Why French Women Stay Thin Without Obsessive Dieting Or Exercise

Posted on 6th January 2011 in Uncategorized

Why French Women Stay Thin Without Obsessive Dieting Or Exercise – Part 3

In part two of this article I covered the first 3 principles that American women can follow to benefit from the same attitude that many French women have regarding food and exercise. Below are the final 4 easy steps that women can take that will burn calories and add to fitness.

- Get a few light dumbbells that weight between 3-5 pounds. This is particularly important if you’re over the age of 40. Do a bit of resistance training such as curls and other movements that will help keep your upper body well toned. This type of training will also help preserve your bone density too.

- Get yourself a bicycle and use it on a regular basis. In the United States cycling is often looked at as child’s play or a past time for more serious triathletes or competitive cyclists. The French and European women tend to view cycling as a form of transportation. They will cycle to shops and to run errands instead of using cars.

Cycling is an excellent form of exercise even if you are peddling at slow speeds. It has mild aerobic qualities that are known to strengthen your heart. It is a low impact activity, which keeps your joints, ligaments and tendons flexible. It reduces stress and has a tendency to boost your mood. It also burns up calories, which adds to weight loss.

- Get involved in some form of yoga. It’s a great stress reliever; it improves your posture and helps you to develop longer and leaner limbs. It also raises your metabolism by working most all of the muscle groups and it promotes a general form of body wellness.

- As mentioned before, whenever possible walk upstairs instead of taking the elevator or escalator. The French are used to walking up three or four flights of stairs on a daily basis. Rarely do we walk upstairs in the United States. You might find this illuminating but an hour of climbing stairs burns an amazing 1100 calories.

Finally, it’s important to remember that if you over exert yourself at exercise you will eventually burn yourself out and give up completely. If you exercise moderately and add simple activities into your daily life you will stay fit without torturing yourself. In the end you will be able to continue these activities because they are simply part of your daily routine in life.

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Why French Women Have Killer Bodies?

Posted on 30th December 2010 in Uncategorized

French women are renowned for spending large portions of their salaries on health and beauty just so they can look like they were born beautiful.

I have been in France many times and French women never cease to amaze me. Their seemingly effortless beauty has always fascinated me. They look naturally slim, yet only they know, and I know, how much effort they actually put into looking that good.

Every time I’ve set foot on a French beach I’ve been shocked by the amazing bodies of the local women. I’ve never seen so many washboard abs in the one place. Many of them sported by women well in their thirties; yummy mummies surrounded by bundles of kids.

If you, like me, are curious about how they stay slim with so many tempting patisseries full of delicious croissants around… here’s my French woman’s rules to a killer body. Easy as 1,2,3,4…

1.Always Have Breakfast: Not just at weekends, not just when you have time, and not just a coffee on the rush. Have a proper breakfast. Throughout the years I have seen French women confidently eat a breakfast consisting of fruit, coffee and croissant, or a piece of buttered baguette. Whereas I don’t think this is the most nutritious meal you can have first thing in the morning, this does not make French women fat, and they know it.

2.Snack On Crudites: Crudits are small pieces of raw vegetables. Carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, celery… you name it, they snack on it. In the office, at home, on the beach… highly nutritious, high in water and low in fat and calories, crudits are low in sugar too. This is why they are so effective at keeping you full for longer.

3.Be Picky About Your Food: French women understand food. They take pride in their health and appearance, and are very picky about the foods they eat. If you’ve ever seen French women shopping at their local vegetable market, then you’ll know what I am talking about. They will only buy top quality fresh produce. Their baskets are colourful displays of seasonal fruit and vegetables, fresh fish and meat.

You may be thinking, what about the cheese and the bread? Yes, they do eat small amounts of cheese and bread, but here’s what they do next…

4.Work Out: I don’t know one French woman who doesn’t work out. Whether it is at the gym, running, rollerblading, hiking, swimming… they are always active and on the go. They don’t make excuses, they don’t moan about it… they make it part of their daily routine and just do it, because it’s good for them and it makes them look damn good.

I’ve lived and worked with French women both in France and in Ireland, and I am telling you, they don’t do all of this just to get in shape before they go on holidays, they do this all year round. As a result, in the summer, it shows big time!

In my opinion they have a fantastic attitude towards food, exercise and towards their bodies too. A certain pride that can be misinterpreted, but that for me translates into pure charisma.

Now, I am not saying this is the only way you can start to make changes in the way you approach food and exercise. But if it works for them, it can certainly work for you!

Anna Aparicio is a IINLP Life & Business Coach, Speaker and Educator based in Dublin, Ireland.

