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An article I read today explores the ‘French Paradox’: staying slim on a
no-deprivation diet.

France is certainly known for its good, rich food. Its good wine and
beautiful women and romantic men. So when I came across this article I was
excited to read it and then share it with you.

Apparently the author of the article was paid to go to France to collect
these “unscientific” findings, (right on) On a recent trip to France, the
authors’ mission was to eat like a French person- or at least to find out
just how they stay so slim. Observations that you’ll read here are quite
enlightening. So read on…

This is a country where on one corner, you find a boulangerie with
mouth-watering pastries, and on the next, a café where Parisians linger for
hours. It’s a place known for rich desserts, baguettes made from refined
flour, foie gras, fatty meats, and wine. Yet, as stated above, most
inhabitants seem to have little trouble maintaining a healthy weight. It’s
been called the French Paradox. And we Americans want to learn how to
emulate the technique so we can enjoy the same beautiful results.

Interestingly, one of the first observations was that the French are not all
thin. The percentage of overweight people is not nearly as high as in the
United States, but they are catching up to us.

Why? In part, the French blame the infiltration of fast food, french fries
(now that’s a paradox), and super-premium ice cream for their increasing
girth, according
to French diet expert David Benchetrit, MD.

Still, says Benchetrit, many French women have a mindset that helps them
stay slender.

“French women refuse to accept being overweight,” says David Benchetrit,
director of the Clinique du Poids weight loss clinic in Paris. “It is no
secret that they want to be beautiful, in love, and take care of themselves
so they look good.”

Indeed, Benchetrit says that two-thirds of the women he sees at his clinic
have a
body mass index
(BMI) of less than 23, which is in the normal range of 18.5-24.9.

Another thing that was observed is that the French and American ways of life
are very different. Eating is a leisurely experience. In the United States,
we often
wolf down meals in record time or eat while driving or sitting at our desks.
But the French appear to have all the time in the world to sit around and
dine.

“We sit down and eat for pleasure, using all of our senses,” Mireille
Guiliano, author of the best-selling book French Women Don’t Get Fat, has
said.

In America, low-carb diets have many of us saying no to white foods like
bread and pasta, but in France, everyone seems to be toting a fresh baguette
to
bring home.

“You need to eat a large volume of bread or pasta for the calories to add
up, and most of the time, French meals are quite light and portions are
small,”
says David Benchetrit.

Duck confit, foie gras, and many other fatty foods are enjoyed occasionally
- maybe once in two weeks, he says. Wine is enjoyed regularly, but in
limited
portions. And you won’t find artificial sweeteners in sherbet-colored
packets on every table. That’s because the French prefer small portions of
the real
stuff, like sugar and butter, according to Guiliano.