I feel like I’m in a constant state of déjà-vu. Every magazine I open and every fitness blog or website I come across has the same advice. It’s never anything new – aside from the absurdity argued by Time magazine recently who claimed that exercise wouldn’t make you thin because you’re hungrier and are therefore less likely to exhibit self-control (“self-control is like a muscle: it weakens each day after you use it. If you force yourself to jog for an hour, your self-regulatory capacity is proportionately enfeebled. Rather than lunching on a salad, you’ll be more likely to opt for pizza.”) We see a series of articles in each Fitness magazine newsletter that are identical to those you see everywhere else, yet in each publication or on each blog the facts are presented as breakthroughs:

Wanna lose weight? Well it’s as simple as eating more fiber!
15 ways to eat healthy!
1. eat more fruits and vegetables (seriously? this is ALWAYS on their lists of NEW ways to get healthy)
2. limit liquid calories (obviously milkshakes and sodas fall in the no-no category. The French are good at this, they only drink coffee!)
3. eat more fiber
4. eat natural foods, not processed (yet in another article they will list the healthiest packaged foods. Little contradictory, no?)
5. snack smart (hold the donuts, pick up the carrots)

It’s almost insulting. The exercise tips are much of the same. Why do we keep feeding into this?

By this point, we all should know how to take care of ourselves properly and should know, more or less, what foods are damaging to a healthy lifestyle. We know that too much red meat isn’t healthy and that diet soda is evil. We know that we can’t spot reduce, despite how much we want to get rid of our muffin top/cellulite/thunder thighs. We know that we need to get off our butts and get active, drink lots of water, and get enough sleep. So why are people surprised to read that they should favor fruits and vegetables to 100 calorie packs of cheetos? These magazines are assuming that women everywhere are naive and suffering from short-term memory loss.

I’ve been the first to argue that Parisian women really aren’t that healthy (see my post Watching La Ligne), but those that are trim and healthy don’t freak out if their cheese isn’t fat free and they expect their pavé de boeuf to be served with a rich purée. Since I’ve been living here, I’ve adopted many different food “plans”. I’ve tried the no -more- baguette- only- fresh- whole- grain- bread thing hoping that I could stick with the bread but feel less bloated. Yea, not so successful. I’ve tried to fully indulge in the cheese, meats, and desserts but cut out snacking in between. Felt like crap. After 3 years in Paris, without the help of fitness & diet mags, I have come to the PERSONAL conclusion that I will:

not eat processed foods (unless force-fed at social events or drugged and unaware of what I’m being fed)

cut out all forms of soda (really don’t need to pump chemicals into my body, pollution is enough)

stop eating bread with every meal like the French (I’m not French and if my body says, wtf stop doing that I should probably listen).

eat dinner earlier than 8 when possible (yes, I’m guilty of being a typical American who grew up eating dinner at 6pm)

try to stop eating peanut butter out of the jar like an animal

savor my food!

You know what you need to do to feel healthy and nothing Fitness or Shape magazine writes about is really all that different from what our parents taught us! Get real.

Update: case in point, Shape magazine encouraging fast food as part of a healthy lifestyle. I could understand this being relevant if their demographic wasn’t middle to upper class women, but seriously, enough!