French Women Don’t Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure
Product Description
The million copy, ultimate #1 bestseller that is changing the way Americans eat and live
Don’t Diet
Eat Chocolate
Drink Wine
Take Long Walks
Enjoy Life
Stay Slim
the French way
Experience the joie de vivre
of French Women Don’t Get Fat
by Mireille GuilianoAmazon.com Review
The message of this book could be a blessing or a curse, depending on your perspective. There is no hard science, no clearly-defined plan, and no lists of food to have or have not; instead, you’ll find simple tricks that boil down to eating carefully prepared seasonal food, exercising more and refusing to think of food as something that inspires guilt. It’s both a practical message and far easier said than done in today’s “no pain, no gain” culture. Author Mireille Guiliano is CEO of Veuve Clicquot, and French Women Don’t Get Fat offers a concept of sensible pleasures: If y… More >>
French Women Don’t Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure
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I understand that the reviewer who listed her web site has her own products and way of losing weight that has been effective for many people. I truly applaud her efforts.
However, that is not to say that this marvelous little book is incorrect in any way, shape or form. While Madame Guiliano is not a nutritionist or doctor, she is the CEO of Clicquot Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of Champagne Veuve Clicquot. Believe me, she knows a thing or two about eating and drinking for pleasure and maintaining your ideal weight.
Let me tell you my own experience eating the French way. I went to France a few years ago for about three weeks. I stayed in Paris, and then in Chartres. I could only afford to eat in little cafes and bistros, but I vowed to eat only my favorite foods and go back only to restuarants that were to die for. I ate my favorites – chocolate made fresh every day, chocolate mousse, home made ice cream, omelettes, pizza with goat cheese and cream sauce, quiche of every kind – you name it I ate it. I also had a glass of wine with dinner every night. We snacked almost all day in between meals on fresh fruit. All of the food was fresh – no chemical additives and nothing packed in pastic bags. We also walked every morning before breakfast and every day after lunch.
When I got home and got on the scale I was shocked to see I had lost 25 pounds, and two dress sizes. I had to laugh because we complained the first few days about how long it took us to get served, and how long each meal took. After the second day we were so into really tasting the food we shared, we shut up and stopped hurrying through each meal.
It took less than a week for me to get back into my harried life – eating on the run, shoving food in my mouth while I talked on a conference call and simultaneously completed and emailed reports. I was back to the fast lane and fast food take out.
When I got this book it took me back to France, and back to why the French have less than an 11% obesity rate (and ours is 30% and climbing.) The French simply eat the freshest food in season, they enjoy what they eat and they walk every where!
We cannot avoid food. We need it to survive. But we can choose fresh foods in season that we love, make meals with a few favorite ingredients and savor every bite.
Once we slow down and let our taste buds enjoy great food again, we will give our stomachs the twenty or so minutes it needs to signal – hey that was delicious but I am done now. You can stop. Save the rest for another time.
Granted, we should not use food as a deterrent for issues we are not dealing with in life. We need to ask – what exactly is eating me right now? And deal with it. Get help from books like Eating in the Light of the Moon or from professional therapists.
In the meantime, we can learn the pleasure principle of food, and lose a few pounds along the way.
I also recommend her other books:
French Women for All Seasons
Women, Work & the Art of Savoir Faire: Business Sense & Sensibility
About 6 months ago, I read a Marie Claire article about how the French and American editors switched lives and diets for one month. The French editor lived on Snackwells (an abomination, she thought) Lean Cuisines, and ate in her car, in front of the T.V., and on the go. The American editor dined on fresh, warm breads, rich cheeses, succulent meats and divine wine, and actually sat down, undistracted, to do so. At the end of 30 days, the French editor, despite eating so-called “diet” meals, gained about 10 pounds; the American editor lost 10-15. Bizzare occurence? Alert the ‘Weekly World News’? Hardly. Instead, pick up a copy of Mirelle (pronounced Meer-Ray) Guiliano’s new book “French Women Don’t Get Fat”.
Mirelle confirms what we already know- that French people in general are more active (let’s face it- it’s more tempting to walk to work when you have the gorgeous Parisian landscape to indulge in) and consume less junk. So basically, she’s not telling us anything we haven’t heard before. The difference is, the French approach isn’t a quick fix drop 10 pounds in 2 days juice diet. Mirelle accounts her own experience as a foreign exchange student in America- at 18, she was bigger than she’d ever been, thanks to a new love for chocolate chip cookies, potato chips, and everything else Americans love to nosh on. When she went back home, she turned to her family doctor, Dr. Miracle (no joke), who was eager to help. And now, she’s given us Dr. Miracle’s instructions to help us.
