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Lessons from European Lifestyle: Why Americans Lose Weight on Vacation
Episode 6 • 16th November 2023 • The Nutrition Edit • Jeannie Oliver Wellness, LLC
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Ever go on vacation overseas and eat your heart out and wonder why you still lose weight or it seems easier to maintain your weight without even thinking about it?

In this episode I'm going to talk about why that is and what they are doing in Europe that is different from what we do here in the US. I'll share practical ways in which you can incorporate these aspects of the European lifestyle into your daily routine so you can enjoy some of the benefits stateside.

If you need help reducing stress and developing a healthier relationship with food and your body, I would love to support you! Schedule a free 30-minute Coffee Talk here and let’s chat about your health goals and how I can help you achieve them.

Mentioned in the show:

EWG Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce

 

References:

Latest Roundup Cancer Lawsuit Updates on Drugwatch.com

Bassett, D. R., Jr, Pucher, J., Buehler, R., Thompson, D. L., & Crouter, S. E. (2008). Walking, cycling, and obesity rates in Europe, North America, and Australia. Journal of physical activity & health, 5(6), 795–814. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.5.6.795

Interested in working with Jeannie? Schedule a 30-minute Coffee Talk here.

Connect with me on Instagram @joliverwellness and check out the options for my more affordable self-study programs here: https://www.joliverwellness.com/diy-programs

Music credit: Funk’d Up by Reaktor Productions

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Transcripts

Speaker:

Hey there and welcome to

the nutrition edit podcast.

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I'm your host, Jeannie Oliver.

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And today we're going to be talking about

lessons learned from European lifestyle.

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So a few weeks back, I returned from

our annual trip to Europe and every

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single time I come back and before I

go and when my friends, family, and

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clients travel, I find myself having a

familiar conversation with everybody.

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And we all remark.

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about how amazed we are that in spite

of indulging in more decadent foods like

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pastries, sweets, bread, pasta, et cetera,

often drinking more alcohol, that we

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all tend to lose weight and we feel so

much better both while we're there and

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after we come home, at least for a while.

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Now, of course, this can partly be due

to the fact that You know, if you're

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working and, or if you're on vacation

rather, excuse me, and not working

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while you're in Europe, of course

you're going to feel more relaxed and

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better because you're on vacation.

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Right?

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But I've had the same conversation with

people who are actually over there for

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work and there are several factors at

play that I want to share with you today.

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Obviously, it's a privilege to be able

to travel, and I'm really grateful that

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I'm able to go to Europe regularly.

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I realize that many of you are not

able to travel, and there are a

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multitude of reasons why people can't.

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I mean, finances can play a huge role.

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, you may have kids in school, , work

obligations, maybe caregiving for

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family members or elderly parents.

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There are a million reasons

why travel may not be.

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You know possible or practical for you

right now But you can still apply what

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I'm going to share with you today to

improve your quality of life So let's

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kick off today's convo by talking

about food because we all love food.

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I love food I'm pretty sure you

love food and food as It's, you

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know, a nutrition professional.

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I really believe it is the

foundation of our health.

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And I think there are a few people

who would actually argue with that.

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If the fuel that we're putting in our

bodies is of good quality and it gives us

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what we need and we're not putting stuff

in our bodies that is problematic for us,

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we're just going to be a lot healthier.

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We're going to feel better.

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Everything is going to be better.

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Right?

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So let's start off with food.

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And I think the quality of ingredients

in food is probably the biggest

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factor when it comes to the difference

between American and European food.

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In general, fewer chemicals are

used on European crops and many

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countries do not allow any GMO or

genetically modified crops, which

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are heavily laden with Roundup.

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Or glyphosate, which is the active

ingredient in Roundup and other

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chemicals that we use profusely

here in the United States.

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But let's start specifically by

talking about bread and pasta, since

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I think those are two of the things

that people tend to indulge in most.

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Many of you who are gluten intolerant,

like I am, but find that you can eat

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foods containing wheat when you're in

Europe, you might wonder why this is,

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and there are a few explanations of this.

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, I'm a prime example of this.

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I don't tolerate gluten

at all here in the States.

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I avoid it like the plague.

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I'm really strict about it because

it's just not worth the trade

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off for how crappy I feel when I

eat anything containing gluten.

