THE REAL REASON FRENCHWOMEN DON’T GET FAT

Ignore portion control. Eat one food at a time. And take a moment to relish that slice of cake. In a wickedly indulgent approach to losing weight, nutritionist JANE CLARKE reveals...

Read this wickedly indulgent approach to losing weight

WHEN I was 30, I moved to Paris to live and write for a year. It may be a complete myth that French women don’t get fat (obesity rates are rising across the Channel, just as they are in Ireland), but it’s certainly true that some French women seem to enjoy fine food, yet maintain their slim figures.

You know the kind of women I mean — those elegant creatures who epitomise Parisian chic. I used to watch them each morning as I sat in a café on the Rue du

Bac, sipping coffee before beginning to write my columns and books.

And I came to realise it’s the way French women eat, not just what they eat, that makes such a difference.

The Parisian woman would never drink her coffee in one go, then bolt down a croissant. Instead, she has a mouthful of coffee, which she savours, followed by a bite of croissant, then perhaps a spoonful of yoghurt. She

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rotates between the flavours and textures on her plate, enjoying each individual element, until her breakfast is finished.

At the end of the meal, she feels satisfied, emotionally and physically, because not only has she taken the time to enjoy her food, but her brain has had the opportunity to register that she has eaten. It takes away the

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urge to overeat. And because she feels replete, she’s less likely to reach for a snack an hour later.

I’ve run my nutritional practice for more than 30 years and, during that time, I’ve helped many people lose excess weight — not by issuing restrictive diet sheets that remove all joy from mealtimes, but by using my time in Paris as inspiration for effective and long-term weight loss.

It’s the most beautiful way to train your body to eat differently. It takes what your body naturally loves and responds to — the sight and smell of food, its tastes and textures, even its crunch and sizzle — to re-educate your palette and brain, so that you savour each mouthful and learn to interpret the signals that let you know when you’ve had enough.

I tell my patients it’s like learning to ride a bike. It takes willpower and patience, and you’ll ‘fall off’ a few times before you learn to ride/ eat freely, but it really is the most satisfying, rewarding way to lose weight and keep it off.

OUR DANGEROUSLY WEIGHTY ISSUE

THE link between obesity and a higher chance of dying from the Covid-19 virus has put our country’s weight front and centre.

But it’s a focus that is long overdue. More than 62 per cent of adults are overweight, and almost a third (23 per cent) are obese. That not only makes us more vulnerable during this pandemic, but also puts us at greater risk of chronic illness — from certain cancers and type 2 diabetes, to coronary heart disease, stroke and depression.

Trying to lose weight can seem overwhelming, and repeated failure can sap our will to get back on the diet treadmill.

That’s what makes a sensory approach to eating so different — and so successful. It takes away the desire to comfort eat, or go back for seconds, because you’ve gleaned absolute nourishment and pleasure from your food.

The trap of a low-fat lifestyle is that it takes away all satisfaction from eating. When, for example, you eat a low-fat yoghurt, it tastes synthetic and feels watery in the mouth. You wish you’d eaten a fullfat one and end up snacking to try to achieve the oral satisfaction you’ve missed out on.

The sensory approach, which is about pleasure and empowerment, not deprivation, is so much easier to stick to.

The difference between a bland, low-fat, restrictive diet and one that juggles all the wonderful tastes and textures of food is like the difference between having sex in the same position month after month or, instead, trying new postures and experiences. It titillates the senses and makes you feel satisfied in all the right places!

Now, who wouldn’t want to try that? Just follow my rules, set out below, to start your journey to a healthier you. The only thing you have to lose is the excess weight.

FOR SLIMMER HIPS, TAKE SMALLER BITES

SO OFTEN, we rush an evening meal so we can flop on the sofa. But what if we spent more time anticipating what we were going to eat, selecting the ingredients and then sitting at the table to enjoy it?

Even if you have only 15 minutes for lunch, you can switch off your phone, power down your computer and focus on the food and all the sensations it brings alive for you — the textures, aromas and tastes.

Take small mouthfuls and pause between each one. The more you lift your fork to your mouth, the greater the satiety you will experience.

Your brain notices every movement you make. Smaller bites mean more forkfuls, which, combined with you savouring your food, will make you feel more replete.

If you eat a chocolate bar while you’re driving, you’re too busy controlling the steering wheel and watching the road to concentrate on what you’re putting in your mouth, so your brain won’t register the food you’ve put in your body.

Instead, if you’re going to eat chocolate, really enjoy it! Have one square at a time. You could have some unsalted nuts alongside to juggle the textures, too.

After each mouthful, have a small swig of water to cleanse the palette and help you notice that you’re enjoying the second little square.

The more we feel that physical and sensory satisfaction, the more we enjoy what we eat and drink, then the happier we feel about ending a meal when it feels right, not when we’re overstuffed.

If you make eating like this a habit, you will slowly but surely need less food to feel replete — which means you will consume fewer calories and lose the excess weight that is

putting your health at risk.

FORGET ABOUT STRICT PORTION SIZES

IN MY clinic, time and again I see that so much obesity comes from boredom and thoughtless eating. When you have the same meals again and again, the same go-to bowl of pasta, or relying on processed foods, and eating your meals without thought or sense of enjoyment, then your body simply doesn’t know that it’s eaten as much as it has and it wants more.

Pause a moment: think about the foods that you really enjoy and which make your body feel nourished and well looked after.

Ensure there are at least three flavours on your plate (and, ideally, five or six) and eat them individually, rotating between the flavours with each mouthful so your body, brain and emotions have a chance to register them.

Don’t measure portions but eat slowly, putting your cutlery down between each forkful, so the stretch receptors in your jaw and gut process how much you’ve eaten.

TREAT YOURSELF — AND EAT FOR PLEASURE

ONE of the problems with low-fat, low-sugar, low-salt plans — the foods many diets encourage — is that they just don’t taste good.

Don’t be afraid to use some delicious olive oil on a salad, or a little sea salt or touch of honey in the food you eat.

These tastes, along with herbs, spices and seasonings, all provide sensory hits for our palette, making our brain light up and take notice of the food we’re eating — and leading to a feeling of satisfaction.

Saliva and other digestive juices are produced when we eat foods that give you real pleasure. It’s counterproductive to put yourself in a situation where you’re not going to enjoy what’s on your plate, as your sensory recognition system switches off and you won’t feel as if you’ve eaten anything.

That’s why so many ‘diet’ or ‘healthy’ foods simply lead to cravings and failed eating plans.

Such foods offer little satisfaction and, within minutes, your body wants more — real food, with real flavour and real nourishment.

When I lived in Paris, at the weekend I would walk to the fromagerie and buy two or three small pieces of cheese (my time in France instilled my passion for cheese). Then I’d stop at the market to buy some fragrant figs and crisp celery.

The pleasure of my routine, the anticipation of savouring these delicious ingredients, and the ultimate enjoyment of this simple meal, fired up all my senses to satisfy my appetite.

It was the perfect lunch: no more or less required.