How on earth do the Israelis keep up.

FranticFrummie

Tue, May 25 2021, 3:40 pm

We take public transportation everywhere, so we're always out walking.

Healthy food is cheap here, and junk food is very expensive. We have the most gorgeous produce of anywhere I've ever lived.

We do our best to stay out of the sun from 11am to 4pm, and run our errands early in the morning, or later in the afternoon. Nobody is out trying to get a tan. (If I have to go out in the middle of the day, I wear a floppy sun hat on top of my tichel.)

Cooking with lots of olive oil keeps your skin smooth and hydrated. Basically, it's a Mediterranean lifestyle.

amother

Tue, May 25 2021, 3:47 pm

amother [ Ecru ] wrote:

Israelis are all thin and pretty?? Not the ones I know.

[b]

Ok. Many many many.
When I walk on the streets it’s almost like a runway. Not kidding. Obviously not all. But I wasn’t aware of their gashmias culture. I was taken aback. But also in awe!

Elfrida

Tue, May 25 2021, 4:00 pm

Just curious OP, but where are you living? Because most of the women I see around on a daily basis are pretty average looking, and a wide range of sizes.

As for gashmiyus culture, in Israel we have clothing shops, sheital machers, gyms, spas, manicurists, and make up artists. Some people use them, some don't. I never thought of it as particularly cultural. More like optional facilities.

amother

Tue, May 25 2021, 4:16 pm

Elfrida wrote:

I live abroad and go often to israel. I’m out and about a lot and get to meet many people.

Rappel

Tue, May 25 2021, 4:23 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I’m eyeing them on the streets the woman are so so think and pretty.

Do they starve themselves. Exercise all day ??
Their skin is Gorgeous. I want all their secrets.

I know what you mean.

A few things I've noticed:
1) Israeli children eat relatively little dairy and carbs. Fresh produce figures very large in the average family diet. Chicken/meat is almost always stretched with vegetables. The children are overall smaller than American children, but also built on lean, healthy lines
2) water
3) exercise
4) frequent moisturisers
5) portion control. Maybe it's the heat, maybe it's the culture. But Israelis are not fressers. They'll eat two fries, swig a Coke, and then be done. They'll take one bite of a rugel and leave the other half. "Finish your plate" doesn't seem to be a thing, and those plates are a third the size of an American plate from the get-go. Coffee is served in a palm sized glass. Cookies are the size of half-dollars, and people accept one and are happy. It's a different mental approach to food.

My children are mentally and physically completely different than I am. They are lean, athletic, and energetic, with big eyes and dry hair. And when they get a (small!) snack bag , they stash it in the fridge and nibble one or two bissli a day, over the course of a week. It's not something we grew up with, at all.

Last edited by Rappel on Tue, May 25 2021, 4:29 pm; edited 1 time in total

southernbubby

Tue, May 25 2021, 4:24 pm

It looks like the most beautiful children are drafted into the IDF; each more beautiful than the next. Their IDF years gets them in top shape which lasts for years after active duty. This is both the boys and the girls. That's how they stay beautiful.

ora_43

Tue, May 25 2021, 4:25 pm

I wouldn't say all Israelis are thin and pretty. Personally I left 'so so thin' behind somewhere around age 20.

In general, though, Israelis do tend to be thinner than people in the US or UK. I think compared to, say, Greece and Italy we're probably about the same. It's probably mostly lifestyle. Life here is built to make walking often the easiest, cheapest option. Warmer temperatures mean no winter weight gain. Healthy foods like fruits and vegetables are cheap; hamburgers are expensive.

But if everyone around you is thin and pretty, that's probably just the specific place you're visiting (store where all the available sizes are small? shul that draws the young and trendy? etc).

FranticFrummie

Tue, May 25 2021, 4:56 pm

southernbubby wrote:

Yep. We have the most gorgeous military in the world. I don't know what it is, but they are all so stunning. Don't even get me started on how beautiful the Ethiopian women are. Cheekbones for days!

On the other hand, there are areas where the women are either pregnant, or have just given birth, and not much in between. A kid every single year, except on the year they have twins. Sometimes I see a woman who is pregnant, pushing a double stroller, and has 4 or 5 little ones with her. Usually the oldest one isn't more than 7 or 8. I wonder when the moms' bodies ever get a chance to rest - or are they so superhuman that they don't need rest?

zaq

Tue, May 25 2021, 5:28 pm

ora_43 wrote:

I wouldn't say all Israelis are thin and pretty. Personally I left 'so so thin' behind somewhere around age 20.

In general, though, Israelis do tend to be thinner than people in the US or UK..

IOW, it's not so much that Israelis are thin as that Americans are fat. The typical Western diet is low on produce, high on sat fat and carbs, and the typical Western lifestyle is low on physical activity and high on sitting. Many epidemiological studies have shown that when countries with low rates of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases adopt a more Western diet, their rates of these disorders approach those of Western countries.

amother

Tue, May 25 2021, 6:10 pm

I think I’m living in the wrong country!

Ok. Portion control =eating a huge rogelach the size of a bread loaf here in the states vs a baby mini rogelach filled with sesames seeds so even cake has an added healthy protein Smile

Walking helps. And the weather isn’t brutal in the winter so ppl are more outdoor and out and about.

We are doing it all wrong here.

Rappel

Wed, May 26 2021, 12:41 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Walking helps. And the weather isn’t brutal in the winter so ppl are more outdoor and out and about.

We are doing it all wrong here.

Welcome home! Smile

DrMom

Wed, May 26 2021, 1:01 am

zaq wrote:

THIS.

Whenever travel to the US (as opposed to when we travel to Europe), my kids notice how many of the people are simply enormous.

But we Israelis are adopting the bad habits of the West. More screentime and less active time, plus a more affluent lifestyle, is gradually leading to chubbier kids here too.

https://www.ynetnews.com/artic.....dren.

etky

Wed, May 26 2021, 1:43 am

DrMom wrote:

Yup. It's really striking.
We just don't have the same type of pervasive morbid obesity here.
OTOH I never noticed that Israeli women are particularly good looking but maybe that's because I'm so accustomed to living here and I just don't see it?
Regarding body build, it's possible that genetics are a factor too.
There is a high percentage of women of Middle Eastern extraction and they tend to be somewhat more petite than their European counterparts, at least when they're young.
And as others have pointed out - lifestyle and diet plays a big part although that is slowly changing too unfortunately.

etky

Wed, May 26 2021, 1:48 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Walking helps. And the weather isn’t brutal in the winter so ppl are more outdoor and out and about.

We are doing it all wrong here.

It's the supersize culture, driven by economics, and it's very hard to combat.
What is considered a 'normal portion' in the US is really double what people from other cultures would consume.
It skews your perception of how much you should be eating.

chanchy123

Wed, May 26 2021, 3:03 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I’m eyeing them on the streets the woman are so so think and pretty.

Do they starve themselves. Exercise all day ??
Their skin is Gorgeous. I want all their secrets.

That's so funny, because that's exactly what I think of Jewish women in NY or NJ (they're all so thin and put together and wear heals all day!)
I think FF said something about public transportation, the last time I took public transport was during a vacation abroad - it's basically the difference between people who live in a city, and people who live in the suburbs or non-urban areas.
Anyhow, I think it's one of those grass is always greener on the other side situations.

Mayflower

Wed, May 26 2021, 3:13 am

etky wrote:

This. I remember vacationing in the US as a teenager and being shocked by the size of the portions in restaurants. So we would either order an appetiser instead of a main course, or one main course for 3 people.