Have you ever read the book French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano? Well, I was vacationing in London and Paris last week and discovered for myself just how true that is! (Before we get started, here are 2 photos from our trip-one with my kids in London standing with an English Guard and the other in Paris with family who came to join us for the day-what a surprise! (My husband is taking the picture so he’s not in this one).

Now, back to what I discovered about French women. Being in the health, weight loss and fitness fields for nearly 20 years, I’m always curious as to how others achieve and maintain healthy, lean, fit bodies. Spending a few days in Paris, I learned so much from watching the women around me.

As we walked through the streets (and saw some incredible landmark sights along the way) I noticed how French women take the time, effort and energy towards their own self-care. Most of the women I saw were beautifully dressed from head to toe. Speaking of toes, almost every woman I saw wore heels. I’m not talking about low heels either. I’m talking about wearing killer stilettos just to go out to pick up a baguette or have a glass of wine with friends at a sidewalk café! I even saw one woman riding a bicycle wearing a skirt and heels!

Besides the heels, I noticed that most of these women were chicly dressed in the latest couture with hair, nails and makeup done. Boutiques were everywhere with the latest clothes, bags, scarves, shoes, makeup and perfume…and these boutiques were all packed with glamorous shoppers! Hate to say it but it’s a far cry from how many of us stick our hair in a pony tail, throw on some sweatpants and race out of the house for the day!

Dressing in a way that makes us feel better naturally leads us to want to take better care of ourselves. It sends an important signal to ourselves and others that we feel “we’re worth it” and impacts the way we think, feel and carry ourselves. Have you ever noticed the difference in how you feel when you just throw something on as opposed to when you take the time to put yourself together? Yes, the sweats may be very comfortable but we stand a little taller, have more confidence and simply feel better when we choose an outfit that looks and fits well.

What was also noticeable was that many of the women were thin. One reason could have been that so many of the women I saw were smoking. While we all know that smoking is bad for our health, many people use smoking as a way to reduce stress, satisfy an oral need and help keep weight off. For those who don’t smoke but feel stressed and need an oral fix, another quick, easy and available option many of us choose is to reach for food to satisfy the same needs. What’s one of the greatest differences in these two self-soothing techniques? Simply where the damage from these two choices are seen. With smoking, the damage is internal with destruction to our lungs, etc. With overeating, while the damage is internal as well (extra stress on our heart, lungs and internal organs) the majority of the damage can be seen simply when we look in the mirror.

As far as eating habits, I also noticed that these women don’t seem to snack throughout the day and when it’s time for a meal, it’s more of a beautiful, tasty, artistic experience. I didn’t see any “supersizing” “value-mealing” or “economy sizing” anywhere. In fact, I was anything but stuffed after any meal. It just proved how much extra we eat just because it’s on our plates as opposed to what our bodies really need at the time.

As far as exercise, I’d have to say that it seemed the majority of women I saw got their exercise from walking throughout the city. I didn’t notice even one fitness center besides the one in my hotel! I’m sure there were a few here and there but I can assure you that each day I w as in the gym in Paris (yes, most days I hit the treadmill before starting the day) there wasn’t anyone else in the gym with me!

What will I take away from this trip? Besides remembering an incredible experience in taking my family (including my in-laws) to Europe, I plan to go through my closet to do a little bit of spring cleaning-getting rid of the ugly, old and worn to make room for the chic, new and pretty! I also plan to take a little more time putting myself together; even if it’s only to head out to the supermarket or run a few errands. I plan on snacking less and creating more “aesthetically pleasing” meals. I plan on making a manicure, pedicure and hair appointment. Finally, I plan on finding a new perfume that makes me smell as great as I plan to look! How about you? Will you join me?

Au revoir!