Glamour on a budget - Mattie Roberts

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Some French Women Don't Get Fat
Friday, October 20, 2006

Everyone has been talking about that whole French paradox thing and how they can eat all this cheese, bread and wine, yet they do not have the same problems with obesity that we do. Well, that seeems to be changing with the younger kids. They are not adhering to the traditions of their elders and les chips and the Mac Do fast food mentality are becoming almost as pervasive here as they are in the U.S.

That's why I thought it would be better to take my lessons from the older generation. Luckily, I have been living with a sixty-something Parisienne who eats according to tradition. She is strong, slim and full of energy...yet you should see what she eats! She in no way deprives herself, food is very much a thing to be enjoyed and savored. Here's what I have learned thus far:

- There is no snacking...now I'm talking about the traditional model here...but the idea of having a little nibble in the afternoon is not done with adults. Kids may have a little something after school but that's for children only. The idea of a midnight snack is ludicrous. Mme Marchand would look at me as if I'd lost my mind if she caught me rummaging around in her kitchen late at night!

- If you do get hungry in the afternoon, many people take a small cup of very strong coffee -- almost like we an espresso.

- Most everyone drinks most every day day, many times for lunch and dinner, but it's only one glass of wine. For dinner, perhaps two, but the idea is not to get drunk, it's to better appreciate the food and the company.

- Dinner is a leisurely affair -- in the traditional model. (Actually, lunch is too, for that matter.) There are usually three courses or so. Even if some part of the meal is a microwaveable quiche Lorraine -- yes, they do eat them and they are quite good -- there is almost always a fresh salad or some fruit for dessert. Some homes start with an aperatif and a nibble, some go right to the primary meal. There's a cheese course and usually a salad course thrown in somewhere. Dessert is fruit, for those who want it. Pastries and cakes are for special occasions.

- The quantities are not enormous. You don't eat the whole slab of cheese! You have two or three ounces, which is ample. There are no 'seconds'. Traditional baguettes are on the narrow side, so you aren't really eating as much bread as you would think -- even when your hostess hands you a great chunk of baguette -- it's not really a much as it seems. And since it's been made fresh that morning, it is enormously satisfying.

- Everyone walks! It's much like New York City in this respect. You are constantly on the move. Mme Marchand's apartment is on the fifth floor of an early 19th century building...uh, there's no lift. Yet she's up and down a few times a day, running all over the neighborhood doing her errands.

- They don't really have the same expressions for being fat or thin that we do. You are 'round' if you are fat. Instead to wanting to be thin they want to have 'good lines'. It's so much more gentle. They don't seem to indulge in the same kind of self-loathing American women do. This bears more study...