French Diet - Does it work?

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Replies

  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
    Well, that is it. I want this diet. I can French for hours. :smooched:

    I'm in!
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    i thought the french diet included drinking a lot of wine and smoking lots of cigarettes :P

    It did when I lived in France :laugh: I lost weight that year!

    I'm English and I did a French degree and spent a year at university in France. I've also been there on holiday about a million times, stayed with a French family when I was 14 on a school trip, and spent a Summer working as an au pair there.

    When I stayed with the family as a teenager, they used to have an after school snack like bricoche and nutella, and the kids I looked after as an au pair had little snacks, like those mini kinder bars. They loved sweets too. I went to the supermarket bakery with the 2 year old and they had some sweets on the counter and she was saying 'je veux des bonbons'. The woman who worked there told me my daughter was good at French lol. Obviously my accent wasn't fooling anyone!

    The parents used to come back for lunch, and they'd have a main meal a lunch - something healthy - and then dinner was something light. Portions are small. Same for when you eat out over there. Saying that, portions in England aren't big either, not compared with the US.

    Meals in France used to be a more family orientated thing, where everyone sat at the table and ate together, but I think they're losing that a bit now. I don't remember there being as many convenience foods there, like microwave meals.

    In the supermarket you don't get aisles of junk. They don't have about 500 different flavours of crisps, and you don't get as many small packs, just big packs to share. There isn't as much choice of chocolate bars either. We have loads in England, and I bet there are more in the US.

    I don't think you have to do a 'French diet' though, just eat at a deficit. Smaller portions, less junk etc. We eat full fat butter, cheese, milk etc, and I still lost weight.
  • Kegha
    Kegha Posts: 37 Member
    Their portions are at least half of an american plate of food. They often skip desert and finish their meal with a green salad and a small piece of extremely tasty cheese. They go for taste not size. They also eat very slowly. For the wine of well compare to cola I am speechless :0).
  • spara0038
    spara0038 Posts: 226 Member
    The lightest I ever was at my adult height was after I came back from France. Their lifestyle is VERY different- everything from small portion size, quality food, and lots and lots of walking.

    I think portion size is a HUGE factor. Their serving of juice would be a size many here would consider a shot glass and my dad had to eat 2 meals because he was absolutely starving after just 1. From what I've seen, continental Europeans don't really drink that much soda either- they prefer their alcohol.

    It's pretty easy to get to a calorie deficit with small portion sizes and plenty of exercises, though- saying that it's a "French diet" is just one way of creating a calorie deficit.
  • janine2355
    janine2355 Posts: 628 Member
    Don't even think about doing it. It's just going to bite you in the A**
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    Was expecting more wine and baguettes.
  • skinnysushicat
    skinnysushicat Posts: 138 Member
    The whole soda thing (fizzy drinks as I would say!) is strange to me - I'm British, and cans of soda are something to take on a picnic, or I might order a lemonade in the pub if I was the designated driver. I also might have a fizzy drink on the rare occasion we stop at a fast food place (usually at a motorway service station if we're on a long journey), and we used to have lots of fizzy drinks at kids and teenaged parties. But the idea of buying bottles of it to drink at home without a party is just strange - we drink fruit juice (a bit), and tea. Much, much tea. Sometimes squash or cordial.

    For most Europeans, I think seeing how central soda is to American diets is quite alien. Wine, on the other hand, is perhaps a bit too normal in this house!
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    The whole soda thing (fizzy drinks as I would say!) is strange to me - I'm British, and cans of soda are something to take on a picnic, or I might order a lemonade in the pub if I was the designated driver. I also might have a fizzy drink on the rare occasion we stop at a fast food place (usually at a motorway service station if we're on a long journey), and we used to have lots of fizzy drinks at kids and teenaged parties. But the idea of buying bottles of it to drink at home without a party is just strange - we drink fruit juice (a bit), and tea. Much, much tea. Sometimes squash or cordial.

    For most Europeans, I think seeing how central soda is to American diets is quite alien. Wine, on the other hand, is perhaps a bit too normal in this house!

    Black pudding. That is all I have to say to you.
  • skinnysushicat
    skinnysushicat Posts: 138 Member
    Black pudding and haggis are gross. They are more traditional foods for most people, than something we eat daily!
  • skinnysushicat
    skinnysushicat Posts: 138 Member
    (Wait for it - some British person will come on here now and say they eat black pudding 3 times a day and drink nothing but Pepsi).
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    I've been to France several times and lived with families there for French immersion programs. My observations are similar to those above. The families I lived with did not have kitchen pantries full of soda and chips. They ate small portions of several foods at meals and they tended to walk more. None of the families I lived with ate snacks at any time of the day. I think it adds up to the same "eat less, move more" that is generally the effective way to maintain a fit body.

    If you can do that without counting calories, more power to you.
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    (Wait for it - some British person will come on here now and say they eat black pudding 3 times a day and drink nothing but Pepsi).

    Yum, black pudding and Pepsi, my favourite meal. Not. I've never even tried black pudding, the thought of it makes me feel sick.

    We only get fizzy drinks for parties, and I like lemonade if I'm ill. I'm more a coffee drinker. I think I should've been French really :smile: I also love wine, although rarely drink.

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