Why Europeans Aren’t Fat

What we see around us everyday we come to view as normal. Take on a new perspective and all that changes. This is why travel used to be considered an essential part of education.

I have been performing my hypnosis show on a cruise ship in Europe this past week. It has been awesome (honestly, I can hardly believe I get paid to do this stuff!). I’ve seen many wonders of the ancient world (the Colosseum in Rome, The Leaning Tower of Pisa, the ruins of Pompeii). And everywhere I go there is sumptuous local food to sample (gelato in Monaco, grilled octopus in Greece, Pizza in Naples). And everything tastes different than it does in America.

Even the familiar foods taste different. Pizza tastes different, The crusts are thinner and the sauces less sweet. There are no fast food restaurants that I have seen. Instead they have little shops open to the street that have freshly prepared sandwiches and baguettes behind glass. Not burgers and fries. In general, the foods are served in smaller portions, are less sugary, and are more commonly made from locally grown ingredients. They are NOT of full of additives and preservatives and chemicals. They are simple, fresh, and local. Perhaps it’s no small coincidence that I have seen very few overweight Europeans in these areas.

Undoubtably, the fact that they get outside and walk more has something to do with this as well. You don’t see everyone staring at TVs or laptop screens or plugged into cell phones and iPods. They are actually walking around and talking with one another. But I digress.

Many places I’ve been to in the world have a leaner, fitter population than the United States. I notice this every time I’m in Australia and New Zealand too. I think we’re slowly killing ourselves in the States with the foods we eat and the lifestyles we lead. Personally I’d rather pay a bit more for my food and only eat fresh food  than consume all the chemicals that most of our prepackaged foods now contain.

One hundred twenty million Americans are now considered obese (according to the government’s own statistics). That’s a third of our population. Many of these people will develop other disease as a result of this condition, like diabetes, heart disease, and certain kinds of cancer. This is not the case in Europe and most of the rest of the world. We’re doing this to ourselves. It’s time to do something about this…

• Don’t eat something just because it’s cheap or it’s fast or it’s convenient.
• Don’t eat it just because it’s on your plate and you feel compelled to finish it.
• Eat it because it’s what your body needs to replenish itself and restore it’s energy.
• Learn to reconnect your mind with your body.
• Learn what it’s like to feel satisfied after a meal instead of stuffed full.
• Learn what a real tomato tastes like.
• Take back your life.

What you see around you isn’t normal, it’s the sad result of the disconnection of our minds from our bodies and our bodies from the land on which we live. We’ve been trained to think that following diets and counting calories are the roadmaps to fitness and good health. It’s much simpler than that.

Visit the Greek Isles or Cote d’Azur in France and you’ll see that  you can be absolutely perfectly satisfied with a freshly baked baguette, some olive oil, herbs, and tomatoes picked from from the garden out back, with perhaps a a small bit of protein and a single glass of red wine. Consume slowly with a beautiful companion and enjoy while overlooking the sea on a sun drenched afternoon.

No rules. Just life as it was meant to be lived. Simple, satisfying, and free.

Excerpted from “The Weight Loss Hypnosis Solution”
(August, 2008 from New You Publishing).

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NOTE: Comments are now closed. Here is what was posted…

MAX

HI JOSHUA,

I WAS ON THE CUISE BEFORE THE ONE YOU TOOK
LAST WEEK. WE STARTED IN VENICE, WENT TO GREEK ISLANDS, TURKEY AND ENDED IN ROME. AS FAR AS FOOD WAS CONCERNED VENICE WAS A DISASTER. THE FOOD WAS VERY VERY EXPENSIVE AND NOT GOOD TASTING OR FRESH AT ALL, AS A MATTER OF FACT, I GOT FOOD POISONING. THE COOKED VEGETABLES WERE OLD TASTING AND SATURATED WITH OLIVE OIL. I COULD MAKE A BETTER AND HEALTHIER SAUCE IF I JUST OPENED A JAR OF RAGU. WE HAD TO EAT LUNCH AT BURGER KING BECAUSE EVERYTHING ELSE WAS SO BAD TASTING AND EXPENSIVE. WE LOVED THE FOOD ON THE SHIP (PRINCESS) AND WERE CAREFUL NOT TO OVEREAT.
IT WAS A RELIEF.