She specialises in Health & Fitness issues such as: weight loss,cravings,overeating,eating disorders,fitness goals achievement,sports performance, smoking cessation.

Anna uses cutting edge NLP, Hypnosis and self-improvement technologies to create massive changes in her clients, fast.

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Savvy French Weight Loss Secrets

Posted on 9th December 2010 in Uncategorized

Fed up with trying to lose weight with deprivation diets and bootcamp exercise regimens? Why not take a lead from French, Mediterranean, and savvy women around the world and give the pleasurable approach to weight loss a try? It works for me and it can work for you.

I listened to a great talk last night by Tonya Leigh, a Martha Beck Master Life Coach specializing in weight loss, who has a program that helps women lose weight by tapping into their desire for pleasure. Since this is the only kind of weight loss program I’m interested in these days, she definitely got my attention.

Tonya explained that her weight loss program is rooted in what she learned from the French when she visited her husband in the south of France, while he attended graduate school. So, what were her French slimming secrets, you ask?

Savvy Weight Loss Secrets

1. Focus on quality not quantity. Quality matters and the French cultivate quality time, relationships and appreciate high quality food. Increased quality means you are magically satisfied with less. Eat smaller amounts of really satisfying food.

2. Create supportive rituals. Establish regular meal times where you sit down and really savor your food, take time to honor yourself with a bit of self love and appreciation each day, spend a few minutes visualizing your perfect day each morning and then take little steps to realize it.

3. Savor life. Take time to smell the roses. Find simple pleasures. Engage your senses. Savor your food – see it, smell it, taste it, notice its flavors and textures.

4. Make time for solitude and relaxation. Take 5 minutes and do some deep breathing or read something inspirational. Find something to be thankful for.

5. Clear away some clutter. Any clutter, not just kitchen clutter. Getting rid of closet clutter can be powerful too since everything is symbolic and interrelated. Follow the lead of savvy French women and focus on simplicity and quality with your clothes. Get rid of the clothes that don’t fit or make you feel beautiful. You are better off with just a few articles of clothing that really ft and flatter you.

Isn’t this approach so much more interesting than counting calories and fat grams? If you have read, French Women Don’t Get Fat, you will recognize a lot of similarities here. In fact Tonya used a word – compensation – that I first heard author Mireille Guiliano use in French Women Don’t Get Fat, that essentially means making little adjustments in your diet. When you indulge a bit one day, cut back a little bit the next. (A common sense approach to staying in balance without having to resort to extreme diets.)

Why I Believe in the French Approach to Staying Slim

Everything that Tonya said reaffirmed what I have experienced for myself – losing weight is about so much more than what you eat and how much you exercise. I know that when I become focused on my weight and some new “diet” I’m doomed. I struggle, feel miserable and the weight becomes impossible to budge. Then, when I wake up and focus on things that make me happy – nourishing myself, learning something new, my family, my friends, quality food – and find ways to make my life a celebration, the weight melts away, just like it did this summer! ( In June I weighed around 148 and now I am down to 135 – the low end of my healthy range. Of course, summer is the perfect time to shed a few pounds since you have your natural rhythms working with you, but that’s a whole other discussion.)

I have experienced this paradox for myself. When I get caught up in the “diet” “good food; bad food” mentality that pervades here in the US, following the advice of all the “weight loss experts” I struggle, feel miserable and gain weight. Then when I say, “life is too short” and I embrace the attitude of the French, Mediterranean (or any other savvy women for that matter), indulging in delicious real food that is often higher in fat, chocolate and wine, while focusing on nourishing myself inside and out, I thrive and lose weight. It is so counterintuitive I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t experienced for myself.

I still find myself slipping back into “diet and deprivation” thinking every once in a while. (I am an American woman, after all.) Fortunately, it never lasts for long and that’s when I know it is time to start visualizing my next trip to France, or Italy, or Greece, or Spain (or at least spend some time with one of my favorite French or Mediterranean cookbooks).

Try it for yourself. (You don’t have to travel to another country.) Begin by adopting just one behavior that has you focusing on nourishing/pleasuring yourself instead of depriving and beating yourself up. Before you know it, you will be happier and your clothes will be looser.

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How to Stay Skinny As a French Woman in 10

Posted on 18th November 2010 in Uncategorized

How to Stay Skinny As a French Woman in 10 Easy Steps

If you’ve ever been in Paris, I’m sure you have noticed that there are a lot fewer people running around with extra weight around their middles or their thighs or anywhere else. How, oh how, do those French women stay so slender?