There are a few phases you must go through to change your lifestyle: Recasting, which involves keeping a 3 week food journal to identify your “offenders” (i.e. which foods are your personal temptation/downfall) and at what times you’re eating the most, and Stabilization, learning to eat and move for life by adding the previous offenders in moderation. Although tedious for some, this is like having a doctor prescribe a personal diet just for you, rather than jam you into a ‘one size fits all’ diet. Recasting also involves what Mirelle calls “round up the usual suspects”- analyzing your journal to decide was seems excessive in your judgement- and then determining what you can live without (or at least, with less of). Dr. Miracle also ‘prescribes’ starting your casting off with 2 days of ‘leek soup’ (sort of like the French version of the cabbage soup diet, but smells less like feet). Another staple in your house should be fresh, in season fruits and vegetables. If you’re just buying what’s in the supermarket, you may not be getting the best of what’s in season, which yields a better flavor that reduces the need for lashings of butter and salt to improve their taste.
Variety is key, she adds. If you condition yourself to eating the same type of foods, your taste buds become immune to the flavor, thus requiring more to satiate your ‘craving’. By adding new foods and flavors to your diet, you’re more likely to eat less, and certainly will never be bored. Mirelle also gives us a few recipes that can serve as substitutes for sweets (and there’s not one that calls for sugar substitute or pretend butter). All in all, “FWDGF” encourages moderation and using your common sense. If you really want dessert after dinner, skip the bread basket and only have two forkfuls of dessert- then, lay your fork down and keep up conversation until the waiter/tress asks to take your plate away. This may seem like an expensive waste, but you’ve satisfied your craving while not overindulging. As Oscar Wilde once said, “The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it”. Likewise, a little of a well chosen dessert will keep you from gorging something worse later on. Stock good dark chocolate in the house when you get a jones for something sweet. Dark chocolate can satisfy a craving and has antioxidants that are good for those with high blood pressure (in small doses, of course).
A few reviewers have slammed this book for what they feel is the age old French snootiness about Americans. Not so. Indeed, Mirelle speaks about her love for her adopted country (her husband is American) and merely wants American women to understand that the reason French women stay slim is no secret. That Marie Claire article also mentioned that only 6% of French women are overweight/obese, as opposed to American women (over 50 percent). This is because:
1. French women eat smaller portions of more things (each meal averages 3 courses).
2. French women eat more vegetables.
3. French women love chocolate, especially dark chocolate
4. French women honor mealtime rituals and never eat standing up, on the run, or in front of the T.V.
5. French women eat what’s in season for maximum flavor, and know availability does not equal quality.
6. French women don’t care for hard liquor.
7. French women walk wherever they can.
8. French women drink water all day long.
9. French women don’t eat anything “fat-free”, “sugar-free” or anything stripped of natural flavor. They go for the real thing IN MODERATION.
10. French women choose their indulgences and compensations.
There are many other “French Women…” things in this interesting book that you owe it to yourself to at least consider. I’ve gotten past the leek soup weekend, and even keep a stash on hand in the fridge to eat before my meal (lots of fiber to make me feel full). Recipes and advice abound here; the key is eating for pleasure, but in moderation; recasting your life to be healthy and happy without total deprivation or counting carbs, calories, or fat grams. Eventually, you will get to the point where you can talk and think about food positively, not dread it (French women never talk about diets either). I think this is something I can live with!
Mireille Guliano President and CEO of the champagne company Cliquot Inc. is the author of “French Women Don’t Get Fat”. Guliano travels 180 days of the year, eating out frequently and indulging in rich dishes and other goodies including bread, champagne and chocolate. Yet she manages to stay very slim and trim the French way.
“French Women Don’t Get Fat” is a wonderful opportunity to look inside this chic French woman’s mind and understand how she eats such delicious food, rarely visit the gym yet wears a small size.
The 263pg book speaks volumes. It clearly describes how to “think” so you will make the food choices that even if indulgent support a healthy weight. And it describes how to “move” to stay slim and you don’t have to go to a gym.
You do not have to be in the Zone or give up carbs or fat in order to lose weight. There is no need to micromanage your nutrients. Instead you must temper your indulgences with restraint. It seems so simple – yet millions of overweight Americans don’t know how to accomplish this. And with her commonsense explanation M. Guliano explains exactly how to do this.
