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I don’t think anyone would be surprised to hear that French people are generally way thinner than Americans. Since I’ve been here I’ve heard several people comment that “In America everything is bigger…” and while they’re usually talking about the cars or the Subway 5 dollar foot long, the same holds true for the population.
The French sure are a skinny people, and I’m pretty I’ve pinpointed the reason. It’s a combined result of extreme portion control peppered with starvation and shame. They just don’t eat. Seriously, breakfast consists of espresso and half a slice of bread with jam. Lunch is cold cuts, bread, some fresh veggies and maybe leftovers. Dinner is along the same lines, with wine, a salad and maybe some cheese. Dessert consists of yogurt and/or fruit. It's all truly delicious. Everything is of such great quality...there just isn't a lot of it.
And they don’t snack. Nothing in between these meals…how do they do it?
The worst is between breakfast and lunch. I don’t know why, but even when I have a really filling breakfast around 8, I’m always starving by 10:30 or 11. And dinner is so late here..we usually eat around 8:30. That’s a lot of time between meals!
During meals portions are always pretty controlled, as well. No one really goes for seconds- or if they do, only a little bit. I don’t want to be “that American that eats twice as much as we do,” but geez, man.
Fortunately, I made it really clear from day one that I really love breakfast. As a result, Sophie buys oatmeal and cereal for me, which provides enough sustenance to survive until lunch.
Don’t get me wrong; they’re not starving me or anything. I know that they’d be perfectly fine with me snacking between meals, but I’m kind of stuck in this “When in Rome…” mentality and I want to do things the French way while I’m in France.
So I’ve developed survival strategies over the past few months that the French must also use.
-Drink lots of water. (As if I didn’t already drink tons of water before!)
-Hot tea and coffee are your friends. When I’m home I spend my days drinking mug after mug of hot beverages. They make you feel full.
-Dip into kitchen and swipe a spoonful of peanut butter. This is for when you’re really desperate. (for the cheaters)
As a last resort, I can turn to the emergency snack stash in my room.
I am firmly convinced that the constant fear of death by motor vehicle, combined with the heavy smoking is a leading cause of the skeletal physique of the french population, so that,coupled with the general food deprivation would definitely cause an overall lean,mean(rude)population. I'd be cranky too, if I had to live in fear all day with little more than a few lettuce leaves, half a slice of toast, and espresso burning a hole in my stomach. Donuts.... anyone?
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