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However, I go to Europe, I can enjoy

a croissant at breakfast or I can

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I eat a little pasta or a couple

of pieces of bread with my meals

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and have no issues whatsoever.

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I'm pretty conditioned out of

eating those things, so I still

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don't indulge heavily in them.

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But if I do want to enjoy

them, it's a non issue.

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So why is that?

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Well, first, different varieties

of wheat are grown in the EU.

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And the European varieties are

naturally lower in gluten content.

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They usually use what's called

soft wheat for their breads

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and Semolina wheat for pasta.

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Whereas here in the United States,

we usually use hard red wheat,

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which has higher gluten content.

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, we've actually kind of selectively bred

our wheat here to be higher in gluten

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content because it makes bread faster.

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It gives bread that elasticity that

comes from that gluten protein.

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So if you've ever you're So if you've

ever made bread at home and you need it

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while needing the bread, you'll notice

that it gets more and more elastic.

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Well, that's what we

call gluten development.

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That's that gluten protein

creating that elasticity.

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And when they're making bread

on a commercial level, they want

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that to happen faster, right?

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Because you can produce more faster.

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So over the years, we've actually

hybridized wheat crops so that

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they contain higher gluten content.

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That's different from genetic

modification where we're

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introducing, genes from different.

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Organisms right into a crop,

but we'll get into the problems

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with that a little bit later.

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So, When it comes to bread europeans

are also more likely to use traditional

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slow fermentation methods for breads

Instead of fast rising yeasts, which

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we often use here Gluten proteins

are much more effectively broken

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down during slow fermentation, which

makes them easier for us to digest.

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So that's another big, big factor here.

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European soil is also richer in sulfur.

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I just learned this recently.

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I think this is fascinating.

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Wheat crops that are grown in higher

sulfur soil have been found to be lower

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in gliadin, which is the allergenic

or inflammatory component of gluten.

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So when you're growing crops

in higher sulfur soil, they're

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naturally lower in this gliadin.

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Which is pretty cool.

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second, many countries in the EU

have limited or banned the use

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of glyphosate, which is the main

ingredient in Roundup Weed Killer.

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Here in the US, glyphosate is

commonly used for a process called

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desiccation, which accelerates

the drying of the wheat crops.

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It's easier and more profitable to

store and transport the dried wheat,

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and by saturating a wheat crop with

glyphosate, it dries it out much

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faster than it would naturally.

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This is really problematic because

Roundup or Glyphosate has It's

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been declared a probable human

carcinogen, which means cancer causer

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by the World Health Organization.

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And there are countless lawsuits

against its parent company,

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which is Monsanto, or now Bayer.

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And in 2020, Bayer agreed to

pay close to 11 billion to

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settle roundup cancer claims.

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As 2023.

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There were more than 4, 000 Roundup

cancer lawsuits pending in the California

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Roundup federal multi district litigation.

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Say that 10 times fast.

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, so it's a really big problem and

there have been many, many people

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coming forward , with claims.

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, from these , cancer diagnoses.

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Also in addition to possibly

causing cancer, glyphosate disrupts

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our microbiome or our gut flora.

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And we've talked in previous episodes

about the importance of our gut

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microbiome, but I'm going to dive a

little bit deeper into this specific

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problem with glyphosate here.

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So the people who are marketing And

who are proponents of glyphosate

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claim that it's non toxic to

humans because we don't possess the

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biological pathway that it disrupts.

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However, bacteria do possess this pathway.

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It's called the shikimate pathway.

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And since we have trillions

of bacteria in our bodies.

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In fact, we have 10 times as many

bacteria as we have human cells.

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One could argue that whatever

affects the bacteria we are

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hosting is going to affect us.

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And our gut flora or our bacteria play

crucial roles in our health because

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they help us break down our food.

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They produce neurotransmitters and

certain nutrients like B vitamins, and

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they regulate our immune system and

even play a big role in our metabolism.

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The bottom line here is that

anything that's harmful to your

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microbiome is also harmful to you.

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And the solution here is really

organic food is not perfect, but try

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to buy organic food whenever possible.

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And you can use the environmental working

groups, shopper's guide to pesticides

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in produce to help you prioritize

what to buy organic to save money.

