Daily Lessons from Life 27 September 2010 - Gym culture not working out for the French

"Gym culture not working out for the French - Mon, Sep 27, 2010 Reuters

PARIS - The French may love to look good but few are willing to work up a sweat over it.


Despite increasing awareness of the benefits of healthy eating and physical exercise, going to the gym in France is still a niche activity that has yet to capture the mainstream.

France's generous healthcare system, its cultural preference for outdoor sports and its lack of affordable good-quality clubs are seen as reasons behind the country's low rate of gymgoers, even relative to laid-back neighbours Spain or Italy.

'It appears to me that more people are sitting in cafes smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee than working out ... the French don't see fitness as a lifestyle,' says American-born fitness consultant Fred Hoffman, who has lived in Paris for 21 years."

Another case of knowing what is good for us is very different from if we are willing to take actions to do what is good for us! This report is on the French while many will argue that it is true in any culture and any country. It is simply easy to learn knowledge but very challenging to apply knowledge!

Lessons for me are:

1. health is an individual personal responsibility. I have experienced how difficult and challenging it is just keep to the simple knowledge about how to keep healthy: "eat appropriately and exercise regularly" in the last 2 over years since I lost 13kg in 3.5 months on 15 April 2008! It is a constant struggle after you get to a plateau, even if you keep to 'burn more if you have eaten more than the required meals'!;

2. it is easy to point fingers at other contributing factors for our lack of resolve and determination to apply healthy body and mind knowledge like: lack of good gyms, lack of time, etc. They will be there to be offered as excuses. If you accept them, you will have to accept the type of healthy you will be in too! There is simply no free lunch. You harvest what you sowed. It is an universal truth, even if someone will provide you with rare exceptions of people who simply have extraordinary metabolism rates!;

3. the gym fad or whatever other marketing tricks can wipe up a frenzy to keep a healthy mind and body. But only for a short period of time. That's why it is called a fad! As long as we live, we will need to be disciplined and keep the routine of maintaining good eating habit and exercising regularly as a way of life. It has to be a lifestyle that you will miss if you don't eat and exercise appropriately and regularly. When that happened, you will be home safe. It is a habit formed. Still, you will need to watch for backsliding as it is always much more comfortable to laid back and enjoy the goodness of life then to sweat it out after a hearty meal!

Happy keeping healthy to all who read the blog.