French Women Don't Get Fat

In the spirit of my big move to France, I decided to finally read something that has been on my reading list for a while, French Women Don't Get Fat by by Mireille Guiliano. The book was easy to read and contained lots of recipes and great stories. It actually made me really excited to enjoy French cuisine while I'm there.

The tips given in the book are pretty common sense, eat real food, everything in moderation, and drink plenty of water. Although I've completely eliminated things from my diet before and done cleanses, I'm a big believer in enjoying the things that you like, in moderation, otherwise, life can get pretty boring. It's also important to figure out what works for your body. For example, I know that cow's milk makes my stomach hurt and is therefore bad for me. So, I avoid it as much as possible but I'm not afraid to indulge in cheese or desserts once in a while.

The problem in America is that we don't value real food anymore and tend to eat out often. Food is about convenience and taste, rather than quality and nutrition. I learned good habits from my European parents. Almost every meal was home-cooked, we hardly ever ate out, and there was no junk food in the house. We also got our liquids from water and not soda or juice. The habits explained in this book are very consistent with what I grew up with and quite different from what I saw in my friends' homes. I was always excited to go to friends houses as a child because there was so much candy and their parents took us to McDonald's.

Healthy food can taste good with the freshest ingredients and spices. Quality ingredients are more nutritious, taste better, and will keep you satisfied. Remember that investment in your health now will pay off later.

One thing I don't cover enough on this blog is ways to stay active without working out intensely at a gym every day. I do group exercise, crossfit, spinning, and running because I like it, but I understand that not everyone loves to break a sweat. The training and amount of working out that you've seen me post about on this blog is overkill, and I don't need to do it all to be healthy.

French (and European) women don't spend hours at the gym but they do make sure to move all day long by taking walks and using the stairs, for example. There are lots of pedometers and fitness trackers that can help encourage to keep active all day.

Mireille Guiliano has other books too, including a cookbook, that you should check out. I'm excited to get to France and start eating like a French woman!