Thursday, April 29, 2010

Time to lose weight!


This scale, that I photographed in the Luxembourg gardens is always a mystery to me. Why on earth would someone weigh himself/herself there?! Mind you, I never saw anyone step on it, so I guess they are not that successful  ;-) Anyway... For your information, like I already mentioned it, French people gain more and more weight. According to the main study on this topic, 14% of French people are obese, against only 8% in 1997... As for me, I have a good 5 kilos to lose by the beginning of the summer!

35 comments:

  1. Tell me about it! I won't be stepping on this scale any time soon, that's for sure—not until I've lost . . . well never mind, it's too depressing.

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  2. It's a shame what you say. Perhaps the French are eating more fast food and processed things—that's how we Americans got to be the fatties we are.

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  3. finally embraced the fact that i had a few lbs. to lose, and lost them....mind you i exercise like crazy also to keep them off....... i am wondering.......are gyms very popular in paris?

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  4. @Alexa. Well I don't know really. I've been reading a lot about weight loss in my life, but I still don't know how it really works!

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  5. @Donna. Yes gyms are pretty popular, but I don't know what percentage of the population actually goes to them regularly.

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  6. Get off that scooter and hoof it up and down those Metro steps!!

    I was in Paris for only 48 hours last trip and lost 5 pounds. It's a magical place.

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  7. I think that, like clocks, scales used to be put out in public places for public use. There is another one, green and smaller than this, on the side of Notre Dame that faces the Left Bank.

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  8. It is odd that someone put a scale in this spot. there has to be some explanation. either that or whoever put it there has a funny sense of humor and just did it to make people wonder.
    I remember there used to be a scale in our local variety store. you could find out your weight for a nickel.

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  9. Lily - we had one in our general store in one of the towns I lived in, too! I don't think scales were mass-produced until early or mid-century, so before that, people didn't have them in their homes. I imagine, too, that people weren't so number consious or so private about measuring their wieght in those days.

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  10. Then you'll absolutely want to read this article in the May 2010 issue of Scientific American that states (fairly conclusively): Eating Fats is Not the Problem, Eating Refined Carbohydrates is the Cause of Obesity, Diabetes, and Heart Failure!

    Carbs against Cardio: More Evidence that Refined Carbohydrates, not Fats, Threaten the Heart

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  11. I don't know why the link above isn't working, so try this link below; if that doesn't work then just go to scientificamerican.com...

    Carbs against Cardio: More Evidence that Refined Carbohydrates, not Fats, Threaten the Heart

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  12. I read that 50% of the U.S. population has one or more of the following: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes.

    Not to mention the obesity rate, which is ever climbing.

    Yes, Suzy, me too: I lose five to ten pounds every time I spend a week in Europe. And, believe me, I eat!

    Five kilos? Eric, that's a proud goal. If you do that before I see you, I will do your cartoon dance with you! Bring your cameras, folks!

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  13. I have a really vague recollection of seeing scales like this one in public places. I think there may be one at the bottom of Champs Elysees (right side going up) at least there was one there.

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  14. Great! I did not know that one

    reminds me of old days

    I remember there were scales in every metros stations, operating with a coin, just close to bubble gum machines.
    To stop people from using it in a row without paying again (remember doing that...), it would print your weight on a ticket

    there was a slogan on them : "Qui souvent se pèse, bien se connaît. Qui bien se connaît, bien se porte."

    More or less : "Get on the scale often to know yourself. Know yourself to be healthy"

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  15. My new diet to look good for the PDP picnic: macaroons, red wine, frisée salad, sautéed spinach and beef burgundy.....looking good never tasted this good:)

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  16. I find this quite charming. I bet kids step on it all the time. Or at least they would, if they knew what it was!

    I wonder if there are any 'speak your weight' weighing machines around any more. With the number of overweight people in the UK these days it would be fun. Do you remember the old joke about the fat lady who steps on the scale and the machine shouts out "One at a time please!"

    Sorry, it is a VERY old joke.

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  17. oh yes, lili..I remember those scales that printed out ones weight. ahh, memories..

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  18. Good luck with the diet. I'd stay off that scale...I question its accuracy.

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  19. Ahhhhh Drummond, if you had access to my webcam, you should have seen me laughing out loud after reading your joke!!! Thank you! Probably the contrast between my usual files at work and this touch of humor, that I love, makes it be even more good !!! ;)

    Martin : you are right. We never look more beautiful than when we are happy with a good food! What you described looks yummy to me hmm :-)

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  20. I think Rowan Morrigan is right. In my effort to pare the pounds, I'm swearing off complex carbs, sugar, and processed foods. What's left to eat is pretty much just "real food." (Of course, that means no macarons for a while. Sigh.)

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  21. Wow, what lush leaves, Eric. Ours are just starting to come out and are still small.

    I'm looking forward to the time when the scale no longer scares me...it is getting better, (6.3 Kilos gone so far!) but I still have a ways to go. Less than 1 Kilo til my first goal though, so that feels good. I have 2 weeks left in this goal..here's hoping!

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  22. According to an article in the New York Times 1/13/10 about American obesity:

    "The numbers indicate that obesity rates have remained constant for at least five years among men and for closer to 10 years among women and children — long enough for experts to say the percentage of very overweight people has leveled off.

    But the percentages have topped out at very high numbers. Nearly 34 percent of adults are obese, more than double the percentage 30 years ago. The share of obese children tripled during that time, to 17 percent."

    34% !!! Maybe we need more of those public scales and fewer "Royale Cheese" meals. It's your body, folks. Would you use that s___ to fuel your car?

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  23. Thank you for posting these pictures everyday! With these photos, you make my day every morning! :)

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  24. Jeff, I'll be there! I DO NOT want to miss this dance ;-)

    Drummond, I LOVE your joke!!!!

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  25. I look forward to seeing you again, Thib mon ami.

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  26. You will Thib?

    LOL Drummond, like Flore, I LOLed in front of my screen...

    You're welcome Simone, I'm glad I make your day every day.

    @Rowan Morrigan Thnaks for the link I'll have a look at it. I too chase carbs for I am on the French version of the "Fatkin's" diet!

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  27. Coincidentally, and a propos of all these weighty comments, someone just told me a joke today.

    A man who's very hungry stops a lady in the street and says "Lady - can you help me? I haven't eaten in 3 days." And she says, "You should force yourself."

    Ba dump bump! : 0)

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  28. Lily Hydrangea, I know exactly that scale on the Seine side of Notre Dame. I was walking rapidly by there one winter day, trying to catch up with friends who got ahead of me while I took pictures. The next thing I knew I was flying through the air. Even though I went down face first, I managed to land camera side up. Naturally I was more annoyed that I'd torn the knee out of my warm pants than about several bloody scrapes.

    I didn't really know what had tripped me up until I returned there last year to photograph a scale that sticks right out in the pathway.

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  29. Whoops! It was Carrie who mentioned the scale by Notre Dame.

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  30. 5 kilos à perdre avant l'été? On dirait un titre de magazine féminin, un vrai marronnier LOL

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  32. Oh, dear - so that book about French women staying thin, never getting fat, etc. is no longer accurate. How disappointing. French women were my weight watcher role models.

    Anyway, the scale you photographed gives new meaning to the phrase "Iron Monster" that Weight Watcher program followers use when referring to the scale. It is absolutely monolithic!

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  34. You should really try this two ones. The one to The right shows much more than you your actul weight and the one to the right shows much less haha

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  35. You should really try this two ones. The one to The right shows much more than you your actul weight and the one to the right shows much less haha

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