MattyH7688]

damn matty u really pulling out the **** this morning.. classic line right there.. reps for u brother

any date on coming dwon to tour campus? let me know if ur interested in coming here ill look for apartments and get u a job @ the gym..

yea im gonna try to visit some schools in november

[grapemaster]

Heh are you sure about Italy?

lots of skinny guys and girls where I was mostly among *locals* around Milan, mostly in the Lodi province, lived in a farm house out in the country for awhile, everybody was skinny in all the local towns. I've been a few times and going back to another place around Christmas...will try to pay more attention this time. I noticed a lot of fat people in Germany.

[baarat]

The European lifstyle is totally different. Most, about 75% of the meals eaten are from fresh produce prepared in the home, and the french don't generally snack between meals. They eat 3 meals a day, and lunch being the largest. When I was there a few years ago, it was the portion size, and the quality of food that got my attention. Just saying.

[Dm84]

For what it's worth, one of my roommates is from France, and he said the women in his family routinely fast and eat as little as possible.