"Why French Women don't get fat."

Considering the title of the book, I'd not listen to a word she said.



But leek soup does sound lovely.

Portion size. Exercise. That's pretty much it.

I think stuff like that completely sets the wrong tone. You don't need a "kick-start." You need to decide you're going to eat better, period, and start developing habits you can live with forever. If it's going to be a lifestyle change (and that's the only way it will be successful), you don't need to start the whole thing off by eating nothing but soup for 2 days.

The only reason anyone advocates these "jump-start" or "kick-start" methods is because you will probably lose several pounds of water weight and think you're losing "real" weight, and you'll get really excited about it. Then, the second week, when you haven't lost anywhere near what you did the first week, you get discouraged and either quit or decide to go back to eating nothing but soup. It's just bad for you all the way around.

i live in switzerland and i can tell you in general, you do not see very many obese people in europe. i've been to france numerous times and the abundance of patisseries, fromageries, konfisseries is overwhelming. there is a bakery on every street corner selling fresh bread, pastries...basically any high carb thing you can imagine.

my thinking is this: 1) if you live in europe, gas is ridiculously expensive so you learn to rely on public transportation. hence, you will WALK everywhere in between. 2) europeans have a true grasp on realistic portions. you would be surprised what 40g of brown rice really looks like...and no joke, you will get ONLY 40g of brown rice on your plate if that is what you order. 3) there is no such thing as "free refills" here. there is no 64oz portion of soda at your local mcdonalds. you even have to pay for ketchup here! 4) we don't skimp on butter, cream, whole milk...if i want butter, i'll eat it but i won't slather it on. better to have a little bit of the real thing than too much of the substitution. 5) quality of food is better...not too much processed crap. if you're eating quality food, you're more likely to be satieted by eating less.

bottom line: eat less, move more. that's how french women do it. and by moving more, i don't mean running marathons. just day to day using your good ole arms & legs to get you from point A to point B. oh and the ocassional cigarette surely helps with appetite control...not exactly good for you but parisians are well-known chain smokers!!

They swallow, it's a negative calorie food don't cha know.