The Return of the Prodigal

Before coming to South Africa in May, I had sent the preceding 6 months or so sticking to the principles of French Women Don’t Get Fat. I have spoken about it on this blog and discussed this simple plan for enjoying life to the fullest and not depriving oneself while simultaneously staying healthy.

If interested in learning more about the French Women Don’t Get Fat lifestyle, visit the author’s website at frenchwomendontgetfat.com.

Anywho, upon arriving to South Africa, I began taking advantage of the leisure time and readily available food, chowing down on anything gluten-free in sight. Ironically, the culmination of my bad habits (I think) happened in France on our honeymoon (go figure), where I found myself eating massive amounts of bread and Nutella by the ladleful (not that I didn't LOVE it.).

Rather recently (as in, the last three days), I have told myself that enough is enough. It’s not that I think I am fat by any means. In fact, I think I look better than I did when I was a little too thin. But, now that I am at this happy body place, I want to keep it this way. So I’ve finally come back home. Back to the place where I know I feel good, look good, and live good… well. Mirielle’s tips and principles are so easy to follow. It’s definitely not a diet, but rather a way of living and eating so as to extract every bit of pleasure and enjoyment from every experience in life. Sounds perfect, right? Yeah, I think so too.

So, over the past few days, my eating habits have been back on track. No more sitting in the kitchen pouring bowl after bowl of granola with milk. No more eating cold food straight out of the refrigerator because I feel like it. I’m back to respecting meal time again and only eat while sitting and savoring every morsel. And I love it. On top of it all, I feel awesome at the end of the day knowing that I ate exactly what I wanted, drank what I wanted, and still feel guiltless. Ahhh, sweet freedom.

Here are some of my Franco-style eats from yesterday and today.

Sardines on rice cake with a salad

My new love= persimmon/sharon fruit. This amazing little fruit looks like a yellow tomato and tastes like jelly in a firm little casing. Uh-May-Zing.

Persimmon with carrot for a mid-afternoon snack

Breakfast of champions: black coffee with cinnamon and oats with smashed butternut squash (basically pumpkin pie oatmeal).

Salad beast: spring greens, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, 1/2 cooked potato, boiled egg, peas, and yogurt herb dressing. Yowsa.

Salad beast was followed by brie cheese, a pear, and a glass of red wine. Don't mind if I do.

Another delicious breakfast made up of yogurt with oats, a mineola (like an orange... sort of), and black coffee with cinnamon

Tomato basil soup, toast, and a slice of cheese

Greek burger (feta cheese, cumin, coriander, rosemary, thyme, and pepper) topped with caramelized onions, potato wedges, salad, and a glass of wine. I could not eat the second half of that burger due to the massive amount of grease. I could, however, eat about 10 more of those wedges. This delicious meal was followed up by some dark chocolate.

Frenchwomendontgetfat.com is a great resource for recipes, wine and cheese tips, lifestyle guidelines, clothing suggestions, and a plethora of other things. When I am feeling uninspired, browsing its pages gets me feeling motivated again. Besides, who doesn’t want to eat what they want, drink wine every day, and not over-exercise? Not me, and probably not you. The bottom line is, make your body happy and your mind happier.

Why did I ever stray?