French Diet - Does it work?

Sounds like something you will do and then wonder why you're not losing any weight. It doesn't matter what you eat - if you go over a certain amount of calories, you will gain. Stay under a certain amount and you'll lose. Besides, without tracking calories, guessing at portion sizes is impossible for me. It's hard for me to understand what a "small" portion is, and on the other hand, how will you know if it's enough? It just sounds way too messy to consider a good weight loss plan, and not really sustainable afterward either.

I like a lot of the basic concepts except the certain # of meals - that's just bunk.

My other major issue is there's no limits regarding portion control. I'm sure that couple you lived with was great about eating reasonable portions and being active so those rich foods fit nicely into their calorie balance without them having to keep track of everthing (I know a few people like this). The problem with most of us who are overweight, and especially Americans who are served huge portions of things, we have no earthly concept of what a normal portion of food is.

So that's why calorie counting can be a vital tool Eat whatever you want, as long as it fits your calorie goal. And be active for your health (and to earn more calories). How about try the diet but still log the foods so you're sure you're not over eating.

Unsolicited advice: you may want to change your goal to 1 or 1.5 pounds per week. 1300 seems like an awfully low calorie goal for you at this point (going by your ticker).

Good luck, however you decide to proceed.

I read a book about this - 'why french women don't get fat' I think. It was quite a good read, for a 'diet' book.

Her main idea, as I remember it, was that France's very strong food culture prevents people getting fat. Food is very highly regarded - hence far fewer junk food outlets that you find in the USA. French people have strong traditions about when, and what, to eat, and French women are happy to indulge in feasts and family dinners but make up for it afterwards by eating less, instead enjoying the memory of the lovely dinner. I think she also mentioned how snacking is just not part of French culture, it would be seen as strange to keep needing to eat between meals. And, as you say, she claimed Fench people would rather have one tiny delicious elegant petit four, than a massive stodgy frosted doughnut. Quality over quantity.

I don't know where you are from - US? UK? - but I think food culture is quite a powerful tool to use in losing weight. Think back to your grandparents and great grandparents - were they overweight? WHat kinds of food would they have eaten, and what would have been the cultural and social norms about when, how, and where to eat? You could try to adompt a French food culture if you want, but perhaps drawing strength and inspiration from the food traditions you 'own' would be even more useful.

I read a book about this - 'why french women don't get fat' I think. It was quite a good read, for a 'diet' book.

Her main idea, as I remember it, was that France's very strong food culture prevents people getting fat. Food is very highly regarded - hence far fewer junk food outlets that you find in the USA. French people have strong traditions about when, and what, to eat, and French women are happy to indulge in feasts and family dinners but make up for it afterwards by eating less, instead enjoying the memory of the lovely dinner. I think she also mentioned how snacking is just not part of French culture, it would be seen as strange to keep needing to eat between meals. And, as you say, she claimed Fench people would rather have one tiny delicious elegant petit four, than a massive stodgy frosted doughnut. Quality over quantity.

I don't know where you are from - US? UK? - but I think food culture is quite a powerful tool to use in losing weight. Think back to your grandparents and great grandparents - were they overweight? WHat kinds of food would they have eaten, and what would have been the cultural and social norms about when, how, and where to eat? You could try to adompt a French food culture if you want, but perhaps drawing strength and inspiration from the food traditions you 'own' would be even more useful.

Have you actually been to France? There are fat and Obese people there quite a lot actually. This idea that the French or the Italians are all fit slim and healthy is just a Myth. They have similar problems to the rest of the western world I'm afraid

The google search didn't help me find a study quoted by a registered dietician. The RD made a comment about French people eating at a much slower rate per meal then Americans. She was equating it to your mind sensing when you 'feel satiated' and the timing of the feeling. I think the timing was something like the average American eats a meal in 14 minutes and the average Frenchmen(sorry grammatical folks if this is wrong) was around 32 minutes. The French eat slower, converse longer, and 'savor' the food. So #3 is probably accurate. Do they weigh less on average, no idea. Ironically, I was sitting beside a friend who was morbidly obese; she is French.

So TL;DR #3 probably accurate; length(time) of meal effects intake(probably).

Haha not so much! I wasn't tempted by the high calorie crepes and French fries so much as the idea that I should not be afraid of things like butter and cheese. I still want to calorie count with exercise but I want to have an healthy attitude towards food.

It's true that there's no reason to be afraid of butter and cheese. Just weigh out your portion and work it into your calorie/macro goals.

this sounds like common sense.

Which isn't just french.

I just don't want to be afraid of what I eat, calorie counting is one thing but I have heard so many people tell me "oh my goodness that is soooo bad for you it has 5g of carbohydrates in it" and I don't want to be that person. So the French philosophy, if you can call it that, may be the way to go if I want to keep on friendly terms with good food without being miserable about what I can and can not eat.

