French Living Manifesto- The Conclusion

It is now the end of November so this is my last post for my French Living Manifesto.

Next month (December) I will be doing my Resolutions for a Relaxed Christmas.

Over the past month I have now lost a total of 10lbs and generally feel more in control of my eating.  I am now more considered and slower in my actions instead of running around firefighting all the time.  I have learnt to take my time over things and enjoy each moment instead of rushing on to see what's next.

1. Eat more generous meals, but don't snack.

This is the number one change I have made.  I now enjoy much more fulfilling meals so the need to snack has been greatly reduced. I think this is the best lesson I have learnt as instead of thinking "what's next to eat" I have been free to get on with just living.  This allows me to try and enjoy all the recipes I watch on TV, pin on Pinterest or read in cookbooks while still keeping control of my eating.

2. Eat Real food, no pre-prepared junk, try eat food as close to it's natural state as possible, go for quality over quantity.

I have enjoyed cooking lots of new rich dishes from scratch and trying plenty of new cheeses. I still struggle not to eat "cheap" chocolate as I am so used to it as a treat, but hopefully I can reduce it even more so I actually enjoy the food I am eating not just eat out of habit. When you are only eating 3 times a day you put more thought and effort into those meals rather than just grabbing anything.

3. Look after what I have and only buy quality items if I really need them.

This is another important part of the French Living Manifesto, I have made a conscious effort to fix what we already have and buy quality items that will last in the first instance.  Convincing my husband not to buy the kids cheap tat toys is a lot harder though!  I have made a real effort to take my time making purchases not just going for the easiest option but really considering what I need from the item before spending the money.

4. No shopping for anything but food or Christmas presents.

Major fail.  I wish I could be better at this.  I haven't bought anything over the top but just a little treat here and there. I think this is going to be my New Years Resolution. 

5. Moderate my alcohol intake, keep to 1 glass on weeknights.

Hmmm, again not my strong point, I really enjoy wine and enjoy drinking good wine even more, but it is not good for my health or waistline to drink too much. I am now much more conscious of my alcohol intake (it's not over safe levels) but I still wish I had more self control with regards to saying no.  I have said no more times this last month than ever before in my adult life, except when pregnant, but there is still room for improvement.  I need to remember to drink sparkling water between glasses of wine.  I am good at making a glass of wine last though, so I get the most enjoyment from it

6. Slow down, drive slower to save fuel and the car's paintwork! 

I have got a lot better at this, there is no rush 9 times out of 10 and so I can just take my time and do my bit for the environment and road rage.

7. Slow down, eat more slowly and savour each bite, put my fork down between bites.

I have noticed that instead of being the first to finish at the table I am now the last, and I even have smaller portions.  I feel more satisfied at the end of a meal and have gained more enjoyment from it as I spent longer actually tasting the food.  This is a really important thing to master and I think is the key to French Living

8. Walk when/wherever possible.

 I am hoping for a few more crisp autumn days instead of the grey damp we currently have so that I can still enjoy the walks I take each morning.  I feel like I have missed something if I do go in the car to school but sometimes needs must.  I have made the journey to school at least 3 out of 5 days every week regardless of weather for the last month, which works out at roughly 10 hours spent walking.

9. Read the books, wear the clothes, play the games, watch the films I already own. Don't keep things for best and then rarely use them.

I have taken this on board and started to look for the diamonds in the rough.  By appreciating what I already have and perhaps just re purposing it or just using it, I feel that I have much more.  I have sorted through the beauty products, the lingerie, the jewellry and the books that I already own and found many things I had forgotten about.

10.Spend time on grooming, paint my nails, deep condition my hair, give myself facemasks.

I have spent some time on this in the last month but as I was not as committed as I could have been.  I have done at least 2 grooming items a week but I intended to do more.  This resolution will be part of my Resolutions for a Relaxed Christmas.