Madame Guiliano is not a doctor or nutritionist. And she has not done scientific studies to test her methods. BUT all she has to do is point to France and the millions of slim Frenchwomen who use her “methode”.
Madame Guiliano states she learned the process of weight loss when she gained weight after a visit to the States from her Doctor – Dr. Miracle. The good doctor taught her simple steps to achieve a healthy weight. Guiliano took his lessons to heart slimmed down and is now frequently asked how she stays so slim!
One of the first steps in the program is recasting. Here you look over the food you eat and you decide what you have to have and what you are willing to eat less of or give up entirely. You also work to get the blatant sugars that create havoc with your chemistry out of your system. There is also a simple recipe for leek soup for a weekend of cleansing for those who wish to jumpstart a weight loss program. You will journal and see what areas cause trouble in your life.
Other steps include eating regular meals, increasing fruits and vegetables, drinking water, not stocking offenders at home and enjoying yogurt on a daily basis.
The book is really designed for those who understand the calorie concept and have a basic understanding of healthy and non-healthy foods. Though Guiliano does not get into calorie counting since she asks that you track what is causing your weight problems, it’s assumed that you know that “faux” foods like twinkies are an offender whereas an apple is not.
Her book includes numerous recipes including Asparagus Flan, Grilled Spring Lamb Chops, Yogurt, Baguette, Salad of Duck A L’orange and more. The book is,however, light on sample daily menus. More of what to eat on a daily basis would have been good.
The book is a superb read on how the Frenchwoman stays so slim and trim! Freshness, variety, balance, luxury and a trim waistline can be yours if you follow the principles!
Bonne Chance!
Lee Mellott
Woooo … this book really has rallied a love-it-or-hate-it sensibility here. Well, count me in the love-it group. And why? Because for me it struck a chord … and it works. 10 weeks ago, I embarked on a new way of eating … I was 212 pounds (at 6 foot tall with a medium frame that’s a bit overweight for a guy) … and today I was weighed at my Doctor’s office – 191 pounds! That’s 21 pounds! I.e. I’ve lost 2 pounds per week on average – what Doctors consider a “safe” amount to lose. My ideal weight is about 180 pounds … so only 11 more to go! My Doctor was almost as excited as I was and wanted to know how I did it. When I told her about this book, she said she’d heard about it and needed to get a copy for her husband, a cardiologist!
Yes, Madame Guiliano is not a medical professional. Yes, she is the CEO of Veuve Cliquot. Maybe you take offence at her generalizations – I don’t. I feel that she talks about her observations with style and humor and yes, perhaps some of them maybe stretching things a bit, but they are her beliefs. Hello? This is not some scientific paper that is going to be vetted by professionals. It’s a story, a way of looking at things, a lifestyle change … an encouragement to using a little willpower in your life.
Some people have criticized certain aspects of the book such as the shopping from markets or walk everywhere, but my take is … get inspired by the book, make changes in your life and take from it what you can. I never tried the Miracle soup, I still shop at Safeway, I still drive everywhere … but I’m mindful of what I eat without going overboard … I cycle a little bit now and then (20 mins or so per week) … and I eat delicious food. I also never weighed myself over the 10 weeks (I was afraid of getting discouraged) … I just started noticing that I needed to take my belt in further and that I was looking better in the mirror. Despite the “you’re looking better” comments from friends, proof-positive was today at the Doctor’s office.
Note that I eat some of the bad stuff too, but in moderation … as a treat … not as a way of life (like before). I still have takeout chinese food, I still eat burgers, but now I make the chinese food last for more than one sitting and I eat only half the burger. Salad has become a steady side dish in my life. (Big note here: salad can make you fat too … don’t pile it on at the cafeteria and then slather it with 300 calories of dressing! Hello?) This book has changed the way I look at portions here in America – they’re (quite frankly) obscene. What to do? Doggy bag it! Saves time and money too!
If I overindulge once in a while, I do as Madame Guiliano says … I cut back on my next meal. Maybe just a small (and I mean small!) ham-and-brie toasted sandwich with some fresh basil and tomato instead of a big meal. And no more eating food that I don’t like – I was in a restaurant once, had ordered a chicken sandwich, didn’t care for it, so I left it! Why eat food that doesn’t bring you pleasure? I love food. I love to cook. I still use butter, I still use cream … but I use them sensibly. I also drink one glass (1/4 bottle) of red wine per night. At weekends I might indulge in a glass or two more or maybe a cocktail.
