Day 8 from France: L'appele (The Call)

From Shaboom in Paris, France:

Before I tell you what I ate today, I would like to congratulate you on finishing your first week of the French Skinny Experiment. I am sorry that F@#$%&@ WH@$& OF A NEW SCALE only reported 3 pounds of loss but I think you'll see more of a difference later on.

When I first came to France, I lost 30lbs in the first month without even trying. But I was dealing with drastic life changes... I left a one-story apartment where my boyfriend and I drank a few bottles of wine each a night (every night) to living with two completely sober people in a multiple story house. I went from processed foods to an almost entirely organic, locally-grown, in-season lifestyle. I went from driving from point A to point B every time I needed to go somewhere in LA to walking and taking the metro in Paris. All of these things alone would make a huge difference in anyone's life, but combined... well, you see what has happened.

If you're going to continue with this experiment for the next 6 months, I think you'll be interested to know my own results:

month 1 - 30 lbs, no difference in size
month 2 - 10 lbs, no difference but felt better not drinking (and no hangovers!)
month 3 - 5 lbs, clothes fitting a little looser
month 4 - 5 lbs, my face started to look different
month 5 - 5 lbs, went shopping. realized I'd lost 6 DRESS SIZES!
month 6 - 5 lbs, went down another 2 dress sizes
month 7 - 5 lbs, went down another 2 dress sizes
month 8 - back in America - this is when I first started realizing I looked different
month 9 - back in France, 5 lbs, went down another 2 dress sizes
month 10 - no change
month 11 - back in America, gained 5 lbs, no change in dress size
month 12 - back in France, no change

Remember that I stopped eating processed pre-packaged foods - no more microwaved meals, no more frozen burritos, no more instant oatmeal, no more meal supplement bars (power bars, luna bars, etc.,) no more Kraft macaroni and cheese. I was never a huge fast-food eater in The States, but I probably had one form of fast food every month or two. Not in France - not even once in the first 18 months I lived there. I stopped putting sugar in my coffee (which I drink with 2% milk) and I stopped drinking all those other sugary things - cola, iced tea, lemonade, juice, smoothies, alcohol of all forms...

I eat tons of fruits and vegetables. I never eat margarine or canola oil, only butter and olive oil. We do not eat whole wheat bread, which I ate in the US and is full of preservatives. We eat fresh bread, baked daily, mostly baguettes but also tradition, parisien, noir, complet, céréals...

Lastly, keep in mind that living in LA, I felt invisible next to all those models and movie stars. For those of you out there that have never been to LA, the majority of the people you see every day on the street are freakishly thin and attractive. I never got hit on in bars. Guys did not ask me for my number. It just didn't happen. But I didn't get too caught up in being invisible because I was in love.

Unfortunately, my long-term boyfriend was an alcoholic who wasn't attracted to me and didn't make me feel attractive or desired. We had sex as infrequently as once a year! I am not exaggerating. When I moved to France, even before my body changed and I lost the weight, men would *gasp* actually talk to me/show an interest in me/seem attracted to me. It was unbelievable. Granted, some of them went a little overboard, but it was a nice change of pace.

Now, since I've lost the weight, the attention I get is unlike anything I could ever describe. It's not always a good thing. I really noticed a difference was when I was most recently back in LA and I was walking to my car in heals and a dress and I literally stopped traffic at one intersection and almost caused an accident at another intersection. Don't worry, no one got hurt!

So, without further ado, here's today's menu...

Pesto pasta and chicken for breakfast at 3pm. (I had a peach yogurt for dessert.) Hey, when Obsessed! doesn't bring me breakfast in bed and he actually asks what I feel like eating, this is all I can come up with. I'm not really a breakfast person. Back in LA when my girlfriends and I would go to Swingers, they'd order omelets and pancakes while I'd get the cob salad or a cheeseburger.

10pm lunch of fruit (pear, banana, clementine) and a bowl of rice with spicy tomato sauce, chicken, veggies (cauliflower, corn, cucumbers,) and egg whites. Dessert was a strawberry yogurt. A glass of water.

Delicious crêpe (béchamel sauce, corn, ham, cheese) with salad (oil & vinegar) for dinner at 5am. I know, my internal clock is upside down. No I don't have jet lag. No I don't have any children. No I don't live in California anymore.



Some hard licorice candies and a glass of Earl Grey tea.

Did a zillion loads of laundry, so went up and down stairs A LOT. Walked 4 kilometers.

I finally fell asleep at 7am. Thank the Lord.