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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
There is a reason why over 60% of Americans are overweight and not all of them have genetic conditions. You don't need to assume that I think less of people for being overweight, I am merely saying that in some cases it's avoidable and is a result of decisions people make. I don't care what decisions other people make, I care about what decisions I can make for myself. [/quote]

This.
Sure she sounds harsh and politically incorrect but it IS the truth. I get what OP is asking - given that we age, there are some aspects of physical decline that ARE avoidable and we like to sugar coat it.

[b]Look at women (and men for that matter) from some other countries. French and Japanese women for example. They walk, take public transit, have more active and clean lifestyles, eat more natural foods and eat LESS. And they stay thin and tight well into their 40s and 50s and after having children.[/b]

The problem is not only everyday choices from laziness but the American WAY OF LIFE. Too many hours in the office, too much driving, too many convenience food options, natural food too expensive. In other countries natural food is the default. It is possible to live like Japanese or French women in America but it is much more difficult, inconvenient, and expensive. And for some it might be near impossible. You could argue that socialist countries like Norway and Sweden are also more conducive to healthy aging, because they have free healthcare and better work/life balance.

So, in short, OP, it is possible to keep your figure or close to it while you age, but you have to opt out of the standard American lifestyle. The best way to do that is move abroad.  :thumbup: [/quote]

Ok, I can’t speak to Japanese women, but French women stay thin, in part, because they smoke. There’s a French woman on this board who denies it, but I’ve been to France multiple times in the past few years, and to my right and left, every time, French women are puffing away. So it’s not all about having a “clean” lifestyle, it’s also about appetite reduction through nicotine. [/quote]

Also, most French women are thin, but not necessarily “tight” as PP said - they generally don’t work out as much or weight train as is popular in America, and although they may walk more in daily life, many are what people here like to call “skinny fat.” And yes, they smoke to suppress appetite.

The idealization of other cultures is tiresome. [/quote]

I agree. They are often skinny fat.  [/quote]

I am probably the french woman PP mentioned who always denies cigarette is the (only) reason why french women are thin .. so i’ll Come repeat my line ;). I always recognize how much french women in Parisian cafe smoke. A lot. You can compare that to NY women 10 years ago, my guess is it is somewhat similar levels. Now:
1- there is a difference between social smoking and daily smokes, french women are reducing their consumption every year. What you see on Parisian terrasse is not representative of what those same women smoke everyday. Social smoking on WEs is a big thing in Paris. But no question french women still smoke way more than Americans.
2- all of my girlfriends who are now mothers and over 35 stopped smoking when they had their first kids around 30, and those former smokers are still rail thin... my sisters in law and my mom never smoke and they are still rail thin. When I go home I am comparatively fat (and at 5”5, 116 pounds I know I am not)
4- you are all right on the fact that they are however skinny with no muscle tone. And more often skinny fat. Fitness and muscles are not a thing. The ideal look is not the same as in the USand nobody on this thread would want a french woman body.

But to conclude, stop thinking the reason you are not thin is because you are virtuous enough not to smoke. French women just don’t eat as much, period. Some use cigarettes as an appetite suppressant but it is not the main explanation. It is a cultural standard. And if you are used not to eat a lot you are not as hungry. Japanese women do the same. In both cultures it is fine to feel hungry between meals, and to embrace the empty stomach feeling. Here if you say that people think you are anorexic.[/quote]

Just adding to my post : I fully agree that idealization of other cultures is tiresome ... it can be interesting to learn from differences but there is no perfect model and as a french woman I personally love the fitness and health oriented American model. (My french friends are highly amused by the amount of time I spend explaining to them the benefits of HIT, paleo diet, Pilates or spirulina..)[/quote]

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