Why is it so Easy to be Thin in France?

French people never diet but have a balanced way of eating and a good relationship with food. Let's see together why French people don't get fat while still eating pretty much whatever they want!

#frenchdiet #frenchgirl #paris #france

[JackoBanon]

As a German I once heard the comparison:
German people spend their money on expensive cars to drive to the discount supermarket to buy cheap, low quality food.
French people spend their money on cheap cars to drive to the restaurant to enjoy good, high quality food with their friends and family.

[qiffinz]

When I toured France for two weeks, I ate well, skipped no meals, and gained no weight. When I sent my mom to Italy, she could eat things that she couldn't touch in the US. I am convinced that it is the quality of the raw ingredients, lack of processed foods, and lack of growth hormones and antibiotics, etc.

[kathrynrebernick]

I studied in France. I lived there for 3 months. I went from 170 pounds to 130. When I returned to the US, I gained 20 pounds back within 3 months. I also have a chronic illness and an autoimmune disease. I had little to no symptoms within a month being there.

Quality of food is huge.

[soniaz]

Think here in the US, everything revolves around work. Work is more important than eating. If you are lucky, you may get 30 mintues to eat for many jobs. This causes people to rush while eating, and increases stress while eating and that impacts the body negatively over time. 1st hand experience. The French way is the healthier way.

[AgnesReynaud-zz]

I completely agree with Lucile, the keys are fresh food, regular meals, breakfast, lunch, dinner, nothing in between. Typically we never open the fridge for a snack.
And yes it’s true toddlers are introduced to varied adult food very early.

[kathryndelacote]

You are so right on. I lived in France for 25 years, had and raised my children there…
We came back to the US and it was a culture shock for me to see how things had changed concerning meals.
I grew up in the 70’s, 80’s in the US and mealtime was always with family. Then I moved to France.
Since I’ve been back in the states, it’s so different.
Kids with food allergies, food aversion, extracurricular activities, parents with such differing schedules- makes it almost impossible to share a meal sitting down with family.
In France, our Sunday lunches at Mamie’s lasted hours, with an aperitif, entree, main course, cheese, dessert and coffee. Then we’d have a break and go for a walk or play outside, and sit again as a family playing a game together. Sometimes I was bored but mostly I was happy that it gave my kids an idea of what family time looks like in France.
We are back in the US and now when the kids come home from college or jobs, they look forward to our sit down dinners together. Being in France in the traditional fashion feels like being in the US back in the 70’s and 80’s before life was so chaotic. Just my humble opinion.

[HerbMoore]

Everything in this vid is true, but there is an elephant in the room. Smoking. I just got back from walking 100 miles in the French country side. I'm old and a life time nonsmoker. I was shocked to see young people long distance walking and smoking. Not to mention all the smokers on the streets and sitting in cafes.

[nykki]

Knowing that you’re going to eat at the same time everyday — especially good food — I almost cried a little for my younger self. Even though I have access to good food now, I realize that I still eat in a way that reflects those times when food was scarce.

[SimV]

I was in Greece recently and I found similar values followed there as well, I think it’s a very European thing. They ate 3 square meals, the food was absolutely fresh wherever I ate and I complimented the Greeks on the same and they said serving non-fresh food is just not an option in Greece and that people would protest if that happened. I went to restaurants and people followed immaculate etiquette, nobody used phones while eating and everyone ate slowly while engaged in conversation. People walked everywhere.. the elderly don’t retire, they drive taxis etc to keep themselves occupied. I found most of the taxi drivers were all over 60 or 70..

[stevecagle]

Many older American generations were taught table manners. I grew up in the 60s and I was taught manners and expected to follow them both home and out. Our family had different schedules for breakfast and lunch but we ate dinner together. I started helping Mom cook when young and by the time I was 12, I would start dinner after school and have it prepped and in the oven when my parents got home.
Sadly, so many Americans don't know how to feed themselves and cook decent meals.
Long ago, I adopted Julia Childs rules:
Small, reasonable portions, no snacking, no seconds and try new things or a little of everything.
I am an omnivore and eat a balanced diet and stay very active. I'm in my 60s, in excellent health (I have to pass pilot physicals twice a year) and I enjoy the best, freshest foods available seasonally.

[tammyschilling]

It seems to me most of the French attitude about food is good. I especially like the attitude toward training kids' tastes and not letting them eat junk or get used to special kid meals. We used to do that in the US but somewhere we lost our minds and have let kids eat junk, get fat, and become picky monsters at the table. Good for you guys for keeping sanity.

[MrIq]

I'm from Paris and I moved to Canada, gained so much weight here. The environment is enough to make you change your ways without you even realizing it, trust me

[MarilynAlmodovar]

My husband is from Normandy. We spent our time in France biking and walking everywhere, even when we moved away from Paris back to Normandy, where the car was a necessity, but we still went on hikes and biked everywhere. I miss the markets so much. Once we returned to the US, I put on 60 lbs and developed food allergies that I didn't have in France. After those allergies developed, my doctor said I was probably allergic to the pesticides and additives in some of the food. I lost weight and most of my allergies because I started cooking from scratch. I still have allergic reactions if we eat out, but that's few and far in between because we mostly eat at home.

[steakusaure]

As a French girl who has lived in Paris and other cities, not everything described in this video is really true for the whole country. I can say that it is quite true for Paris. But once you get out of this city, it is different. It is true that French people are always concerned about the quality of food (fresh bread, meat, vegetables...) but there is a big difference with many families who have less income, they do not eat as well and as fresh and a lot of processed foods. Also, in Paris you walk a lot, because it is impossible to drive and you have a lot of public transportation, but in other cities people use their car for everything, every trip (even to get bread), so they do not exercise as much as in Paris or big cities. I really saw and experienced these differences when I lived in Paris, I was healthier and I even lost a few pounds. In Paris you see thin people. But when you get out of the big city, you can see that people are less thin and more overweight.

[doralicebenedusi]

As an Italian, I resonate with most of these points. However, I really don't like the "obligation" to eat with your colleagues, lunch break is free time and everybody should be entitled to spending it however they like

[mireyam]

Great video!!! I find French people very polite and have very good table manners. I noticed that small children behave very well in restaurants, and everybody speaks in a low voice tone. I like the French and their culture.🎉😊

[Viciac]

I am tri-cultural - and lives half of the year in the states, and the other half in Spain (or Brazil). It doesn’t matter if we go on a month vacation to Mexico, or if we are in Italy, France, etc - every time we are out of the states for longer than 2 weeks we start to lose weight and debloat. We change nothing about our eating habits, and remain at the same level of activeness… my husband and I just were talking the other day that the addition of so many preservatives in the foods in the states really affect us personally (so won’t be surprised if also it affects others) 🤷🏼‍♀️

[egl]

I recently visited Tokyo and did not see one overweight person. They walk everywhere and the portions are normal. Really enjoyed eating out and not feeling overwhelmed at the serving sizes

[PUMPADOUR]

I had a short vacation in France few years back. It was by far the best food I have ever eaten in my life.

[billcolvard]

When my boyfriend (who had never been to France before) and I were in Paris back in January, he asked me on our second day there "wherere are all the fat people." He's rail-thin, and I have the dad bod, and here in the rural US where we live, I'm the norm and he is an outlier. But in Paris, he was the norm. I told him there weren't too many American tourists in January, and there'd be more fat people in July.
I agree with you about the fresh food. I firmly believe that a lot of American obesity is caused by processed foods.