VOILA, I DID IT! SHARE YOUR SUCCESS
Cheryl M
POSTED: Fri, 01/15/2010 - 11:38pm
Introduction
Hi All, I've been reading here and enjoying all the info on this wonderful site. Thanks. My story...I'm 48 years young, was feeling heavy, eating large portions of (very good) food and my pants and skirts were too tight. I re-read FWDGF and decided to begin with the leek soup. The morning of 11/2/2009, weighing in at 146, (I'm only 5 ft. 2 inches tall) I made a large pot of leek soup. On 11/2 and 11/3, I drank broth and gagged down the slimy leeks, urinated lots and had a bit of diarrhea (sorry, TMI)...on the morning of 11/4, I was down to a weight of 140! I was VERY motivated to continue applying the principles of Mirelle's wonderful book. I purchased a scale and began weighing meat portions, measuring veggies and carbs, and discovered how delicious my food is by appreciating every bite . This morning, 1/15/2010, I weighed 131! I've increased my water consumption, decreased my portion sizes, pretty much cut out sugar...except for small desserts on occasion. I read Robert Arbor's "Joie de Vivre" (and loved it!) I'm now reading Mirelle's "French Women for All Seasons" and love it too! My clothes are fitting very differently, my skin and hair looks healthier and I feel awesome! I started making my own yogurt and even purchased some tablecloths and candles (unscented) to dress up our dinner table and then I purchased a beautiful set of Duralex Picardi glasses. I wanted our table setting and appearance as "French" as possible. :) The Christmas holidays were hard as my husband was on vacation most of December and our two college boys were home for mid-semester break...and they were always hungry and wanted lots of dessert. During that time I did eat a bit off and didn't lose any weight, but didn't gain any either. Now that those days are behind me and hubster is back working and the college boys back at their dorms, I can concentrate more on me. This has been a wonderful experience for me and I hope to continue it forever...I've realized I simply do not need the quantity of food I was unconsciously eating and I was not consuming enough water. Thank you, Mirelle! Blessings, Cheryl M.MIREILLE'S CALENDAR
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Genevieve Evangeline
POSTED: Mon, 09/05/2011 - 1:01pm
40 pounds later
It has been over one year, and I have kept the weight off. I am hypothryroid and up until now, nothing has worked. It seems I have been on a diet since I was a teen. I am 40 years old, and haven't looked like this since I was 25 when I used to do the Miss America circuit. All together I have lost 60 pounds. I feel like I have gotten my life back, but even better. I don't exercise. I take the stairs, greek dance with friends, and go shopping. I enjoy all the "no-nos" my friends avoid. I am surpised at how my palate has changed. I used to drink a pot of coffee, and never felt satisfied. Now, I have a cup of x-tra bold roast French or Italian coffee, with half & half. I find that I rarely finish the whole cup, however, I no longer like regular coffee as it has no flavor. Bread used to be an addiction of mine. Now I only buy the best, have a little with real butter or garlic & olive oil, and that is enough, it is an nice addition to a meal. Regular bread has no flavor. And chocolate, only the darkest, richest chocolate will do, and after a little bit, when the thrill is over...I'm done. Boxed food, and fast food just seems so...disappointing. I am now willing to wait until I can have a wonderful meal, although if I want something like McDonalds, I get my kids meal, enjoy it without guilt and move on. This has been great!kit
POSTED: Thu, 09/15/2011 - 11:37pm
Wow! Well done...
