"Why are French women so lean?", "I just came back from Paris and there are no fat people over there"

That's what I hear quiet often and I am here to tell you why. 

​

 

• About the French food

 

What do French people eat? 

The French paradox is to stay slim on a "no-deprivation" diet. French cuisine is full of delicacies that make your heart melt. Yet we never lose our good sense in front of all these temptations. Nothing is too calorific as long as you eat it in small portions. If I had to compare our food to the US, it is true that we keep it natural and simple. Produces are mostly organic, meat is grass fed and poultry free range. France also sells a lot less processed, high fructose corn syrup, GMO food than America. Therefor, we are able to build higher quality and healthier meals. 

We still indulge on pastries, bread, cheese and delicatessen (charcuterie) but moderately. We fry very rarely and prefer steaming, grilling or roasting our ingredients. In South of France, we consume lots of what we call "vegetables of the sun" such as tomatoes, eggplants, zucchinis, bell peppers, onions and carrots; and lots of grilled meat and fish. Always cooking with olive oil (yes oil! Because a little good fat goes a long way. It is essential for satiety and brain health) and we use tons of herbs and spices for flavor (basil, thyme, rosemary, "Italian herbs", paprika, ground pepper, cayenne pepper, curry, cumin, etc...)

Home cooking sure is the best way to control your portions and to know exactly what's in your plate. You can then manage the amount of fat, salt and sugar you put into your meal and know the quality of the ingredients and produces you're about to consume. It is also more cost effective than eating out. Your wallet will thank you. 

 

So we do eat a little bit of everything in France, and even though the quality of the food itself can help people stay lean, the secret comes essentially from the way we eat it and from our living habits. 

 

​

​

• The French living habits

​

How they eat?

French people are not necessarily thinner because of their food choices, but rather because of their habits. 

This is a cultural thing and it kind of goes against the notion that the nutritionists in America have ingrained in us. The notion that we must eat every two or three hours to keep our blood sugar “stable.” Obviously this is not working.

French people sit down and have breakfast: a small coffee with a touch of brown sugar and some fruit, a little bit of bread buttered with jam or a croissant. That’s it! We eat two or three meals a day and we don’t (or rarely) snack. Typically it’s 8am for breakfast, 12pm for lunch and 7pm for dinner. We usually don’t eat anything between lunch and dinner. 

Try eating only in the morning, then at 12pm, and again at 6 or 7pm; no evening snacking and no snacking between meals. If you feel like you want something, have a glass of water, some tea or a yogurt etc ... 

You will find that perhaps you’re not eating enough at lunch so that you’re too hungry for dinner. Maybe you’re not eating enough for dinner so you’re ravenously hungry for breakfast. When you restrict yourself to two or three meals a day, you figure out the proper quantities in order to maintain your energy throughout the day. 

Now I’m all about the healthy snacking, however this can be overdone too. French nutritionist, Dr Cabestany, often tells her clients to eat when they are actually hungry. Meaning, when you feel that sensation in your belly to eat. Why? You digest your food far better when your body is actually ASKING for food. Ignoring these signals and constantly eating those salty nuts not only puts on weight due to excess calories but weakens those digestive secretions. So if you must snack, do so when you are actually hungry and not because it is "snacking time". 

​

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it should provide 50% of your daily nutritional needs. Then lunch should be consistent but not as hearty as breakfast. Lunch should cover 30% of your daily nutritional needs. Then dinner covers the 20% left. To maintain the figure you want, eating light at night is a must.

This is how your calorie intake should be spread out: 

​