As I studied the differences between my skinny European friends and my fat American friends, I noticed that they ate a lot more real food.

What do I mean by that?

It’s hard to describe. But, when you go to the grocery store in the U.S., it is huge as compared to the little grocery stores in Europe. Why is it so big?

Well, first of all… most of the products simply don’t exist. They don’t seem to have most of those isles that contain boxes and cans of processed junk food. I’m talking about crackers, potato chips, zingers, ho-hos, cheeze-its, etc. They do have candy and processed desert products (very delicious!), but the scale is much smaller… and those products are specifically meant as treats… not as part of the standard diet.

Secondly, the actual produce is smaller. Frankly, things like oranges and apples look a little sickly in Europe. So do the greens. The fact is though that they AREN’T more sickly. They are generally grown organically. You can see the same thing in our health food stores. The chemicals used to grow most U.S. produce makes them appear to be large and healthy, but in fat… the organically grown stuff is better for you. It’s what the skinny Europeans always eat.

But I only occasionally went to grocery stores in Europe. I usually ate at restaurants. The restaurant food is just so good, it’s hard to justify preparing food. My European friends ate out much more often than my American friends too… if I don’t count the rushed trips through fast food places here in America.

I really enjoy fine dining. I take my wife out at least a couple times a month to a really fancy restaurant. I live about an hour from Park City, Utah which is one of the fine dining capitals of the world (in addition to skiing). I don’t mind dropping $100/plate in return for the most delicious food available. And… I never gain weight when I stuff myself at one of those places.

In contrast to the U.S., in Europe, fine dining is the norm. Really. Not just for dinner either. They eat what we would call fine dining for lunch as well. Nearly every restaurant has white tablecloths on their tables and serves delicious food in several courses prepared by a master chef. And the breakfast is even rather nice.

Fast food is almost non-existent in Europe. In Amsterdam, I remember seeing several fast food places in the airport. In Bern, Switzerland where I spent the most time in Europe, there was only one McDonalds and no other fast food places at all that I found. In downtown Zurich where I also spent a lot of time, I found no fast food places at all. In Milan, I noticed no fast food places. In Geneva, no fast food places. In London, there were a few. Guess who is the 2nd fattest people in the world after America?

So what is the problem? Is it eating fast? Perhaps. Is it the chemicals we use to grow and process foods in the U.S.? I think definitely so. There are some that are blatantly obvious. For instance, we use Bovine Growth Hormone on our cows in the U.S. It’s meant to make them fat! How closely are we related to cows? How much does that Bovine Growth Hormone make us fat?

I’m personally not aware of any studies on this, but I’m switching to as much naturally grown meat as I can. It is actually readily available in the U.S. Health food stores have it. Even most grocery stores have a small selection of organically grown meat, eggs and milk. We live in a very small town and have access to only three grocery stores in a 45 mile radius. One is 30 miles one direction. Two are 45 miles the other direction. We have found organic vegetables in one and organic meat in another.

Give it a try. You don’t have to be a tree hugger to eat organic foods. It is one of the huge differences in how skinny Europeans eat as compared to fat Americans. Maybe it’s not the primary reason we’re fat. Maybe it’s not even a factor. But, maybe it is. I’ve been successful in many other areas of my life by modeling people that I want to be like. I’m going organic.

So far, it’s working for me.

-James D. Brausch