Thank you for the great post and for sharing so much of your journey. You are so correct, the "only the best" philosophy gives new meaning to "living well". Within the constraints of our budget, I seek out the best, most fragrant sourdough bread I can afford, for example, because if I'm going to have bread it needs to be one piece of something worthwhile. Sometimes, like this past week, I was feeling sad and found myself eating little things here and there when I wasn't even hungry. And as you said, sometimes if I didn't plan well enough in advance, I share McNuggets with my grandson. But most of the time, it is so freeing to eat well only until full and look for every opportunity to walk, walk, walk!Viva la Diva
POSTED: Thu, 09/15/2011 - 11:46am
Congratulations! I loved
Congratulations! I loved reading your post, so inspiring that changes can keep happening. I needed a reminder to stay ahead of my indulgences. Cheers!blondetaz
POSTED: Fri, 09/09/2011 - 4:46pm
Congrats
What a wonderful story. I, too, have found that the French way of living is the only way for me to keep my weight in the proper place. I'm a little over right now because I just came back to this way of being...but very soon I'll fit into those skinny jeans again. I am so happy for you. SherieVintage1944
POSTED: Fri, 09/09/2011 - 12:20am
Great story
You have done a wonderful job.Congrats and welcome.JeanAva
POSTED: Thu, 09/08/2011 - 5:41am
Well done!
It does take time and is a whole new learning curve, but eventually you do realise that really good, enjoyable food is worth waiting for (and I don't mean junk food!)When you know you'll be satisfied with delicious food (just less of it), you know it's worth holding back on the snacks and junk. In fact you get to a point (as you have), whereby most pre-made food tastes (and is) substandard. I love cooking from scratch and really feel the benefit from doing so; not only in the taste (and healthy content) but in my ever decreasing waistline!
I too used to be disappointed with prepacked food, to the point where I'd spend ages in the supermarket - reading every box and putting it back again, only to go and buy the fresh ingredients to start from scratch. I hate Frankenstein foods with ingredients that read like science experiment lists!
Bon Appétit!
jas
POSTED: Tue, 09/06/2011 - 8:10am
Congratulations
Yeah Genievive....it is great to get your life back.Marilyn
POSTED: Tue, 09/06/2011 - 7:04am
Well done
That is an amazing feat. I must reread the book as I have a few pounds that have crept back on and will not go. I'm 64 and finding it more difficult to keep on track. I should follow the advice I give others!!snorklee
POSTED: Mon, 09/05/2011 - 1:40pm
Brava!
It is an amazing way of life, and you have made it yours. Congratulations!ChristineE
POSTED: Fri, 06/10/2011 - 10:27am
Hello All!
I just found this particular conversation. I like that there's a place to say hello and introduce oneself. I'm in my mid-forties, married to my college sweetheart, two kids (21 and 18 yrs), with a dog. I stumbled onto this website looking for wardrobe tips. That led to looking for tips on looking more put together, which led to looking more European, and voila! I was here. I read both FWDGF and FFAS recently and am working on integrating the principles into our lives. Going very well, I found I already did many of them. Snacking seems to be my downfall and I'm making a great effort to not do it. Also I have been drinking the water before bed and upon waking, and noticing a big difference! I used to wake with a headache and I haven't all week!! I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you! ChristineMarietjie
POSTED: Fri, 03/26/2010 - 5:11am
Hallo, I'm kind of new...