I agree, one of the attractive things about any way of eating based on traditional cuisines instead of micronutrients is that it celebrates delicious food and avoids some of the anxiety I think calorie counting can induce in some (many?) people.

this sounds like common sense.

Which isn't just french.

Exactly. Just eat quality food, in moderation.

The moderation bit is what gets me every time though! :laugh:

Eat high-quality food in small portions.
Prize quality over quantity in the foods you choose.
Savor each bite you take.
Walk for exercise and do weight training.
Eat three meals a day at regular times.

Last night I had a rich smoked gouda with very thin crackers, so as to better savor the cheese. It was high quality, I savored it. I went for a jog and I did Stronglifts 5X5 all yesterday. I'm losing weight because I weighed the cheese and counted the calories. The problem with this "diet" is that there is no indication of what a small portion is. How do you know, unless you've baselined it.

I've lost 50 lbs at a time in the past. The reason I never kept it off was that I was probably only netting about 800 calories a day. Since I wasn't counting calories, I was under eating and over exercising. The weight fell right off, but then I got burnt out, tired all the time, and gained it back. Every time I gained it back.

I like a lot of the basic concepts except the certain # of meals - that's just bunk.

My other major issue is there's no limits regarding portion control. I'm sure that couple you lived with was great about eating reasonable portions and being active so those rich foods fit nicely into their calorie balance without them having to keep track of everthing (I know a few people like this). The problem with most of us who are overweight, and especially Americans who are served huge portions of things, we have no earthly concept of what a normal portion of food is.

So that's why calorie counting can be a vital tool Eat whatever you want, as long as it fits your calorie goal. And be active for your health (and to earn more calories). How about try the diet but still log the foods so you're sure you're not over eating.

Unsolicited advice: you may want to change your goal to 1 or 1.5 pounds per week. 1300 seems like an awfully low calorie goal for you at this point (going by your ticker).

Good luck, however you decide to proceed.

Thank you for the advice I haven't weighed myself yet, and I am not calorie starved. I have done MFP before and found losing 1.5 pound a week was utterly satisfying, I guess it's more of an experiment on my part to see if I can get my snacking right down! (I am a snacker as I work late evenings!)

I just don't want to be afraid of what I eat, calorie counting is one thing but I have heard so many people tell me "oh my goodness that is soooo bad for you it has 5g of carbohydrates in it" and I don't want to be that person. So the French philosophy, if you can call it that, may be the way to go if I want to keep on friendly terms with good food without being miserable about what I can and can not eat.

I completely agree with this mentality. I don't agree that it's necessarily a "french" mentality, but *shrug*.

I do think though that it's fine to choose lower calorie substitutes if that's what you want to do. For example, I use real butter because that's important to me. But I choose fat free milk because I don't care about that-- it's a just a base for my protein shake.

I was assuming this was the "French" diet from Better off Dead

French Bread, French Fries, French Dressing...

Otherwise, yeah I didn't know common sense had a specific title.

Most of my family lives in France and their approach is totally different than what we do here in America. You do not get plates in restaurant that would feed a whole family. There is no snacking between meals and they also walk a lot. Also they eat food mostly that are in season. They will indulge in cheese but not in the quantity we eat here, same with bread etc. There are overweight people but generally speaking they are slimer because they are very self conscious of their look.

A salad for them is something very simple, leafy greens and a little oil, dijon and shallots. Nothing to do with the enormous amount of salad dressing we have here where the calories are out if this world.

A steak frite is a small steak and a few fries not something that needs two waiters to bring to the table.

It is portion control and high quality food that is tasty and eaten slowly is very satisfying.

This. I'm French and I was overweight (I love pastries, croissants and cheese, what can I say), but put on 50 pounds or something when I moved to the US. No snacking (or much, much less. We had no snacks in school), smaller portions, better public transportation so more walking etc.

About that diet though, I think it's a good idea, unless you stuff yourself at meals and have no moderation. Snacking itself isn't a problem though, it's just eating too much that is - and if you snack and have bigger meals, you just eat too much food.

I know some foods that are quality that a small portion would blow up half my days calories. Js

Like 1 cup of Peanut butter?

Its somewhat representative of the way French USED TO eat and be, but now they are more Americanized (Corporatized?) like the rest of the world. If you can truely adhere to general vague guidelines (and actually get food that is better quality), it does work, but its slow.

I do something somewhat similar most of the time when I lose weight, but I never lost as fast as I did when I count calories and focus on it. It is more like "common sense" and when I do something similar, I also as much as possible keep sweets and breads out of my meals (except if its a nice quality one I really want infrequently) and no sodas, reduced juices. Somewhat similar to even the IIFYM type but without tracking: if I eat something not within the general "rules" I just plan for it or exercise a little more. Works well if you can keep at it, but slow and you constantly need to adjust! Its toughest when you visit with friends/family/social occasions, a single meal out or "cheat meal" usually cancels a day or more of progress, but this is true of any change in diet.