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I'm going to link that in the show notes

so that you can download that from EWG,

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but that's a really helpful document.

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Also certified organic foods

cannot be genetically modified.

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So by choosing organic foods,

you're going to avoid genetically

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modified foods or GMOs as well.

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organic isn't necessarily

perfect, but it's better.

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And you're going to be limiting your

exposure to all of those chemicals.

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And it's not just Roundup.

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I mean, there are thousands of herbicides,

pesticides, fungicides that are sprayed

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on crops that are conventionally grown.

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And all of that can be

potentially harmful to us.

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So you want to just limit

that as much as you can.

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Another differentiating factor between

the food here and the food in Europe

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is that Europeans are much more likely

to use local seasonal ingredients.

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Of course, this isn't true

everywhere, but in many places it is.

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And if you're eating food that is in

season and has been grown locally,

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it's usually harvested closer to peak

ripeness, and it doesn't have to travel

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nearly as far to get to your plate.

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So why is this better?

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Well, seasonal locally grown ingredients

are going to taste better, right?

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Because they're closer to ripe.

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They're also more nutrient dense versus

food that's harvested much sooner and

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has to travel, you know, hundreds or even

thousands of miles before you eat it.

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One of the things that I love about

Europe is going to the farmer's market

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because you can see, oh my gosh, this

is what they grow in this region.

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And this is what's seasonal at this

time of year versus just a big grocery

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store, which they also have there where

you're going to see foods imported from

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all over the world so that you can get

things all year round, whether they're

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in season locally or not, that's fine.

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And sometimes we just.

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I don't know.

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I don't always eat seasonal food.

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That would be ideal.

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We don't live in an ideal world.

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So, you know, sometimes we're going

to use things that are not seasonally

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available or that have come from someplace

further away, but it's always good to

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eat local and seasonal when possible.

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Again, better for us, better

for the planet and, , they taste

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better and are more nutritious.

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and you're supporting local farmers.

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So that's always a great thing.

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We want to support small farms.

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Okay, next thing that I want to move on

to, and this is a really, really big one

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in Europe, in most of Europe, mealtime is

sacred and gosh, could that be any more

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of a contrast to the U S where we're like

rushing through food, eating in front

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of the computer and , eating, standing

up, snacking on the run in the car.

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I mean, we all do it.

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I've done it.

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I'm totally guilty of that.

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But in Europe, it's very different.

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Mealtime is sacred and.

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Often when you're eating

out It takes a while.

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So for example, on our recent trip, we

were in France and Portugal, and I don't

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think we spent any less than 90 minutes to

two hours when we ate out at restaurants.

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It's just what's expected.

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They take their time.

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They don't rush you through the meal.

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Everybody eats much more slowly.

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They savor it.

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It's an event, right?

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And obviously, this isn't totally

practical, but I think it's a good lesson

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for us to just sort of slow down and see

mealtime as a time to nourish ourselves

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and actually enjoy and connect with

our food, which we tend to not do here.

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I mean, we didn't see

anybody rushing around.

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Rushing through their

lunch to get back to work.

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Many businesses will actually close

for two to three hours at lunchtime.

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And, you know, obviously this is not

the way we do things here in the U S

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unfortunately, but I really think it's

an important lesson that when we slow

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down and truly experience our food,

it's more enjoyable and satisfying.

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And if we can enjoy meals with

friends or family, it's even better.

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When our meals are more enjoyable and

satisfying, we're a lot less likely

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to mindlessly overeat or to walk

away from a meal feeling unsatisfied.

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I mean, how many times have you

eaten lunch at your desk or rushed

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through a meal just to finish it

and realize like, Hey, I didn't even

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really taste or experience this.

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I've done this a million times and

inevitably those are the times when I want

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to keep eating or I want something sugary

afterwards because I don't feel satiated.

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So I encourage you to

make mealtime sacred.

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or at least more sacred.

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Move towards that.

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You may not be able to devote an hour

or more to lunch during your work week,

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but you can step away from your desk,

try to eat in a relaxing environment,

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eat more slowly and mindfully.

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And just trust me on this one.

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You're going to enjoy your food much

more and you'll be more relaxed and

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focused when you go back to work.

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So it really is worth the effort.