I AM FROM CALIFORNIA AND HAVE ACCESS TO FRESH FARMERS MARKET TYPE FOOD ALL THE TIME. MUCH BETTER AND INEXPENSIVE THAN ANYTHING WE SAW IN ANY COUNTRY ON THE ENTIRE TRIP. MANY PEOPLE IN CALIFORNIA ARE HEALTH ORIENTED COMPARED TO THE REST OF THE U.S.

IN ANY CASE, I AGREE THAT ITS THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS EATING THAT IS IMPORTANT.

P.S. I BOUGHT YOUR CD’S ON THE CRUISE AND HAVE BEEN ENJOYING THEM.
REGARDS,
MAX

Nat

Josh,
i have only one thing to say:
 
waaaaaaaaaaaahhhh-waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh (crying!)
now you took me back in my memory to when i used to enjoy food so much, it was almost like i “lived to eat”!

Grace

Hello Mr. Seth,
I completely agree that many of us in the USA need to lay off the nasty food. I know where I live (Southern California) it is pretty easy to find a Farmer’s Market with tons of fresh produce that has been locally grown. Most of it is the same price or cheaper than the foods found in a grocery store.

Also, if you become a regular customer to some of the vendors, and they get to know your face and know you are going to be returning, you can cut some pretty good deals with them.
I know you said that you’d rather pay more for healthy food, but it’s really not paying more. Lots of people don’t realize that they are going to pay much more (w/medical expenses) later in life for all that cheap fast food that wasn’t as expensive as the healthy stuff.

Also, I’ve noticed that a lot of parents misunderstand what foods are really healthy for their children. Just because a sugar-laden “fruit snack” says it is loaded with vitamin C, they buy it and think they are keeping their kids healthy. A lot of children don’t even know what real fruit taste like because it has never been put out on the table as an option for a snack. I feel a lot of people are the way they are now because, sadly, they have lived this way since childhood. That’s one of the reasons the younger American population is in worse and worse health.

I know my response is very lengthy, but I have one more thing (I promise it’s a short question). What do we do if we are mistakenly told we are obese? The reason I ask is because I recently saw a documentary where a girl was weighed, measured, and even given a strength test by the doctors who run the tests on Olympic athletes. They told her she was within what is a healthy weight and fat percentage range. Then she went to some random doctor in the US and he asked her height and weight and “calculated” that she was “obese”. Looking at her, it was obvious she wasn’t even overweight. Why was she told she was obese? I don’t think that calculating some numbers w/o even stopping to look at the patient, and then shoving “medication” in their face to “help them lose weight” is really helping the situation in America either. I think that’s something that has to change as well.

Again, sorry for the lengthy reply. By the way, I’m very jealous that you got some REAL pizza!
-Grace

Jeanine Kraemer B

There are, in fact,a few fast food restaurants in Europe but Europeans have contempt for them because they know the food is precooked, frozen and not fresh or local. I would also like to say that the whole mentality in regard to food is different in Europe. People do not go out to a restaurant to gorge themselves or to get the most food for the least amount of money like Americans do. There are no buffet, all-you-can-eat type restauraunts. People want simple, fresh food that is well prepared that they can savour (not devour) while enjoying an interesting conversation. That is the point of dining out in Europe.

Tom Teece

Thanks for mentioning that Euopeans eat foods “more commonly made from locally grown ingredients”. It not only makes them healthier than Americans, it makes our entire world healthier by reducing the carbon emissions that are produced in transporting foods over long distances. Could it be that the Europeans are smarter too?

Europe a la Carte Blog

[...] Joshua sounds like a fascinating character who used to do voices for cartoons in Holywood and then decided on a change of career to hypnotist. What a great way to see the world while working on cruise ships. [...]

Jon – The DC Traveler

I suspect they also don’t use the high fructose corn sweetners in everything like we do in the U.S.
 

Joshua Seth

RESPONSES TO THE COMMENTS BELOW:

Jeanine – Great point “savour (not devour)”. In fact, that’s one of the primary suggestions I deliver in my weight loss hypnosis CDs. You hit the nail on the head!

Grace – You are right. You’re not really paying more for fresh food because you’re saving yourself from health problems later on down the road. As for your question, I use a digital BMI monitor along with a scale at my weight loss seminars on land. People tend to over report their height and under report their weight, so if you just do a mathematical calculation is likely to be inaccurate.

Nat – The more you enjoy your food the less of it you’ll have to eat to become satisfied.

Max – I didn’t go to Venice. I’ve heard it’s become a big tourist trap though. I’ll be there in October and will heed your words of caution!

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