Hi, this morning I finally got enough courage to actually say hi to all of you. I'm 23 years old and from South Africa. I started reading this site about 2 months ago and I literally printed all of Mereille's articles out to read at home. I have not bought any of her books, but plan to as soon as possible. I have been enjoying all your conversations and you have helped me a lot with my thoughts regarding food. I love food, but it has to be really good, I don't just want to eat anything, it has to be worthwhile. I am still learning a lot about living healthy and balanced, I still struggle a bit, always trying to set up rules regarding my eating habits. I tend to be a perfectionist and sometimes I find that I get into habits regarding food. I guess it gets a bit boring after a while, but also I can get a bit restrictive and then it is difficult to relax again. I guess what I am trying to say is that I still need to learn how to enjoy my food without stressing about it the whole time. It's getting better though, thankfully. Nice to finally talk to you...Vintage1944
POSTED: Tue, 03/30/2010 - 8:02am
Welcome
To both of you lovely "French"women in South Africa.Enjoyed reading both your posts.Post again soon please.JeanViola
POSTED: Sat, 03/27/2010 - 8:50am
Welkom Marietjie,
I am also fairly new to this site - joined earlier this week.. and.. I am also from South Africa! I share a bit of your frustration in being too restrictive about my eating habits - I hope we can share ideas on how to find a middle ground. Looking forward to hearing more from you.. Regards, Lily-Annejas
POSTED: Fri, 03/26/2010 - 4:12pm
hallo Marietjie
Welcome, something giggly and exciting came through me as I was reading your post...so reading us from South Africa... And you are at home here. I used to be so rigid with food, and afraid of food, and learning to relax and enjoy is a new way. So feel free to share your struggles and your successes. I keep learning more and more about listening to my body and respecting my body. I look forward to hearing more, if you want to share. Jasmarshqueen
POSTED: Mon, 03/01/2010 - 4:55am
Congradulations and advise needed
Hi there! It's wonderful to hear that you've had so much success. I'm 26, and recently left my home country to teach in Japan. I was at my ideal weight and for the first time felt comfortable in my body. I thought I would get to Japan, and thorough the magic of sushi, become a super model. Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration, but I certainly didn't expect to gain weight. Despite the image of Japan as a super-healthy place, with skinny people, the average meals are not kind to the waistline. First, there were the school lunches, which I got to fit in with the rest of the staff. Most days these are pretty awful and average at around 800 calories. They also set off bad eating patterns for the rest of the day. I have since stopped getting them, and rather pack my own lunch - which is usually a salad or left-overs. 7 months later, and I'm 10kgs (about 20 pounds) heavier. At first I put this down to adjustment. The culture shock would often display itself in exhaustion at the end of the day, with no energy to tackle the overwhelming super markets and so I began eating a lot of bread - which was simple to make in the evenings. Second, Japan is a nation of beer and whiskey drinkers. There's a system in most restaurants called "nomi hodi" - literally, drink as much as you can. you pay a flat fee, and for two hours you drink. Unfortunately, if you go with a group of people, and they all want to do a nomi hodi, most restaurants won't let you start up a separate bill. This is where I need advise. Before I came here, I had a lot of good habits. Now, I'm finding it very difficult to navigate my new environment. I want to go out to dinner with friends, but if it's a nomi hodi, how do I manage this situation? Should I just not go while I'm recasting? Does anyone have any advise in general on how to adjust to a completely new environment, where your old strategies need an overhaul because they simply don't fit the new place that you're in?jas
POSTED: Mon, 03/01/2010 - 10:58am
Bema and marshqueen
wow, I sure had the wrong impression of Japan. First are you happy there? Are you able to focus on yourself or are you giving to others all the time? If your self care and self focus isn't strong and centered then in my experience nothing will work. I am very focused on losing weight right now. Frankly it is my number one focus. I want to fully like myself and be happy with myself, and for the first time in my adult years maybe my life, I'm getting there. I was big into deprivation diets...I was unhappy, constantly craving, and unsuccessful. I made a commitment to myself and things started to come in to help. Mireille's book was given to me, being active on this web site, then discovering a detox that fit for me (the leek thing is way to severe for me...it would be back to my deprivation mindset)Taking a good look at yourself and working from the inside out has been essential for me. There is more I could say but later, I supposemarshqueen
