French women and men

The French have an admirable attitude about food -- quality over quantity -- and I think that's the key to eating well and maintaining your weight. But for me it would be difficult to forgo the super-sized American portion. During my daughter's year abroad in Paris, her French family didn't appear to worry about weight and they invariably concluded every meal with a cheese course -- a habit that I heartily endorse. She noticed that the French in general turn up their noses at the notion of "diet food" and refuse to eat it. However, the alternative seemed to be starvation. Her French sister-in-law, who was a few pounds overweight and wanted to slim down, eschewed diet food like the rest of her compatriots but instead ate nothing at all -- at most a few nibbles off her plate. She also learned that French women do have eating disorders, but unlike here, it's not acknowledged or discussed.

The fact that their food is fresher, unpasteurized and unprocessed makes it tastier, healthier, more satisfying and, I am convinced, less fattening. We can certainly take a page out of their book. Plus the women are so elegant.

On the other hand, French men are simply too tiny. Who wants to be with a man whose waist is smaller than yours? And when it comes to romance, they're a little too slick and polished for my tastes. I actually prefer the bumbling, fumfering American schlub.