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Lunch breaks are also legally required.

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So regardless of your company culture,

you are entitled to that time.

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How much time that is depends on

the number of hours you're working

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each day, but I believe 30 minutes

is like the bare minimum for

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anyone working an eight hour day.

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So take advantage of that

because they can't legally punish

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you for taking a work break.

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And if you're working from home,

Absolutely take advantage of that.

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Step away from your computer,

sit at your table, don't have

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distractions, just really be present.

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Eat slowly, chew well, enjoy your food.

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Okay, so next point.

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Walking.

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Walking after meals.

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This is a really big one and it's

actually a pretty easy one to put into

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practice if you're willing to try it.

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So.

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We don't walk a ton in the United States.

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A lot of us live places that require cars.

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So we really have to kind of make

an effort, extra effort to do this.

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When we're on vacation, we often end

up walking to and from restaurants

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and places of interest, which we're

like, you know, less likely to do

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when we're home here in the U S.

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eSpecially if we do some live

somewhere less walkable and we

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need to take our car everywhere.

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I mean, I don't know about you, but

for me getting 10, 000 plus steps in is

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really easy when traveling because I'm

exploring new places on foot, which many

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of us do, or you might be going like

to museums, different things like that.

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, And Europeans themselves spend

a lot less time sitting in cars

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and at desks than Americans do.

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Their infrastructure is such that.

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Many of them walk to work or they're

taking public transport and have to

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walk to that transport to get there.

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So they just sit a lot less than we do.

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And walking after we eat or

after meals is especially helpful

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because it improves our digestion.

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It'll lower your blood glucose and it

increases insulin sensitivity, which we've

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talked about in other episodes, which.

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is huge when we're talking about, you

know, fat loss, , stress reduction,

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brain health, all of these things.

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It also reduces stress hormone production.

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Walking does.

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So all of these things can aid

in a healthier gut, healthier

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metabolism, and in helping you feel

just more relaxed and less stressed.

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Now, I realize that walking after every

meal in our daily lives just may not

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be practical, but just moving around

and using your muscles after you eat.

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Can be super beneficial if you can take

a walk even a short one after eating

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like just a few minutes go for it

But if you can't try walking a couple

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flights of stairs or doing bodyweight

squats or lunges next to your desk You

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only need to do it for a few minutes

to reap the benefits But by using your

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muscles after you eat It's gonna do

the same thing by lowering your blood

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glucose because the insulin is gonna

shuttle that glucose into your muscles

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because your muscles are moving and

it's going to help you feel more alert.

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It'll improve your digestion afterwards.

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So you're less likely to feel like that

food sitting in your stomach like a rock.

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It can help you be more

regular and less constipated.

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If that's something that

you struggle with, just.

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Try to move around or walk after you eat.

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Okay, moving on.

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So community and connection is

the next thing I want to touch on.

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In Europe and in many countries around

the world, families and friends come

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together over mealtime and people often

have a stronger sense of community.

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We Americans are much more individualistic

and our busy lives leave little

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room for connecting with others,

unless we really prioritize it.

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I feel like this is even worse

since the pandemic, because.

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So many of us are used to being holed

up in our homes, we're working from

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home, we're not going out as often,

you know, we have gotten a little

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funny about going and doing social

things or, worried about getting sick.

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I know so many people who are still

really concerned about COVID, and

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just don't want to expose themselves

by going to big parties or large

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gatherings, things like that.

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And...

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You don't necessarily have to

do that, but I think connecting

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with community is really crucial.

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And we all need to find a way

to do that that works for us.

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Finding your people is so important,

especially in this time when

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loneliness is at an all time high.

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And like I say, there's so many

ways to connect with the community.

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So I encourage you to seek out

a community around whatever it

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is that makes your heart sing.

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That might be sports.

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It could be something

like, gosh, even gaming.

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What else?

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I know people that do like

knitting and crochet together.

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You could do music classes,

dance classes, whatever it is.

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When I was in nutrition school, they

talked a lot about what's called

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primary food and primary food.

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refers to the aspects of life that feed

your soul, including relationships,

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joy, spirituality, creativity, career

and education, finances, your home

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environment, home cooking, health,

and of course, physical activity.

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And.