11. Dress well everyday, not just special days.  Wear stylish outfits even at home when relaxing, try to look put together.  Aim for a 7/10

I have done really well at this over the last week. I have stopped keeping certain items for best that could be worn on a normal day and just put them on. It is great to know you look your best whoever you bump into.  This does mean keeping up on the laundry, but that is no bad thing.

12. Lay the table for every meal, use napkins, water glass and jug etc.. don't sit in front of the computer or TV and zone out.

I make much more of an effort to make my lunch pretty, I use the best cutlery, a nice tray, I make an effort to plate the food nicely too.  However...I find it soooo hard not to then take the tray and sit down in front of the computer.  I have used my table linen more ercemtly and tried to keep fresh flowers on the table.

13. Sing more, dance more, socialise more, get out of the house more.

This has gone well, I now have a very active social life (after several years in the wilderness of babies and toddlers) and am making an effort to say yes more.  I have lots of Christmas events coming up so I will be dancing more than ever over this coming month.

14. Work together with everyone, make all your relationships a partnership not a contest.

I have tried hard with this but I think this is a constant item on most peoples to do lists.  I have to remind myself that a win/win is the best possible outcome when dealing with some people, and not just take the indignant righteousness route.  I find thinking 50/50 comes automatically for some of my relationships (my husband) and ridiculously hard for others (best left unsaid).

15. Do good, offer help and be there for others.

I have tried really hard at doing this and feel that I have given this a good go. I feel much better knowing I did my best rather than just got through the day.  I have tried to make life easier for people around me so that they can have some time to relax too.

I have enjoyed this month so much and have definitely explored my Gallic side.  A couple of these points definitely need to be revisited to get a better grip on them and over the coming weeks/months I will focus on different points so that I can actually improve significantly on them.

The most pertinent things I have discovered from this is to slow down, take my time and savour life.

I hope my Manifesto gave you some food for thought, and that it's offered something of use to you.  Feel free to join me in my Resolutions for a Relaxed Christmas.  You can follow my on Facebook, Twitter, RSS or by email by using the buttons on the top right.

xo

French Living Resolutions Update

I have been following my 15 point Manifesto for French Living for nearly 2 weeks now and I am pleased to say that I am happy with the results, I have lost 5lbs (2.5kg) and feel more relaxed already. Here's how I specifically put each point into action.

1. Eat more generous meals, but don't snack.

I have made full-on meals everyday with one proviso, that they are all under 500 cals (only just mind).  For breakfast I have had eggs on toast, lattes with pastry etc.. as long as it came to less than 500 cals it was fair game.  I have really enjoyed this part.  

Each lunch I have had cheese, fresh bread with butter and a salad with grapes and pecans. I had an avocado salad instead of the cheese one day too

For our dinners we have had small portions of rich food, from Sunday Roasts, to Chicken Veronique (cream sauce) I have worked hard on getting maximum flavour into my meals.

2. Eat real food, no pre-prepared junk, try eat food as close to it's natural state as possible, go for quality over quantity.

I am already pretty good at this, as I cook most things from scratch anyway, but I have definitely upped my quality, swapping Galaxy for Green and Blacks Dark Chocolate and normal mature Cheddar for a variety of artisan cheeses from the deli

3. Look after what I have and only buy quality items if I really need them.

Not much progress on this, I guess I haven't bought any cheap tat. I did ask my Husband for a quality pair of heels for Christmas instead of going out and buying some cheap pair that will "do for now", does this count?

4. No shopping for anything but food or Christmas presents.

I pretty much managed this, bar a Bodyshop Party, where I got some pamper goodies (body oil and lip gloss) and a Ski Show that tempted me to buy a sledge and a ladybird hat for my daughter. Oh and I bought series 7 of Gray's Anatomy, it was only £12.

5. Moderate my alcohol intake, keep to 1 glass on weeknights.

I managed this on all but 1 night, when I had 2 glasses, in my defense, I didn't drink on at least 3 nights each week, so I feel that I can tick this one.