Here are some of their tactics which you may like to adopt:

1. Start out with small bones. French people are small people naturally, their frames are narrow and not designed for carrying a lot of weight.
2. Smoke cigarettes. Ugh, I’m not serious, but it is a fact that the French in general smoke quite a bit, and it doesn’t have nearly the social stigma that it does in other parts of the world. Nicotine is a strong appetite suppressant.
3. Walk. I’m not talking about putting on your sweats and tennies and heading to the park. I’m talking about your next trip to the grocery store. And guess who’s carrying the groceries home? My French neighbor walks everywhere, including daily trips to the kids school and the bakery. She does that in high heels by the way!
4. Notice your food. What’s that on your plate that you’re eating? Take a bite and chew slowly. Comment on the flavors.
5. Eat slowly. Take hours to finish your meal.
6. Eat with your friends or if you don’t have any, at least with your family. Invite the waiter to sit a while. Talk. Talk. Talk.
7. Reject your food. I have been witness to so many scenes in French restaurants where food and drink have been returned to the kitchen judged inapt for tender palates. In general the waiters do not seem to mind this one bit. In fact, everyone seems to be enjoying themselves thoroughly over the matter; a small piece of theater over a burnt corner of potato.
8. Eat full fat cheese. Seriously. Stop eating low calorie anything. Until a few years ago, you’d be hard pressed to even find a diet Coke in France.
9. Have a glass of wine with your meal, but drink it so slowly that your glass is still half full an hour later.
10. If you gain an ounce, even if it’s just between your ears, complain about it pitifully. Discuss for hours on end how you just can’t fit into your dress anymore. Guess French women aren’t so different from other women on that point.

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French Women’s Secrets To Not Getting Fat

Posted on 4th November 2010 in Uncategorized

Have you ever wondered why French women are slim, despite the fact that they eat anything they want: butter, cream, cheese – you name it; basically everything that your diet instructor would restrict you? Let me reveal to you French women’s secrets to not getting fat.

The top secret of French women is living a worry-free lifestyle. Just like Timon and Pumbaa’s motto: Hakuna Matata. Americans tend to live in a fast-paced world, making them busy and stressed all the time. Author Mirielle Guilliano says that people should integrate the French women’s habits to stop calorie counting and other forms of dieting which could lead to more frustration. You just need to eat more fruits and vegetables (as always), eat only 3 meals a day without over-sized servings, drink lots of WATER, and EXERCISE.

This diet plan lets you enjoy the foods you eat and only consuming the amount of foods enough to satisfy your hunger. One tip is that instead of weighing yourself using a scale, use your pants. If it doesn’t fit you anymore, it’s time to change your diet and eating lifestyle.

One other thing I also learned is that French women eat very slowly. I don’t know if you noticed it, but I did. They actually eat a lot, but they eat their meal slowly. When you eat slowly, it gives your stomach more time to digest. When I heard about this, I understood why I don’t get fat. I eat a lot but I eat slowly. I could say that this is really true.

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French Fashion – How to Dress Like a Stylish French

Posted on 28th October 2010 in Uncategorized

French Fashion – How to Dress Like a Stylish French Woman

Whether you want to learn how to achieve a chic French fashion style because admire and want to dress like them or if you just want to avoid looking like a tourist when traveling in France, these tricks will help you achieve your goal:

Focus on yourself and not the trends

Wear clothes and accessories that suit you, such as your body shape, face shape, height, colors and personality. Do not get too caught up on what’s the latest rave on the catwalk. Before adding a trend detail to your wardrobe, examine it first from a neutral point of view and determine if it will complement your personal style. If it doesn’t, then drop it! French fashion revolves around bringing out the best in your appearance and disguising the parts you don’t like.

Less is more

French women like to accentuate what they’ve got. Like for example, they use colors to bring out a healthy glow in their complexion or accessories to draw attention to the parts they like about themselves. The trick is to for example keep the color or detail on one part of your body instead of scattering it all over your outfit.

Neutral colors

French clothing is about versatility, so you should embrace colors that are easy to mix and match, such as black, dark brown and white/cream. If you’re wearing a bright colored red dress then you should balance it out with a simple black belt, black tights and black blazer.

Clean, crisp lines

French women know that they don’t need the flashiest clothes to look good. They focus on wearing tailored and fitted garments that follow her womanly curves.

Wear a scarf

Add a finishing touch to your outfit with a scarf. Tie it firmly around the neck and let the end hang graciously over your chest or wear it loosely around your neck for a casual-chic look.

Wear oversized sunglasses

A very French fashion thing is to disguise your eyes to create a mysterious and sexy image. A pair of oversized sunglasses in black or tortoise brown are a favorite choice because they project this glamorous and sleek style without looking over the top.

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