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I was just in Paris and its filled with thin people (not too thin, and I won't call them healthy because a lot of them smoke) that eat bread at every meal. The Parisians love their bread. A typical breakfast includes coffee and some sort of bread, either a croissant or just regular butter with bread. Lunch is the ever popular sandwich made on a small baguette and filled with meat and maybe cheese. At mid day you see everyone walking and eating these. Dinner always has bread on the side. And they love butter, cheese, and wine.
So my question is, if bread is so evil why are the French so thin? Its time to get real about calories and food choices. Its the amount you eat and your level of movement, not that you cannot eat bread.
Of course there will be naysayers that will argue this and thats fine. Everyone needs to find a way of eating that works for them. If omitting breads, pastas and such works for you then of course you should eat that way.
I just find it interesting that the French eat bread, the Italians eat pasta, and Asians eat rice and none of those countries have the obesity problem that we have here.
Its tough to stereotype an entire cultural demographic but i'd say Europeans are a lot more active in their daily lives than Americans, lots of walking in their daily routine.
I would agree they walk & catch public transportation to their jobs a lot more than the car culture here. I also think portion size is important, Italians plate of pasta is way smaller than the huge bowl Americans consider dinner, to the Italians, it is a side dish, not the main meal.
I just find it interesting that the French eat bread, the Italians eat pasta, and Asians eat rice and none of those countries have the obesity problem that we have here.
Yes, they do. It's just that we started it and it's taking time for other areas to get caught up.
I've been to Europe. I've dated an Asian man. They simply eat less. Portion control. They are also more active overall. The Asian diet is very carb heavy, with white rice serve with meals at least twice per day and yet most of the population can be considered "normal weight".
America eats too much, period. Lots of fat, protein, sodium, sugar. And follows up with not moving, so there's no burning of all the extra calories. It is what it is.
The first time I visited Germany, I observed a few things.
In general, they are not as fat as Americans. They also eat less. For example, when you have breakfast, the juice glass is 4 oz, not 16 oz as we have in America. At dinner, the portion size is small. If you are having a steak, its about 3 inches max diameter.
Also, most people walk a lot. They take the subway and they walk from the station to their flat. Central heating is sketchy and they like to sleep with windows open.
I also think they suffer much less stress. In the USA, most everyone lives in constant fear of losing a job, healthcare and house. Their social welfare system is more comprehensive.
Is this a poorly written rant against low carb/keto followers?
By the way, there are a ton of obese Europeans.
No its not. If you read my post through you would see that I said that people should do whatever works for them. And I was just in London and Paris and I did not see one obese person. In America they are everywhere. I have traveled throughout the United States and the MAJORITY of people are either fairly overweight or obese. The slim people are the minority.
We have tons of fast food and super sizes. We eat crap in this country and it shows. When you match junk foods and sodas with sedentary lifestyles you are going to get fat.
I am sure there are overweight people in Europe, but I didn't see ANY when I was there. Maybe there are all hiding.
Kuwait had normal sized people until we came over and put in fast food restaurants. They love fast food. Now the obesity rate in Kuwait is 48.2%
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