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When one or more of these is lacking

in your life, you're much more likely

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to turn to food or other substances

in an attempt to fill the void.

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Your social life and community

are big sources of primary food.

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So whatever it is that you enjoy,

I guarantee there are others out

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there who love the same things.

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So explore that.

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Try to connect with other people and get

some things on your calendar that you look

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forward to that will allow you to really

connect and create community in your life.

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Okay, let's talk about stress because

one of the biggest differences between

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Americans and Europeans is the stressful

pace of life that we live here.

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We usually have a fraction of the

vacation time that most Europeans enjoy.

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Most corporations or large companies

in the U S have cultures where working

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long hours and weekends is really

common and sometimes even expected.

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I have so many clients who work for

companies like this, where, you know,

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the boss is a workaholic or their

managers are workaholic and everyone

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beneath them is expected to be the same.

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And those teams always end

up having a lot of turnover.

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They're burnt out there.

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Bitter and angry and resentful.

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They don't feel well.

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They're super stressed.

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Their sleep suffers, their

health suffers, everything.

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It's just a really,

really bad vicious cycle.

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And we have, what's

called,, golden handcuffs.

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I'm sure you've heard that term

before where people feel like,

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well, I'm making a lot of money, so.

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I have to work all these long

hours and salaries here are

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often higher than in Europe.

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However, when you break it down

into an hourly wage, people are

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not really making enough to justify

sacrificing their health and wellbeing.

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I mean, when you're working crazy

long hours on weekends, you break down

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that big salary into your hourly wage.

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It's not always that much, right?

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So, it's just a completely different

philosophy of work life balance.

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Work life balance is highly valued in

most of Europe, and because people don't

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have to worry about paying outrageous

amounts of health, for health care

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and things like that, they aren't

so terribly stressed all the time.

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And unfortunately, that's

just not reality here.

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It's not an easy thing to change.

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But I want to encourage to those of you

listening, especially you women, to really

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draw strong boundaries around your work

hours and weekends, plan your vacation

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time, take days off whenever possible.

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And if you're in a job that you hate,

that's sucking the life and soul out

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:

of you, Start looking for something

that won't because I guarantee

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:

there is no job that is going to pay

you enough to make up for feeling

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:

exhausted and shitty all the time.

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:

And no company is going to come

to you on your deathbed and thank

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:

you for all that you did for them.

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:

That's just not how it works.

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It's not worthwhile.

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So, prioritize that work life balance

and Any way you possibly can because

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:

we don't necessarily have the luxury

of not paying for healthcare and

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:

things like that, like Europeans do.

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So we have to make more of an

effort to reduce our stress.

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:

and that said, I wanna give you a

few ways that you can reduce the

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:

stress in your life, or at least

become like less stress reactive.

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:

So what do I mean by that?

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I mean that while your

stressors may not change.

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How you react to them does like

they may not affect you as much

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:

if you're less stress reactive.

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:

So here are just six quick ways

that I think you can do that.

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Number one, walk more.

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We talked on this or touched on this

earlier, but walking reduces stress

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:

hormone production and it can be a great

way to get some fresh air or a break

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:

from your desk during your work day.

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:

Yoga is also great for reducing stress.

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:

Number two, eat nutrient

dense, whole foods.

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We've talked about this a million times

on this show., but also Minimize or avoid

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:

your alcohol, sugar, and caffeine intake.

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:

All of these can increase inflammation

and increase stress hormone

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:

production, while compromising

your sleep and immune function.

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:

So, it's kind of a vicious cycle.

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:

I've mentioned before that you

can kind of think of alcohol

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:

and caffeine as liquid stress.

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:

You know, caffeine is

stimulating stress hormones.

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:

That's how it wakes you up, by

stimulating cortisol and adrenaline.

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:

Alcohol is deceptive.

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:

It's a depressant.

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:

So it's going to initially make you

feel more calm or relaxed, but it

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:

increases cortisol production, which

is why, you know, if you drink a lot,

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:

you often have disrupted sleep or you

might wake in the middle of the night

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:

and not get as good quality of rest.

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:

So, and then sugar is just super

inflammatory and it can mess with your

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:

blood sugar, which can also mess with

your sleep, immune function, et cetera.

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:

Number three, this is a big

one in this time of the world.

