French Women Do Not Get Fat

Overview  Author Mireille Guiliano plan is based on her belief that American women should mirror the lifestyle of their French counterparts.  By mimicking the highly-effective French habits, you can eliminate the job of counting calories, watching carbs or other dieting trends. 

The method is simple, common sense and best of all, it works.  By increasing the fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs in your diet, eating just three meals a day, avoiding oversized portions, drinking more water and introducing more physical activity every day, you'll still be able to treat yourself with your favorite goodies now and then.  French women who manage to maintain ideal figures in the face of a traditional diet that includes cream, butter, cheeses and meat.

Followers of Guiliano's diet are encouraged to eat for enjoyment.  Consuming only foods that you take pleasure in will help satisfy your hunger.  She also suggests avoiding the scale and monitoring your weight according to how your clothing fit.  She explains that although French women don’t get fat, they do eat bread and pastry, drink wine, and regularly enjoy three-course meals.  She explains the French attitude towards food to be one of checks and balances, occasional indulgence, but never without a compensation to make up for it.

What we like about this plan.  It is a lifestyle plan.  It focuses on the simple pleasures, enjoy the moment and avoid anything that demands too much effort for too little pleasure.  Enjoy dining in as much as dining out, and love to entertain at home.   She encourages drinking water all day long.  The books recipes are delicious and full of flavor. It also encourages exercising with natural movement during the day (walking, jogging), and frown on the American practice of "working out and sweating at the gym"

What we disliked about this plan.  There is an online plan which cost $19.95 a month to join, which is a bit pricy.  Recommending only 3 meals day is not great for one who likes snacking or who likes to graze.  She jump starts the plan with a two week leek soup.  A two-day leek soup fast jump-starts the French Women Don't Get Fat plan, followed by meat or fish, vegetables, and a piece of fruit.   This recommendation, to start dieting through a semi-fast of primarily leek soup is a dislike because it is not nutritionally adequate.  Some of Guiliano philosophies are life lessons, others like “Dress even to take out the trash, follow fashion closely, but don't follow trends”, are a bit unusual.

How Healthy Is this plan?  The plan is a healthy one.  It is not a fad diet; it is a full lifestyle change.  The leek soup beginning does have nutritionists alarmed about its safety in addition to the fact that one will not be able to follow the beginning.  Following the principles and suggestions of this diet plan will undoubtedly improve one's general health, as it promotes choosing and eating healthy foods, drinking plenty of water and moving as much as possible during the course of one's day.   Emphasizing the virtues of freshness, variety, balance, and is always pleasure.

Mireille recommends eat with all of your senses and be more mindful of every bite so you taste and savor the food and recognize when you are full. "Three bites of food are all you need to really enjoy it," Guiliano says. Sit down, slow down, chew thoroughly, and eat without distractions – turn off the television, put down the book, and focus on eating. These and other tips make this book worth the read and make the plan a healthy plan.

Here’s The Bottom Line  First and foremost, French women do get fat and the obesity rate in France is growing quickly.  French Women Don't Get Fat, like many other diet books, is a frustrating blend of real insight, and sheer assumption on the author’s part. Guiliano is not a nutrition or weight loss professional and even though she doesn't claim to be, bases her advice on personal experiences and observations of life in France. With this plan, knowing that no food is off-limits could be very powerful to followers as they can control portion sizes and the majority of food they choose is nutritionally sound, like vegetable soup and low-fat yogurt.

Again, the book is worth the read; however this is more of a “non-diet” than a structured plan.  If you require a more structured plan or are an emotional eater, read the book for the tips and insights but use another healthy lifestyle plan with exercise to reach for weight loss goals.

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