Product Description

Stylish, convincing, wise, funny, and just in time: the ultimate non-diet book, which could radically change the way you think and live – now with more recipes.French women don’t get fat, even though they enjoy bread and pastry, wine, and regular three-course meals. Unlocking the simple secrets of this “French paradox” – how they enjoy food while staying slim and healthy – Mireille Guiliano gives us a charming, inspiring take on health and eating for our times.For anyone who has slipped out of her Zone, missed the flight to South Beach, or accidentally let a carb pass her lips, here is a positive way to stay trim, a culture’s most precious secrets recast for the twenty-first century. A life of wine, bread – even chocolate – without girth or guilt? Pourquoi pas?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #116565 in Books
• Published on: 2007-12-26
• Released on: 2007-12-26
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .63 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Amazon.com
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 you have a chocolate croissant for breakfast, have a vegetable-based lunch--or take an extra walk and pass on the bread basket at dinner. Guiliano's insistence on simple measures slowly creating substantial improvements are reassuring, and her suggestion to ignore the scale and learn to live by the "zipper test" could work wonders for those who get wrapped up in tiny details of diet. She sympathizes that deprivation can lead straight to overindulgence when it comes to favorite foods, but then, in a most French manner, treats them as a pleasure that needs to be sated, rather than a battle to be fought.

A number of recipes are included, from a weight-loss enhancing leek soup to a lush chocolate mousse; they read more like what you'd find in a French cookbook rather than an American diet book. Most appealingly, these are guidelines and tricks that could be easily sustainable over a lifetime. If you agree that food is meant to be appreciated--but no more so than having a trim waist--these charmingly French recommendations could set you on the path to a future filled with both croissants and high fashion. --Jill Lightner

Amazon Exclusive Video Click here to watch Mireille Guiliano introduce French Women Don’t Get Fat to Amazon customers.

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From Publishers Weekly
Is it possible to fill up on chocolate croissants, butter and cheese and remain thin? According to Guiliano, who battled with her own weight after consuming such treats, it isn't, and anyone hoping to hear otherwise will be disappointed, but not surprised, by her commonsense prescription: be active (i.e., take the stairs instead of the elevator), eat three squares a day (always at the table, not on the go), carry a healthy snack for cravings, and take pleasure in the occasional indulgence. With her sophisticated French accent and enticing manner of describing even the healthiest of foods (like unsweetened yogurt, soy nuts and hazelnuts), Guiliano is certainly adept at making her weight-loss philosophy sound good. But in practice, some listeners may have trouble warming up to the wholesome foods that tease her palette. Someone who normally snacks on potato chips might be loathe to switch to soy nuts, and it's easier said than done to eat two bites of a brownie, savor the pleasure of those bites (as Guiliano says a French woman would) and then put the rest of it down. Though Guiliano's asides about her own life are entertaining and the recipe cards included with this audio contain such tempting and healthful treats as Mousse au Chocolat and Pumpkin Pie
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From AudioFile
Oo la la! What a delectable feast. As its subtitle promises, Guiliano's book offers to teach you how to eat anything you like, drink wine, do a very simple exercise, and still achieve the body beautiful. The big secret to French women's svelte figures lies in portions: small, small, small. This is not just a diet book, but also a sensible lifestyle pattern. And Mireille Guiliano's down-to-earth, sexy French-accented voice is an inspiration to all listeners. Includes recipes (best: miracle leek soup) and a candid author interview. M.T.B. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine