How Tel Aviv Women Stay So Thin!

Photo Credit: ג'קי יעקב 

Tel Aviv has been labled one of the top cities with the most beautiful people by travel magazines and travel blogs everywhere.  Beaches are filled with beautiful bikini-clad women and nightclubs and cafes brim with trim girls. When it comes to good looks, Tel Avivians just seem to "have it". They are tan 75% of the year, they live life mainly outdoors, and they are known for being fashion-conscious and fashion-forward.

But  how do Tel Avivians maintain their svelte figure!?

While I'm still trying to figure out how Tel Aviv is overflowing with so many gorgeous people, I think I've done my best to whittle down a list of the top 4 reasons Tel Aviv Women stay so thin! So here we go:

Fresh Produce

PhotoCredit: Smitten Kitchen

Israel has some of the most affordable and tastiest local fruits and vegetables. Fresh produce stands abound as do larger open-air markets. The Carmel market in the center of Tel Aviv is the most popular, but the Tikvah market is a close second.  Fresh juice stands are littered throughout the city with seasonal fruit switching up their shake menus. People know when the local vegetables are in season because nearly all is locally grown and produced. And this means that the Israeli salad- whether it be fruit salad or vegetable salad or a mix- is a staple in the Israeli Mediterranean diet.

Walking/Biking Culture

PhotoCredit: Hibino

Unlike Jerusalem, Tel Aviv is pretty flat making it a fantastic city to walk or bike. Combine that with the terrible traffic and high gas prices, and all Tel Avivians seem to have strong incentive to choose waking or biking over driving.  What's more, the Tel Aviv municipality has introduced a brand new rent-a-bike system this past May and it's already seen tons of success. This means people are moving around most of the time in the city, if not out of the city on a hike or walk through nature ( another practice deeply ingrained in Israeli culture).


Coffee and Cigarettes

Photo Credit: Maariv

Yes, it's true. Just like the French, the Israelis love their coffee and cigarettes. Their coffee, by the way, is absolutely fantastic- so I definitely give them that one. But, they love their cigarettes so much, that even after a law was passed banning smoking in bars, the people are still smoking everywhere: indoors and out. Why this smoke-affair exists is a topic for another time, but as we all know, coffee and cigarettes have long been known to help people control their weight and as terribly unhealthy both can be- it can't be overlooked. And no, I am not condoning cigarette smoke as an effective or practical weight-loss method in any way!


Year-Round Beach Season

PhotoCredit: Walla

Right now it's early July and Tel Aviv beach season is at its peak, but in Tel Aviv, the beach is always the place to be. In fact, The Environmental Protection Ministry rated Tel Aviv and Herzliya beaches the best in all of Israel. Now this not only means that nearly year-round it's hot-hot-hot- a factor that typically suppresses the apatite- but it also means that the Tel Avivian is in bikini-season year-round. And with such a youthful population, its no surprise that beach-goers do their best to look their best.  That's not to say that Tel Avivians never indulge in junk food. One look at the multitude of falafel stands and ice-cream shopswill put that myth to rest. It simply means that Tel Avivians are aware of eating healthy and staying fit.