Recently the editors of More spent some time in Paris. When they were back in NY, they were talking about how slim the 40+ women in France are. The typical French woman is 5'3" tall and weighs 139 pounds (this surprised me; I thought they would weigh less). Her American counterpart weighs nearly 30 pounds more.
The editors wondered what would happen if a working mother in NY switched diets and general lifestyle habits with a similar woman in France. In the front of the magazine it stated that it took them three weeks to find a volunteer in France; the French women were afraid they would gain weight.
The experiment was to last two weeks. The big breakfast surprised me, too. Everything I've read suggests that the French typically don't eat big breakfasts, while lunch is still the largest meal of the day.The rules of the American diet-exercise regimen were: Eat lots of takeout, processed and fast foods; skip breakfast or have it late; multitask while downing food; go to restaurants often; consume most calories at dinner; and exercise strenuously, usually at a gym, most days of the week. The Continental plan? Cook most of your meals, including substantial breakfasts and lunches; focus on high-quality, minimally processed foods; sit down for meals, preferably with your family; eat slowly and exercise mainly by walking around doing errands.
The American woman had trouble eating most of her calories before 2 PM and with cooking everything. While breakfast and lunch were large, dinner was small. She said she used a luncheon sized plate, but could have used a saucer (this was for a 3-ounce serving of meat and vegetables). At the beginning of the second week she realized that she could save herself a lot of stress in terms of cooking by prepping and cooking ahead of time. This gave her packable lunch options and ready-to-eat dinners.
The French woman expected to lose some weight following the American diet. She would be consuming fewer calories and exercising more. She found it difficult to follow the American diet and was starved and exhausted by dinner time. She found processed foods "can smell really awful and taste disgusting." She describes one meal as looking and smelling like dog food. She had never eaten takeout before, never not cooked a meal from scratch and found that eating like an American totally disrupted family meal times. She felt her family was more roommates than family.
At the end of the experiment the American woman lost two pounds. She stated that she felt more relaxed and was sleeping better than she had in years. She was also enjoying her food more. She also felt that she was able to control what she put in her mouth. While the article didn't specifically say this, I came away with the feeling that she was going to adopt at least some of the French habits. "I see I've sacrificed something valuable by focusing on fast and low-cal foods all these years. Savoring a meal offers enjoyment that isn't achieved any other way."
The French woman didn't lose or gain any weight. She did like being able to eat candy bars without any guilt and she liked takeout food. However, while takeout decreased the time for meal preparation, she felt it was too expensive and made her lazy, so she was going back to cooking.
I don't think she realizes that American women don't eat candy (or other sweets) as desired without guilt. There's plenty of guilt, but most do it anyway.