POSTED: Mon, 03/01/2010 - 7:54pm
Self care
Hey, Thanks for your reply. It's made me take a look at how I've been looking after myself in general the last few months. I really enjoy living in Japan. It's very different from my home country (South Africa), and every day is filled with little adventures. Because I'm still learning the language, I mostly don't understand a lot of what is going on around me, but then one day a few of the puzzle pieces will fit, and that's incredibly exciting. I also love the international community here - at any given time, I will be surrounded by people from the UK, US, Australia, Jamaica, Ireland, Canada, Scotland...you get the picture. Winter has been difficult. On one hand, it was the first time I had ever experienced snow, and I fell in love with it. On the other hand, I had come from Winter in South Africa (which can also get pretty cold and dreary, even without snow) and went straight into two months of Summer, then I was plunged back into Winter again (except the turbo version). I was not used to leaving home in the mornings in the dark, only to return at 4.30pm...in the dark. As the days get lighter now, I realize how much that effected me. I have always been a fairly active person, but December became a month of getting home and watching English TV on my laptop until I went to bed (of course eating to relieve my boredom). Not a lot of soul nurturing going on. As the weight began creeping on, I began to think of little else, and my days are often a constant barrage of self-loathing thoughts. I'm also terrible at going to bed at a decent time. When I first got here, I was usually in bed by 10 or 11pm. Slowly, it's crept to 12 (sometimes later), so that I'm lucky if I'm getting 5 hours of sleep. This is not because I'm busy or working, it's lack of discipline and the "I'll manage tomorrow, I always do" thinking. Reading "French Women Don't Get Fat" made me realize that I spend a lot of time thinking about what's wrong with me, or ways that I should be improving myself, but very little time (none, if I'm honest with myself) of what delights me, or gives me pleasure.bema
POSTED: Mon, 03/01/2010 - 1:51am
weight loss
Hi, How did you did it? My weight is 145, should be 130, can't loose a pound, even wit exercise.jas
POSTED: Sat, 03/27/2010 - 7:55am
Balance of pleasure and self control
I find it is constant focus and awareness to balance pleasure and self control. I am hungry often, but it is a nice kind of hunger, I like the hunger to build up before eating a meal. Then when I do eat, I still keep things small and in control (if I can, I rather should say I'm still working on this). I drink green drinks, two a day, and they really help me. The provide lots of nutrients that my body craves. I find I need less food and crave less when I drink them. I also try (not always successfully) to drink lots of water. The more I drink the less hungry I am. I also find times in the day where my focus fades and a sweet will catch my eye or enter my mind (I do have sweets a few times a week, just not often) and I notice it, pay attention to what I am feeling and usually go back to refocusing on what I want. I call it "bypassing those cravings that come along"Jeanette
POSTED: Tue, 03/09/2010 - 1:21pm
My best friend has had
My best friend has had AMAZING success using the Budwig Cream Detox. She actually has it for breakfast every day and then eats sensibly the rest of the day. Occaionally she'll have one piece of chocolate, or a small Starbucks mocha or 4 tater tots (one of her faves), but since she's been eating the Budwig Cream every morning, she's lost 18 pounds since January 1st. Her system is working properly again and the Budwig Cream is a complete meal, so she always starts her day off super healthy in a good way. In fact, I'm going to go pick up the stuff for it today! I'm needing a good detox.JoanneR
POSTED: Mon, 02/22/2010 - 7:56am
Triumph!
Hello again everyone! Thank you for your kind words and welcome! I just wanted to post something quickly as I am so excited! Since last week I have started to fully embrace the French way of cooking and eating for pleasure, balancing this (as you all know!) with movement and I am amazed at the results already!During January and February, I had been recasting and although eating well had been careful with my "offenders" but since last week I have been re-introducing them carefully. I spent a fantastic weekend shopping (at the farmers' market bien sur) and cooking and eating and upon a routine check up at the doctor this morning discovered I have actually lost weight through this week and weekend of....enjoyment!
Although I did not have too much weight to lose at the beginning of my journey I knew that I wanted to feel healthier and "bien dans ma peau" - thank you Mireille for showing me the healthiest and most pleasurable way to do this.
