Think French, Stay Thin

Isabelle Adjani, Monica Belluci (italian actress popular in the French and American movie industry) and countless other timeless beauties !! What is it about French actresses that make them so attractive? Well the accent certainly helps - it is hard not to be drawn to the delicate musicality that emanates from the French throat ! Even a simple order of say "egg sandwich", sounds very poetic ! Poetic abilities (atleast to my deceived perception) aside, these women tend to be gorgeous, leggy, toned and slim.

Nothing spectacular about the obvious - those traits seem to linger in great concentration among the stars, regardless of their birthplaces! That being said, there is this popular belief, that despite the buttery croissants, extensive selection of foie gras, steak frites et chocolat, regular French women do not get fat. Now, what is their secret?

During an extensive dinner yesterday at our hosts' it was revealed that "its a common misconception that all French eat and still stay thin; truth is that they don't. Many compensate for mismanaged eating by various methods - smoking to name one!"

I have heard several who say that smoking increases metabolism and so helps burn calories. Even that information (I realise now) is skewed. The truth is that smoking causes a faster conversion of food into blood sugar giving one an instantaneous feeling of fullness. This helps one to curb the need to "dump" anymore junk onto themselves !

I have always heard Mom chant her famous mantra for staying slim and fit "Eat slow, feel full with small portions and exercise". I hate to give it to you Mom - but YOU ARE RIGHT ! At 63, she continues to be in the best shape of her life - a slim figure of 5 ft and 4 inches weighing at an ever steady 53 kilos ! Mind you, she lives in Kerala and not in France and yet so global, her perspective !! Who am I kidding? - she's a highly qualified physician with over 30 years of medical practice under her belt.

Basically what she is trying to say in laymans terms is that by eating slowly, you are giving your brain enough time to send " FULL, now STOP" signals to your stomach, which helps us weak humans place down the cutlery which we were using to gorge down all that deceptively healthy and wholesome food.

T has taken on the reins from my mother in becoming my new health coach. His mantras are only shaping up. His best one by far - "Have a bowl of fibre enriched cereal with cold calcium fortified milk for breakfast".

Quoted by Lifestyle magazine in 2009, America continues to be the fattest nation in the worldwide - this is not alarming. Unlike Americans who reward their children with food and turn to food for comfort, the French don't. French families monitor their childrens' eating habits quite seriously.

Aren't we still baffled by the so-called French paradox (the mystery of why French fatty diets do not cause heart attacks)?

That being said how can we discount the French lifestyle - work less (therefore low or no stress), say NO to work on weekends and overtime, long and frequent vacations, free healthcare and nice tasty slices of brie!

Bon appetite !