For me, this book worked – it was just the encouragement I needed to do something about my weight. I don’t care for the “you must eat this, you must eat that and in these portions”. I like what I like to eat – I don’t want to learn to love what someone else eats (though I did incorporate more fresh veg and fruit in my diet). I also don’t care for the “it’s not your fault” books. I’m an adult … I know I goof up sometimes … and I know that the only person who will look after my weight is me. My responsibility. The buck stops here. All-in-all it was a little tough at first, but after a few weeks, it became second nature. Now, I don’t have to think about it – food and watching what/when/how you eat doesn’t run my life like I expected a “diet” to. It’s not a diet – it’s a lifestyle … and in the words of one fast food chain … “I’m Lovin’ It” (ha!)
Sorry if I’ve rattled on a bit here. I hope I haven’t come off as a snob or something. I just wanted to tell my story and encourage others. Eat well (but sensibly) and enjoy food, life and living!
Madame Guiliano … I’d like to say a very public “merci” for your style, wit, humor and, of course, the time you took to write this book.
Hey, and your champagne is not too shabby either! À votre santé!
*** Update on 4 Oct 2005:
Well, I reached my target weight of 180 pounds a few months ago, and despite going on vacation, I have managed to maintain my “ideal” weight.
I still have a glass of wine per night and indulge a little more at weekends, and I still adhere to the basic principles in the book, just not as rigorously as before. However, if I pig out one day, I make up for it the next … everything in balance.
Just read an article on MSN that “Vast majority of Americans likely to become fat” … yikes. This is a shocking thought. I absolutely do not intend to become another sad statistic in our nation’s health epidemic.
I bought a good quality digital scale and I weigh myself every morning when I get up. I fluctuate between 177 and 183 pounds and don’t freak out if I’m somewhere in that range. If I start heading upwards of 183, I put the brakes on again.
Losing the weight has been a big inspiration in my life. I realize that if I can lose weight, I have the ability to change many other things in my life … which is what I am currently doing. I am questioning my job, the time I spend, my reltionships and where I live. It’s scary and exciting at the same time.
On a last note, I sincerely would like to encourage anyone that, yes, this can be done. Have fun, be flexible and enjoy life. No one’s gonna hand it on a plate to you (well except a waiter) so get off your b*** and go for it!
Cheers!
In reading the reviews below, it just never ceases to amaze me the excuses that Americans try to use to justify why we have to stay fat. Most of the negative reviewers have clearly never read the book or have serious comprehension problems or, more likely, simply want to blame “genetics” “busy lifestyle” “kids” “metabolism” or some other scapegoat for their obesity. The only problem with this book is that the author, Mireille Guiliano, doesn’t understand the American’s Calvinistic/Puritanical complex about weight (no French person could!). In the U.S. being fat is considered a “sin”, a “moral failure” rather than what it really is: A (potentially) temporary loss of equilibrium that almost everyone goes through from time to time and has absolutely nothing to do with morals, character, goodness, badness, God, the Devil, or anything else! That’s why so many of the reviewers get so defensive and throw out ridiculous, and false, banalities about French smoking habits, attitudes, and, oddly enough, menstruation! “Well yeah I’m fat…but..but..but…hey the French SMOKE!! That’s a worse sin than being fat, right?” “Well…uh….yeah I’m fat…but…but…..French women diet to the point of missing their periods!!!” Needless to say, not only is that untrue according to the medical establishment (French women don’t have a higher rate of missing periods due to low weight or low percentage of body fat than American women) but can you imagine the consciousness of the idiot (below) who wrote it? Only in America!!
First of all, I am obese. I’ve tried every diet, “lifestyle change”, program, shake, bar, book on weight loss there is. I’ve fasted, I’ve juiced, I’ve cut carbs, fat, high-fructose corn syrup, sugar, and everything else you can name. I’ve done Ornish, Pritikin, Powter, Atkins, Sugar Busters, Suzanne Somers, and on and on and on. These are all unsustainable, dead end weight loss strategies and some (like Atkins and the other low-carb monsters) are extremely bad for your health. My health problems (hypertension, sleep apnea) were prompting me to consider gastric bypass surgery. Then, I found three books: French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano, The Fat Fallacy by Will Clower, and The Martini Diet by “Gin” Sander. Suddenly, food was no longer the enemy, lack of planning and foresight was! Now, I’m been losing weight steadily, my health is slowly improving, and I’m living a sustainable lifestyle that I LOVE!! By truly enjoying the food that I eat. By only eating the very best I can afford (I am not rich). By sitting down and eating like a civilized person and all the rest of the suggestions in this book. Again, I am not rich, so I can’t drink Veuve Clicquot with every meal, but I do go down to Trader Joe’s and buy a variety of $2 – $5 wines some of which are very good, others not to! Of course, the book is simply a guideline and you don’t have to drink wine at all if you don’t want too. You don’t have to eat chocolate if you don’t want to. You don’t have to eat anything you don’t like or can’t afford and you don’t have to eliminate anything you like. Just savor it, eat it at table, and, little by little, introduce small, livable changes into your life until you are losing weight. I never thought I’d say this, but, LOSING WEIGHT IS EASY!! The hard part of losing weight is that we Americans try to do it with some ridiculous, unenjoyable, miserable, torturous, routine that no one can ever stick to (I guess we must suffer to fight sin!!) The fact is, a few simple, enjoyable refinements in lifestyle can help anyone to lose weight. We Americans need to get the corporate advertisers’ voices out of our ears and listen to some great advice from a little French lady.