Bisous
Jo
JoanneR
POSTED: Thu, 02/18/2010 - 12:40pm
Another new girl :o)
Bonjour tout le monde :o) My story is a little different from Cheryl's, but my goal is the same! I have been a fan of Mireille and her books for a year now and have enjoyed making the recipes and trying to embrace the philosophy - I have completed my period of re-casting which I admit was not so pleasant as I was very strict with myself :o( Now is the time however to start again to re-introduce my "offenders" (but slowly and in moderation!) Having discovered this support / community group just today I feel I stand a much better chance! One of the main concepts that I feel is so helpful (though tricky to master at first) is the idea of compensation AFTER having your treat - but with walking (which I so enjoy) I feel this is much easier! Like Mireille says - faire simple! Yesterday I had a compensation triumph by accepting a beautiful home made (small!) slice of chocolate cake from a colleague and I did not stress about it, I enjoyed it and later walked home from work (5km) rather than catch the bus. I enjoyed the walk so it did not feel like compensation! Today is my next step on the road to equilibre - I bought a yogurt maker! I will update you.... Bisous Jojas
POSTED: Mon, 02/22/2010 - 9:33am
Yeah Joanee
It sounds like you are feeling happy and joyous with the new you. Have you read any other books? I have really been enjoying reading the gamut of french women books...Your inner french girl, by Debra Ollive, (I'm not sure I have her last name quite right) also now Jamie Cat Callahan on French Women don't Sleep alone, oh and I also loved The art of being a woman by V. Viennejas
POSTED: Sat, 02/20/2010 - 5:37pm
welcome Joanne and Cheryl
Hello, This is a wonderful site and I'm glad you are here. this site and the wonderful women in it have given me a great deal of support. I too think this new way is a challenge. It is hard for me every day to use self control. I love the pleasure and focusing on pleasure, however I now realize, thanks to Mireille, pleasure and self control have to go together.frenchy
POSTED: Thu, 02/18/2010 - 8:04pm
Welcome to the group
Joanne and might I say well done on your progress so far. It is a pretty amazing way to live and I am so thankful for the FWDGF books. I look forward to reading more of your postings. DeborahKelly11
POSTED: Sun, 02/14/2010 - 7:03pm
FABULOUS!!
Cheryl congratulations! Would you mind sharing what you daily meal plan looks like on average? I am starting again and looking for some ideas from those who have been fabulously successful!Cheryl M
POSTED: Thu, 02/18/2010 - 9:54pm
My plan is a very simple one...
Dear newbeginner2009, Sorry, but I really don't have a fancy meal plan. I start the day with water and a cup of coffee. A couple hours later (approx. 8:30a.m.) I have 1/2 cup of homemade yogurt topped with a bit of walnuts and frozen blueberries. Sometimes I have a fried egg. More water thru the morning. At lunch I eat a small salad with a bit of leftover meat from last night's dinner and a few almonds. If I have a mid-afternoon snack it is usually an apple or a few crackers with peanut butter or an ounce of cheese. More water. Dinner is when we eat together as a family when everyone returns home for the day. This is where I get myself in trouble. :( I have to really weigh my meat portion and measure my other servings to stay on track. I usually have a small salad, a serving of meat, and a vegetable serving. A few times a week, I'll have a small amount of pasta or rice. Most days I don't eat anything else after our evening meal until the next day...just water or sometimes a cup of hot tea. I record everything I eat during the day in a small Moleskine journal and can really see what offenders are still (pardon the pun) weighing me down. :) In our area we just went through the New Orleans Saints winning the Superbowl and Mardi Gras...there has been entirely too much King Cake in this house and I'm so happy that Lent is finally here. Good luck to you in your efforts.jas
POSTED: Sat, 01/23/2010 - 10:18am
your story
Hi Cheryl I enjoyed reading your story. Thanks for sharing, I hope you will continue to share more.Cheryl M
POSTED: Sat, 01/16/2010 - 6:33pm
You All Are Wonderful!! Thanks!
I really appreciate the lovely welcome and comments! Mirelle, I really need to incorporate more movement into my routine. I walk and bicycle some...but need to do more. I live in the south and we won't have cold weather for too much longer, so I'm looking forward to getting out more. Cheryl M.Vintage1944
POSTED: Sat, 01/16/2010 - 9:53pm
Let me join...
the others in welcoming you and congratulating you on your success.Well done and it is super to have you with us.Jean