Losing Weight in France - Revisited

I’m guest posting at Mademoiselle Slimalicious, retelling the story of how I got motivated to lose weight after moving to France.  Mademoiselle Slimalicious is French and lives in Australia and has some great tips on weight loss the French way, so do pop over to her website and have a browse.  I’m sure you’ll find some good tips there and interesting interviews with Mireille Guiliano, author of “French Women Don’t Get Fat” and Sally Asher, author of “Losing It in France”.

It’s 14 months on now from when I first decided enough is enough and so I thought it would be interesting to review how I’m feeling about my weight now.  Well, the winter is always the hardest time for me (and just about every other woman I know), so I have gained a few pounds, but am still 1 ½ stone lighter than I was in January 2011 and I’m happy with that. 

My attitudes to food have changed for good.  The emphasis now is far more on eating healthily.  I do indulge myself occasionally, but if I have a treat of a cake or something, I’ll make sure to cut back on something else the next day to make up for it.  I’m aiming to have 1 week a month where I’m stricter with myself which helps to keep me on track. 

How to beat Lethargy

I am so brimming with ideas at the moment, I think I might burst!  It’s snowing outside and I’ve had an enforced stay at home this morning.  So, I’ve been taking this opportunity to make the beds and sort the washing (even managed to marry 25 pairs of odd socks, only another 25 to go!).  While my body has been catching up on some household chores, my mind has been brimming over with  ideas on things like – how to revitilise our gites, new business ventures, decorating projects, marketing plans, new chapters for the books I’m writing.  I’m going to have to write them all down while they’re fresh in my mind. 

It’s so strange because only a few days ago, I was the complete opposite, slumped in a chair watching dribble on TV feeling positively lethargic.  (Can you be positively lethargic?  I think perhaps negatively lethargic is more accurate a description).  We had just come back from a lovely couple of days away in Spain mixing business and pleasure without the children.  We visited new suppliers for our Garden Centre in the Spanish mountains and brought some new stock.  We took advantage of the fantastic deals in January by staying at a 4 star hotel with views over a private beach.  We watched the sun rise over the sea, relaxed in the spa, ate some wonderful food, drank some wine, had time to talk without the usual interruptions.  It was wonderful.