Now, a few “for the record” statements for anyone who has read some of the negative reviews below and might believe the unsupported, uninformed, ignorant, notions set forth by some reviewers. First, FRENCH WOMEN DON’T SMOKE MORE THAN AMERICAN WOMEN!! Get that? You heard correctly!! Reliable data show that 23% (not 30.8% as someone wrote below) of French women smoke. 20% of American women smoke. This is not a significant enough difference to produce the drastic divide in obesity numbers between France and the U.S. The reason most ignorant people think French women smoke more than Americans is twofold. Number one, in America the 80% of women (and men) who don’t smoke have moralized on this sin to such a great degree that smoking is now outlawed in almost every public place whereas in France the “live and let live” attitude means that the 23% of women who do smoke can do it anywhere they want so it’s seen more often. The second reason, as I stated above, is that fat Americans want an excuse for their “sin” and pointing the finger at someone else’s “worse sin” has always made small-minded people feel better. For the record, I’ve never smoked in my life and smoking isn’t a sin either, just an unhealthy habit, like overeating. My second “for the record” point is that I’m amazed at all the people who have gone to France, seen one or two fat people, then try to dismiss this whole book! Are there fat French women? Yes!! Of course!! Reliable data show that 8% of French people are obese. But 30% of Americans are obese! Reliable data show that 30% of French people are considered overweight. But 80% of Americans are considered overweight! And it isn’t because French people are shorter than we are because height and bone structure are taken into consideration in these studies. It’s also true that the French, while consuming four times the amount of butter and cheese as Americans, have less than half the rate of heart disease as Americans have, lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and a lower risk of cancer too. If we’re too haughty, prideful, and arrogant (two sins in the Calvinist/Puritan lexicon, last I checked, that often get ignored by Americans along with “thou shalt not kill”) to see that the French have a lot to offer Americans when it comes to lessons on how to live a healthy, sustainable life, then maybe we don’t deserve it. My last “for the record” point has to do with all the reviewer that pointed out that obesity is on the rise in France as if that means something. Of course obesity is on the rise in France, American corporations are opening Macdonald’s, Burger Kings, etc. etc. there at an alarming rate! As the younger generations of French people adopt the American lifestyle and attitude toward eating they will get fat! Did you think this book was saying that French people stay thin because of something other than lifestyle? Americans can’t get past the moralistic viewpoint of everything. This book doesn’t claim that the French don’t get fat because of some moral superiority or just because they’re French!! It’s because of the age-old, time-tested lifestyle of French people. That’s the lifestyle presented in this book even though it’s being practiced less and less by the younger generation of French people, causing a rise in obesity rates. I think the author will agree that French people ought to stick to the traditional French lifestyle as much as Americans would do well to adopt the traditional French lifestyle!! But, for France, there is hope, since they have a government that actually responds to the needs of their people the government has instituted a great program of nutritional education in schools taught by actual nutritionists as opposed to America where most nutritional councils that write curricula for our schools are staffed with executives from the beef and fast food industries.
If you want to make excuses and scapegoats for being fat, if you want to pretend there is nothing you can do to change your habits, if you want to continue to try every torturous, dangerous diet plan that comes along the pike to satisfy your Puritanical urge for self-flagellation, then don’t, do not get this book, it has way too much common sense, joy, and indulgence for you. If you’re ready to lose weight like a grown-up, without a gimmick, if you’re ready to live a healthy lifestyle without the childish reliance on extreme diet “religions”, if you’re ready to make mature, healthy decisions that will allow you to live a long, healthy, and extremely enjoyable life, then get this book, read it, and little by little, change your life.