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:

Don't watch or listen to

the news all the time.

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I know this is a tough one for some

people and yes, it's important to have a

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:

clue about what's going on in the world.

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:

However, a steady intake of news is

only going to make you more fearful,

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:

more hopeless, more depressed.

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:

So really try to keep this to a minimum.

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:

Okay, number four.

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:

Incorporate a meditation

and or prayer time into your

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:

day doesn't have to be long.

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:

Just a few minutes here and there

can make a really big difference, but

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:

Studies have shown that meditation

and prayer take your brain into a

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:

state of relaxation that's deeper than

anything else that we do as humans.

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:

So I don't care if it's 30 seconds,

30 minutes, whatever you can

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:

fit in, just try to incorporate

that into your life every day.

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:

It also just helps me so much to

turn over my cares and worries

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:

and fears to my higher power.

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:

And.

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:

To actually like visualize

myself handing those things over.

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:

That is super helpful for me.

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:

So that is part of my, prayer,

meditation, visualization practice

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:

that I find really helpful.

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:

So whatever works for you,

definitely incorporate that

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:

can be a big stress reducer.

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:

Number five.

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:

Prioritize sleep.

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:

This is probably the biggest one.

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:

This should probably be number one

because it affects everything downstream.

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:

If you're not rested, everything

else is going to be worse.

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:

It's going to be harder.

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:

So do not compromise your sleep.

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:

I know it's super tempting to stay up

late or get up early to get extra work

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:

done, but the reality is that you'll

be much more focused and productive

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:

if you've had a good night's sleep.

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:

You'll also have less cravings

for sugar and junky foods.

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:

You're going to have more energy.

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:

You'll be more likely to have energy to

work out more, get that walk in, whatever

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:

it might be, connect with, with community.

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:

Right?

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:

So sleep is a huge needle mover.

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:

So start by prioritizing that.

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:

The last number six, the last one I want

to mention to you guys is something that

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:

can also reduce stress is not trying to

achieve an unrealistic body size or shape.

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:

Or try to stay young forever.

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:

This is something that European

women are brilliant at.

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:

They know how to emphasize their assets

and embrace their flaws instead of trying

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:

to become something that they are not.

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:

I think we're making some strides

here in our culture when it comes to

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:

celebrating different body shapes and

sizes and unconventional beauty, but we

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:

still have a really long way to go and.

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:

On an individual basis, I don't

think I know any women who

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:

don't need to work on this.

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:

So I encourage you to take small steps,

to just accept and celebrate who you

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:

are and what you've got and emphasize

those assets versus trying to, fit

461

:

a square peg into a round hole by.

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:

Just constantly trying to be smaller, a

different weight, all of these things.

463

:

I think that our weight can often, if not

usually, correct itself or we can find our

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:

natural healthy weight when we do embrace.

465

:

Who we are, what we've got to work

with and just start really taking care

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:

of ourselves and honoring our bodies.

467

:

So start there versus trying to lose

weight and then thinking that you're

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:

going to love your body once you do that.

469

:

That's not how it works.

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:

So anyway, those are the top six ways for.

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:

Reducing your stress.

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:

I mean, there's more than that, obviously,

but those are the ones that came to mind.

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:

I think can be really helpful.

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:

And of course, Europe is not perfect.

475

:

It definitely has its

share of problems as well.

476

:

Obesity and diabetes are increasing

there because of processed foods.

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:

But for the most part, Europeans

don't struggle with their weight

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:

and their relationship with food

and body as much as we Americans do.

479

:

So here's a quick recap of what

we covered today and a few reasons

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:

why these things matter that I

may not have mentioned earlier.

481

:

So number one, try to eat as much

organic local seasonal food as

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:

possible, just whenever you can.

483

:

Do your best here.

484

:

It's not going to be perfect.

485

:

Second, make mealtimes sacred.

486

:

Europeans enjoy more leisurely meals and

they usually eat slower and savor the

487

:

experience of the food and that makes

us feel more satisfied after meals.

488

:

So, this is an easy one

to try and incorporate.

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:

Just try slowing down and really

being present and experiencing

490

:

your meals with all of your senses.

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:

And see how you feel.

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:

I bet you're going to feel more satiated.

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:

Next is walking a lot,

especially after eating.

