French weight...almost there!

For the last year my handball friends and I joked that when we got to France, we would at some point have to make our "French weight" which, as I mentioned before, is much skinnier than our American weight.

The strong and muscular build of American athletes is not so appealing to the French girls, who value their svelte figures. Lifting weights? Drinking protein shakes? They might as well wear large shorts that actually cover their asses.

French girls may have a genetic advantage, but they also get a lot of use out of living purely on coffee and cigarettes, which is a good way to keep a slim figure. Apparently the smoking also helps your handball skills, because the smokers on my team are the best players! I also noticed many of the men on the professional team smoking before/after games. I also distinctly remember watching Brazillian and Argentinian players smoking in the bathroom at the Pan-Am Championships banquet, with gold and silver medals around their necks. So, if I didn't have asthma (and also hate the idea of smoking), I would totally pick up smoking as part of my training plan. Hey, if it works for professional athletes and national team players, it will work for me!

Only joking. Kids, don't smoke, it is bad for your health.

But anyway- I figured as the year wore on and I adapted a more "French" lifestyle (and less Coke and Ho-Ho buffet), I would eventually make my way down to a French weight. I expected the fact that I do not eat pork, cheese, or milk-based products to aid me considerably since that is all they eat here. However, unexpectedly assisting me in this process has been my bad luck!

Anyone can get sick, but it was definitely bad timing for me to be dragged down with tonsilitis/strep my second day in France. I spent most of last week getting over that, and then thought I was done with being sick at least for a few months. I had a fairly relaxed weekend and finally started eating again and then BAM- Monday night I got sick again with some kind of stomach bug/food poisoning.

Ridiculous. I'm feeling better now but starting to wonder if I am actually going to survive here! My host family must think I'm never well, since I've been out of it pretty much since I arrived. I missed two practices this week (Monday and Tuesday) and so now my coach is wondering what is going on. Great, I love to start off like that.

Thankfully today is my day off so I'm just trying to take it easy. I slept 12 hours last night and woke up feeling much better today. I really want to get settled and start having some fun!

Now the question is, even if I get down to French weight, will I still have an excuse to avoid fashion trends like tights and skinny pants? I hope so. I just can't get into that, even if I am looking more French!