paris

Eat Better, Eat The Way The French Do

Lifestyle
8 years ago
2 minutes

Australia is fast becoming an obese nation; and for a country priding itself on speedos and beach-living, this is by no means a combination that most want to see.

And whilst the likes of the England, Wales, Scotland, USA and Canada are getting fatter, the French are seemingly keeping in shape.

The USA tops the charts at a 35% rate of obesity, Australia at just over 25%, and England not far behind, France is at an impressive 12%, but why?

The French diet is renowned for its croissants, its bread rolls, its oils and its rich stews, but why aren’t the French as fat as the rest of us?

Many have linked Paris’ apartment living culture to the fact that many do not need cars to get around, and therefore rely on walking, but hasn’t it always been ‘it’s what you eat, that matters’?

So whilst apartment living is partly to praise for the thin waist bands, it can’t be all of it, some of it has to be down to diet. So what can you do to keep a French waist line?

  1. Smaller portions

    If you’ve ever eaten at a French restaurant, or eaten in Paris, you’ll notice that the size of the servings is small, and the price big.

    The less in quantity that you eat, will obviously affect the size of your stomach, so let’s start by eating a little less.
     
  2. Eat more often

    Ideally, you should be eating 5 times a day, instead of cramming those 5 meals into 3 (or in some cases 2).

    Start your day with: - a light breakfast, a midmorning snack, like an apple, then enjoy a light lunch, another light snack in the mid-afternoon, then your dinner.

    You’re eating more often, yes, but you’re also encouraging your metabolism to speed up, therefore burning through the fats that are associated with your body.
     
  3. Eat early, and don’t eat late

    Breakfast is an important meal, not to make you big and strong, but more, as said above, to get your metabolism going from the very start of your day.

    Additionally, eating very late at night is also detrimental to your waist band, and also significantly decreases the quality of your sleep; instead of resting, your body is digesting.

    If you have young children, you are probably already used to eating earlier than usual. However  the trick is, is that if you are going to eat dinner early, don’t head to the fridge or pantry for midnight snacks, instead have some fruit for desert.
     

We all love the French way of life, but there is no way you can’t implement it into your life away from Paris.