Everyday Systems

Linked to this from one of Mark Bittman's posts on his blog, Bitten (http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com):

http://www.doriegreenspan.com/dorie_gre ... s-why.html

The part about portion sizes is definitely true! Our portions are to big. The part about warnings on the food was cool, I'd like to see that here.
And the 3rd part about sublimation....ya I'm with him....I'm right in the store buying the decadent chocolate thing.

I went to France several years ago and the weight fell off in Paris where we walked and walked and walked with all those skinny french chicks ALL OVER the city ...

then we went to the south and rode buses I gained back all the weight I had lost in Paris! and came home just about the same size.

Blueskighs

But you know what else? (This of course from my limited knowledge of ALL french women, and from a friendship with just four of them) French women believe that they can, and should, be thin.

All my French friends diet. They think of snacking as out of bounds., and they are careful not to overeat. They think about their weight on a daily basis, but where I (like a lot of Americans, I suspect) think that those last 10 lbs are here to stay, all my French friends believe, and take action to make belief reality, that they can, and should, be thin.

All my French friends diet. They think of snacking as out of bounds., and they are careful not to overeat. They think about their weight on a daily basis, but where I (like a lot of Americans, I suspect) think that those last 10 lbs are here to stay, all my French friends believe, and take action to make belief reality, that they can, and should, be thin.

Yes, well, I worked in a French firm for years, with a mostly French staff, and they took dieting to an extreme. The women were, after a certain age, much too thin to look good, and they knew they'd look better if they were a bit (and sometimes much) heavier, but the French have sort of a moral imperative to stay thin even when it doesn't make much sense. The best thing about no-s is that you learn a sense of moderation about food that was lacking, at least for me it was. I wouldn't replace it with a fanaticism about being thin regardless of circumstances.