6. Slow down, drive slower to save fuel and the car's paintwork! 

Getting better at this, but still hard when someone is dawdling around the place to not zoom past them. Definitely needs more work.

7. Slow down, eat more slowly and savour each bite, put my fork down between bites.

I have gotten pretty good at this, and it really helps, I enjoy what I have eaten so much more and leave the table feeling more satisfied instead of just full.

8. Walk when/wherever possible.

I have walked the girls to school 4 days out of 5 both weeks. I even picked my eldest up from a party on foot. Tick

9. Read the books, wear the clothes,play the games, watch the films I already own. Don't keep things for best and then rarely use them.

I have tried to wear more of my better clothes, and I have also trawled through my kindle books rather than buying more. Need to play some of the games I own and wear some of my nicer outfits though.

10.Spend time on grooming, paint my nails, deep condition my hair, give myself face masks.

I have used my Clarisonic 6/7 days both weeks, I have painted my nails twice but I will be Shellac-ing them tonight for my friends 40th( update- I actually ended up giving the a reverse french manicure.)  Have had a hair cut though and will be also be doing the Aspirin mask plus teeth whitening this evening before I go out.

11. Dress well everyday, not just special days.  Wear stylish outfits even at home when relaxing, try to look put together.  Aim for a 7/10

I would say more an average of 6/10 need to try harder!

12. Lay the table for every meal, use napkins, water glass and jug etc.. don't sit in front of the computer or TV and zone out.

Yes to everything except Napkins, I also only ate my lunch once in front of the computer, I very rarely eat my evening meal in front of the TV so should probably remove that.

13. Sing more, dance more, socialise more, get out of the house more.

Definitely achieved this, have met for coffee twice a week and gone out 3 times, I'm even going to Karaoke and then dancing this evening!

14. Work together with everyone, make all your relationships a partnership not a contest.

Hmm, this worked well with my husband, our relationship is good at the moment, less good with my daughters, it can still get a bit adversarial.

15. Do good, offer help and be there for others.

I have tried to be more active in our school's fundraising activities, and offered to help my friends when needed.  I can always do better at this though, so onwards and upwards.

Overall, I think it has been a good first 2 weeks, I feel much better about myself and I also feel that a lot of these resolutions will have long-term benefits.

Have you started following any new resolutions  feel free to join me.  Just Follow me on twitter or bloglovin (top right) to get regular updates.

xo

15 point Manifesto for French Living

After being inspired by reading John Naish's amazing book Enough, I wanted to focus on a less wasteful more aesthetic way of living. I read up on the French way of eating and living, as the traditional European way of life, focuses on making the most of what you have and not over-consumption. I compiled a list of resolutions that I am going to aim for in November.

1. Eat more generous meals, but don't snack.
2. Eat real food, no pre-prepared junk, try eat food as close to it's natural state as possible, go for quality over quantity.
3. Look after what I have and only buy quality items if I really need them.
4. No shopping for anything but food or christmas presents.
5. Moderate my alcohol intake, keep to 1 glass on weeknights.
6. Slow down, drive slower to save fuel and the car's paintwork!
7. Slow down, eat more slowly and savour each bite, put my fork down between bites.
8. Walk when/wherever possible.
9. Read the books, wear the clothes, play the games, watch the films I already own. Don't keep things for best and then rarely use them.
10.Spend time on grooming, paint my nails, deep condition my hair, give myself facemasks.
11. Dress well everyday, not just special days.  Wear stylish outfits even at home when relaxing, try to look put together.  Aim for a 7/10
12. Lay the table for every meal, use napkins, water glass and jug etc.. don't sit in front of the computer or TV and zone out.
13. Sing more, dance more, socialise more, get out of the house more
14. Work together with everyone, make all your relationships a partnership not a contest.

15. Do good, offer help and be there for others

Have I missed anything?

To see how I did, click below;

Update 1 French Manifesto

Update 2 French Manifesto

Conclusion of French Living Manifesto

xo