Well, the proper word for it would probably be experiment. After reading quite a few articles online about 'The French Paradox' (the paradoxical effect of French lifestyle and cuisine and what it does to one's body) until I needed a strong cup of coffee to keep my eyes open as the hours grew later and later, a thought came to me: Why couldn't I study it myself and give a day-to-day report my own first-hand experience with the French style de vie?
Next summer, I am heading to France for two months, enough time to properly document the many different meals and how they gradually take affect (or not). I will try to stick with a strict post every day or once every two days, documenting what kinds of food I ate along with portion size, when I ate, and how long. This will include everything from eating dinner around the table with the family and going out to dinner. Every egg and croissant will be accounted for to figure out once and for all if this 'French paradox' of eating all of these decadent calorie-loaded, fat-filled, sugar-topped, cheese-dripping meals really do help one keep the pounds off and stayed trimmed.
Coming from Canada, this will certainly be a very different experience for me. Here, it is the norm to eat quite a bit very quickly. And please, don't get me started on how I drown my pancakes, waffles, French toast, milkshakes, coffee, tea, asparagus, carrots, and almost everything in maple syrup. I could easily pull off as an addict. So, going to France and not having my beloved maple syrup, my moose/deer/bear meat in the freezer, and the glorious poutine, I will be forced to adjust or I will probably have many craving sessions and bug the hell out of the family who's agreed to take me in.
I am determined not to beg "Please! Please! Can we please go to the store to buy some maple syrup! It's an emergency!" I'm quite sure they'd never let me visit again.
So, I look forward to seeing everyone who might be reading this (or I could just talk to myself for the two months, that's okay too) next summer! Hopefully if everyone goes well and the French Paradox isn't that much of a paradox, you'll have a documented diet plan which might help you shed those few pounds that we'd all love to lose. So until then, my friends.
Laura A.
I am determined not to beg "Please! Please! Can we please go to the store to buy some maple syrup! It's an emergency!" I'm quite sure they'd never let me visit again.
So, I look forward to seeing everyone who might be reading this (or I could just talk to myself for the two months, that's okay too) next summer! Hopefully if everyone goes well and the French Paradox isn't that much of a paradox, you'll have a documented diet plan which might help you shed those few pounds that we'd all love to lose. So until then, my friends.
Laura A.
