Posts Tagged ‘fat’

Villamere. That's my last name. It's French, but apparently I'm not. If I was, maybe I wouldn't be such a chub-o.

We've all heard that French women don't get fat. But is it true? And why? (And if it is, I'm adding it to my list of reasons to move to France, right below 'Gilles Marini'.)

To find out the answer, I did a little Q&A with Laura Calder, host of the Food Network's 'French Food at Home', member of Chef Network Inc., and author of the cookbooks French Taste - Elegant everyday eating and French Food at Home. She's lived in France for the better part of the past decade, so I tasked her with confirming or dispelling the rumour that France has no fatties.

Q: We've all heard that French women don't get fat. Surely, that's not true. I mean, during your time in France, you must have come across a hefty French lady or two, non?

A: "One or two, yes. But it's not a blanket phenomenon like it is in North America today. The reason is, I suppose, that they are still eating the way we did two generations ago, to some degree:  good quality ingredients (nothing fancy, just meat and potatoes, apples and cheese, etc.), cooked in homey ways (stews, roasts, sautés, etc.) and eaten at meal times sitting down. The French are not snackers.

Really, there's no secret. It's just good eating. And it's guilt-free eating.  Our downfall is that we eat too much packaged food or food that's pumped full of chemicals and hormones, we snack like crazy on junk, and we don't move around enough."

Q: How do you keep your figure? You must be forever tasting things as you cook.

A: "How do I keep my figure? I eat like a farmer from the 1920s. No, seriously, I eat meals and don't snack and I eat really good food: organic meats from a butcher I know and trust, a lot of vegetables. I eat sweet things, too, but all homemade so I know exactly what's in them.  I also walk everywhere I go and I do a lot of yoga.

I think if we put pleasure first, we're healthier. Pleasure equals the best-tasting (and therefore healthiest) ingredients, plus taking the time to enjoy eating with people we love. That's the best healthy-eating program I can think of for anyone."

Q: Oh my gosh, can it be true? Guilt-free eating? Tell me about some of your favourite recipes from your new book, French Taste.

A: "I love the savoury swiss chard tart in the first-courses chapter. I love the craggy chocolate cake in desserts, and all the apple tarts. I love the beef and carrot stew. See . . . all the granny food. That's my bag."

***

None of that stuff sounds like diet fare. All of that stuff sounds delicious. Can it be true - can we eat deliciously decadent foods and stay healthy and slim?

I don't know, but this is definitely worth investigating. I've got a copy of French Taste and I'm going to start cooking. Maybe I am French after all . . .

If you're ready to eat like a French lady and see what happens, just enter for a chance to WIN a copy of Laura Calder's latest book, French Taste.  To qualify, just Subscribe To This Blog and post a reply telling us about a weight loss myth you've debunked or found to be true. Do you eat quality, homemade meat, potatoes and pies like a French person and still stay slim and trim? Does green tea really help you to lose weight? Did you lose weight when you started eating breakfast? Is cabbage soup really the answer? What about detox diets? Or grapefruits?

You have until Thursday, June 18 to let us know about your weight loss myth trials and tribulations. I'll announce the winner here on Friday, June 19.

Bon chance!

I ate two chocolates yesterday.

Neither one was the Turtle from my desk drawer. But still, two chocolates aren't exactly Bikini Boot Camp-friendly.

I woke up on Saturday morning with a sore throat and proceeded to be sick for the entire long weekend and beyond, so I rationalized that somehow I deserved two chocolates.

This kind of rationalizing is baloney, of course. But in my defense, there were 10 chocolates in the box and I only ate two.

The worst part is that I'm going to have to record it in my Food Journal.  Two chocolates. 100 calories. No nutrients.

But the best part is that the thought of having to record it in my Food Journal deterred me from eating the other eight chocolates in the box.

Actually, the best part was eating two chocolates. But the Food Journal is pretty good, too.

If you're new to the Food Journal, here's how to set your goals:

• 45-65 per cent of your calories should come from carbohydrates
• 20-35 per cent of your of calories should come from fat
• 10-35 per cent of your calories should come from protein

Of course, your percentages can't add up to more than 100 per cent. So if you plan to get 65 per cent of your calories from carbohydrates, you can't also have 35 per cent from protein and 35 per cent fat, because then you'd be totalling 135 per cent. You'll need to find a range and balance that works for you that totals 100 per cent.

How do those percentages translate into actual grams of each nutrient?
In a 1,500 calorie diet, healthy nutrient ranges would be roughly:

• 175-242 grams of carbohydrate each day
• 33-54 grams of fat each day
• 42-121 grams of protein each day

The ranges are wide and reflect the values suggested in Canada’s Food Guide (approximately 55 per cent carbs, 15 per cent protein and 30 per cent fat) and popular diet programs like the Zone Diet (40 per cent carbs, 30 per cent protein and 30 per cent fat).

For women age 19-50, Health Canada's Dietary Reference Intakes recommends 25 grams of fibre each day. For women 51-plus, Health Canada recommends 21 grams.

The Bikini Boot Camp Six-Week Menu is based on a 1,500-calorie-a-day diet. You may need to adjust your calorie intake based on your goals.

The bad news: If you've been soldiering on with your healthy living habits since New Year's and you haven't hit a weight loss plateau yet, it's probably on the way.

Your plateau will come partly courtesy of brain chemicals called dynorphins, which help your body conserve fat. After all: your body is designed to conserve fat, not lose it, so chances are that at some point in your weight loss journey, your brain will panic and raise your dynophine levels to protect against further weight loss.

The good news: You can outsmart your dynorphins by eating more. "Eating more food has been shown to help bring dynorphin levels down to normal and can help get you back on track," weight-loss scientist Dr Amanda Sainsbury-Salis of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney told the Brisbane Times this week.

"But it's important to eat nutritious food and eat enough to feel satisfied."

So why not get cooking with a prize pack from Scanpan? We have a 28 cm (11") Scanpan frypan to give away, along with some kitchen accessories.

The Scanpan Classic line of cookware is made of high-quality ceramic titanium that’s designed to keep its shape and eliminate hot spots when cooking. It's dishwasher-safe and ovenproof to 260 degrees Celsius. Plus, its non-stick coating can’t be damaged by metal, so you don't have to worry about which utensil to use.

For a chance to WIN, just Subscribe to This Blog and leave a reply telling us if you’ve hit a plateau yet and how you’ve handled it or how you plan to handle it when one comes your way.

You have until Thursday, March 19 to let us know. I’ll announce the winner here on Friday, March 20.