Eating French - And I don't Mean Fries
By Kate Yturri, PA-C

Many of us know we should lose weight but most of us love to eat.  Dieting is a huge industry in the United States, but most of us honestly don't have the willpower to diet much less the sustained interest to follow a boring restrictive  diet.  Most of the diets that we try require us to change too much - think no carb, low carb, cabbage soup, and grapefruit.  Give up bread; eat soup all day - why would we really want to eat this way.

Europeans are less likely than Americans to be obese.  We' d like to think it is because they all smoke or just have to walk everywhere.  It may just be that they eat differently and possibly better than we do.

Deliciously described in the book “French Women Don't Get Fat” by Mirelle Guillan, French food in particular is tasty, rich and fattening.  However the French have a style of eating that allows them to enjoy their favorite foods and maintain a healthy weight.

How do they do it?  Here are just a few observations the French woman makes:

• Foods are fresh, not frozen or canned.

• Meals are eaten at a beautifully set table.

• Diners converse with each other.

• Food is eating slowly.

• Variety depends on freshness not availability.

• Portions are small.

The French abhor low carb, low fat, low calorie and sugar free.  The best foods are eaten in small portions without seconds.  Eating is an important part of every day.  Meals are not skipped and snacks are infrequent, small and healthy.

Of course most of us will not have the time to shop daily, prepare extravagant meals nightly and afford fois gras and filet mignon.  However we can change our eating habits gradually which will enable us to lose our extra pounds slowly.

We can:

• Dine instead of just eating.

• Enjoy and savor our food slowly.

•Converse with family and friends while we eat instead of eating alone in our car or in front of the TV.

•Choose fresh ingredients.

• Accompany simply prepared poultry meats and fish with small portions of pasta rice and potatoes.

• Steam or grill and eat more fresh vegetables.

•Accompany meals with fruit.

•Adorn salads with fruit and nuts.

• Eat 3 meals a day instead since skipping breakfast and lunch means we are hungrier at dinner and eat more.

We can eat our favorite foods - bread pasta, potatoes.  We just need to eat much smaller portions - simply prepared - with less cream, butter and cheese. We can eat our favorite sweets occasionally but they should be special - really good and just enough to satisfy our craving. These suggestions are probably much easier to stick with than boring diets. The French woman also suggests - since it is all the exercise she gets -walking daily. 

Good Luck and read the book.  It is funny wise and inspirational.

Kate Yturri, PA-C

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