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:

The reason that this is so helpful is

not only does it decrease your blood

495

:

glucose or your blood sugar after eating,

but it gives the food somewhere to go.

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:

So what do I mean by that?

497

:

Basically, instead of your body storing

food, it's going to use those calories

498

:

that you ingest for creating energy or

rebuilding muscle tissue, et cetera.

499

:

So it's putting it to use versus you

just eating and then sitting around.

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:

And it being more likely

to be stored as fat.

501

:

So that's why another reason why it's

so helpful to walk more after mealtime.

502

:

And it's also going to

boost your digestion.

503

:

As I mentioned previously, next

is community and connection.

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:

And this is a really big one.

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:

Try to spend meals with family

or friends whenever possible.

506

:

This is something that's really

common in Europe and people have a

507

:

stronger sense of community there.

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:

So seek out your people, create

community for yourself, or

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:

get plugged into a community.

510

:

And it doesn't have to necessarily be

around food or around meals, but just

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:

being part of a community and having

that support system is really important.

512

:

It's important because remember, this

is one of those pieces of what we

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:

call primary food that contributes

to your overall fulfillment in life.

514

:

And when we aren't fulfilled in those

primary food areas, we're going to try and

515

:

fill that void often with what's easiest.

516

:

Those are substances, be it, food,

sugar, alcohol, drugs, whatever it

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:

is that people are using or that

works for you right in the moment.

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:

And then finally, lower your stress

levels in every way possible.

519

:

People always wonder why Europeans

can seemingly get away with drinking

520

:

and smoking and eating pastries and

they're still not as unhealthy as

521

:

Americans or they don't seem to gain

weight by doing those things and A big

522

:

part of this is that they just have

a less stressful lifestyle, you know,

523

:

the more stressed you are the more

efficiently your body will store fat.

524

:

And it's important to understand that

your cells don't differentiate between

525

:

potential famine running from a predator

and the low grade chronic stress from

526

:

work or family or whatever modern

day stressors you're dealing with.

527

:

So on a physiological level,

your body responds in the

528

:

same way and to your cells.

529

:

Stress equals a threat to your survival.

530

:

So your body is going to do whatever

it can to keep you alive and one

531

:

piece of that is storing fuel more

efficiently in the form of fat.

532

:

It's also going to down regulate

other functions like your digestion

533

:

and sex hormone production.

534

:

So if your body is dealing with less

overall stress, A, you're going to

535

:

be more likely to burn fat, okay?

536

:

Less likely to store it.

537

:

But also, you're going to be able

to tolerate more things or more

538

:

insults, so to speak, to your body.

539

:

So if your body isn't super stressed

out and your mind's not super

540

:

stressed out, you are going to be

more likely to tolerate things better.

541

:

So your body may be able to handle or

detoxify more quickly from alcohol,

542

:

sugar, tobacco, et cetera, because

your body's just better able and

543

:

equipped to deal with those things

because it's not already overloaded.

544

:

That's the major difference, I think,

with Europeans, in that they can get

545

:

away with things that we can't get

away with here, or at least seemingly

546

:

suffer fewer health consequences.

547

:

And the main message I want to convey

to you is that while we can't change

548

:

everything about American culture, we

can definitely take steps to prioritize

549

:

our well being and our enjoyment of life

as with any kind of lifestyle change.

550

:

It's most effective to start with

small, shifts and then build on them

551

:

as they become part of your routine.

552

:

So start with what feels easiest

to you and then work your way up.

553

:

Europeans place a huge value

on enjoying life and they work

554

:

to live, whereas Americans tend

to live to work, so to speak.

555

:

But all these aspects of the European

lifestyle that I covered today can

556

:

be helpful for you when it comes

to creating a healthier body,

557

:

mind, and relationship with food.

558

:

So yeah, give these a try.

559

:

I hope you'll try incorporating at least

one or more of these principles into

560

:

your daily life and see what changes.

561

:

And I'm going to bet that you find food

more satiating, you have better digestion,

562

:

and you feel more connected to others.

563

:

So that's the show for today.

564

:

I'd love to hear what you

thought of this episode.

565

:

So come join me over on Instagram and

let me know, take good care of you.

566

:

And I'll see you again next week.

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