French Girl Friday ~ Food and Fitness

A recent "caught in the act moment" ,
giving into temptation....

   

We have established I LOVE food. The photo above shows me caught in the act of eating a cupcake ( a freebie for my birthday... how could I pass it up??); sweets are a major down fall above all other types of food. If you have followed my blog over the last 5 years you have seen recipes for cookies, cakes, candy and if you follow my FB page and now Instagram you will see photos of such things as well; heck I am a card holding member of doughnut eaters anonymous. Guilty as charged.... but not alone. So many of us American women love and often turn to sweets. Be it for a quick energy boost, a craving we can not deny or hormones. We are not alone, believe it or not French women often are the same... after all they are just women. Despite what we have been lead to believe about French women and not getting fat etc. etc. ; Ok, they may not let themselves get truly fat, or most don't, but they will have their battles with the scale. Part of this is how they are raised, the family meals and daily life not being filled with sweets. But what about all those wonderful things like French Macarons and fancy chocolates??!! Well those are eaten at special occasions and in moderation. That is key. Recently I have been very lax with my control over how much I eat in general, not just sweets. So reading the most recent chapters in Forever Chic by Tish Jett has been such a great reminder to RE employ the French womans way to keeping her eating habits and in turn weight in check. 

In the chapter titled LE REGIME , THE ART OF EATING WELL, the author goes over the basics of how the French eat on a daily basis and how it factors into them staying slim and having resolve. Things such as the sweets not being a daily thing, or having water at each meal, not soda or big glasses of milk, to finishing out the meal with yogurt or a sugar free fruit compote...did you know applesauce can help you sleep when eaten in the evening ? If they desire sweets and it is not a true special occasion it is about moderation. I know, I know, each book I profile here on French Girl Friday's I share all this information, it is bound to get old, truly that is why I am going to be ending this series with this book, but it is good and simple advice. Eat a well balanced diet, portion control and everything in moderation NOT diet... diets simply do not work.. at least not long term. I have been on nearly every diet there is INCLUDING the one from the book FAT WOMEN DO NOT GET FAT. I have found that if I find myself starting to forget all these really basic rules, and the scale starting to creep up in numbers or my waist band feeling tight, I simply just start to cut back on the amount of food I eat and the type of foods I eat. YES! it is that simple and soon my weight comes back down and my clothing begins to fit again. Sometimes I will start recording either in a cute notebook or on my handy dandy phone app, and I am always shocked at how bad I had actually been. I do not think I could ever give up all my sweets, or other foods I love eating that may not be 100 percent good for me or my waistline, but I can cut back and know that will help. So what are the main tips we can take from the French and that maybe by channeling our inner French girl can help us stay on track and be at a healthy weight and have healthy eating habits??? In Forever Chic they are listed

( with more detail than I shall include.. so I urge you to buy the book) as follows.....

Add a soup or salad 

"Vegetable soup is a marvel"

"...can save 20 percent of total calories eaten"

Sit down when you eat

"..never stand at their kitchen counter to eat..."

Eat with pleasure at every meal 

"enjoy your food"

Have chocolate without remorse

"...when you want...in small amounts"  

Read Labels

Rush right out and buy a steamer 

"..flavorful way to cook"

Own a blender and use it

"soups and smoothies"

Listen to your body

"...stop at or before the point of feeling full during a meal..."

I am just as satisfied with a nice cup of coffee
with skim milk and two pastry twists (half a serving)

Including fruit with my whole grain toast helps me
start my day in a healthy way

I do whatever it takes to make drinking water fun..
it helps fill me up without food.

Choosing healthy ingredients like ground turkey,
low sodium salsa and avocado sauce that is a healthy fat
helps me still be able to have foods I love like enchiladas..
Not French I know.... but tasty!  

In the title I mention fitness. You may have read in other books that French women do not exercise. That is not true. Of course you know they walk, and normal day to day activities are also used as a way to get fitness in, but would you be surprised that yoga, pilates , stretching classes...even things such as aquagym! There are of course dance classes of all types; all these activities help the French woman stay fit, slender and fitting into their clothing. If you follow me on FB, each week I post a weekly greetings video and I usually film it while I am out on a nice walk. When I am at home I make my housework work for me, and I am not opposed to jumping on my mini trampoline or working out with weights or being on my glider to get my exercise in. I do not do it if I do not enjoy it, so I skip dvds and such as it really bores me. My walks are my favorite, I can walk miles and miles and do ... I rarely drive if I can help it. It really is a very easy way to stay fit. It is important to keep moving... diet alone is not what helps myself or even the French stay slender. What ever you choose to do, make it fun and enjoyable and you are more than likely to keep at it!! 

   

Till next time.....