French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure Paperback – Illustrated, December 26, 2007

Part healthy living guide, part memoir, this non-diet book is chock-full of great advice for weight control. I have lost over thirty pounds since reading this book almost two years ago, which has also been reread when I've felt myself slipping back into an American standard of eating. Even if you don't want to buy a yogurt machine or eat leeks for a weekend, this sage advice is well worth your time.As Madame Guiliano teaches us, the biggest "secrets" to maintaining a healthy weight are portion control and balanced eating. The "trick" is not deprivation, but indulgence in fine foods in portion-controlled amounts. Deprivation only leads to overindulgence later. Tantalize your taste buds! Yes, you can have the wine, the champagne, the rich food, and the few pieces of (high-quality) chocolate too! The biggest lesson on portion control: French women eat until they're satisfied. Americans eat until they're stuffed. You must learn to read the signals that tell you when you've had enough.As she shows us, both when and how are important for balance. If you had the bread at lunchtime, skip it at dinner. If you had the croissant for breakfast, balance it with vegetables at lunch and a piece of fruit mid-afternoon. Eat three healthy meals a day. If you eat well throughout the day, you will lose the need to gorge all night long.Madame Guiliano advises us that the most delectable portion of a course is in the first three bites. Go for the cup of soup, not the bowl. She also advises us to cultivate an appreciation for fresh foods that are in season, and to use them. As she notes, there is nothing more flavorless than a winter tomato, so why torture your taste buds by eating them? Other useful "rules" include: NEVER eat standing up, pay attention to presentation (every meal should be an experience), and don't rush through meals - pay attention to your food!Of course, French women walk everywhere, too, but we Americans don't need to be told we aren't moving enough. We all know it. We don't want to hear it, but we don't have an appreciation for how small things add up to big changes. Park your car at the furthest space away from the store, take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk from a store to the one next door instead of driving across the parking lot. It all adds up! I know some of this doesn't sound new, but what Madame Guiliano teaches us is a new attitude toward food.This book has given me a renewed interest in cooking, and an appreciation of the freshest seasonal foods available. Whole Foods has become a staple for my produce and chocolate. I have dusted off my favorite cookbook and found dozens of easy recipes using spices I had never tried (I found her recipes a little too difficult, using ingredients I don't readily have at hand). Best of all, put these suggestions into action and enjoy a "joie de vivre" you've never experienced before!

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