French Women Don't Get Fat
(Mireille Guilano)
In
her New York Times bestseller, French Women Don't Get Fat
(Random House, December 2004, $22.00, hardcover), Mireille Guilano, President &
CEO of Champagne company, Cliquot, Inc. details her struggle with weight gain as
an exchange student in the U.S. during her youth. Upon returning to her
native France, she found herself unable to shed the weight as she had been
"corrupted" by the American way of eating - specifically the attitude of
indulgence without regard to consequence when it comes to food. Ms.
Guiliano consulted her family physician (whom she refers to as "Dr. Miracle")
who refocused her in the French way of eating and philosophy of balance in life,
enabling her to shed the excess weight. 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. She stresses the folly of guilt and
deprivation with regard to the pleasures of food, but her message is clear --
simply eat in moderation, maintain balance in you eating habits, and overweight
will not become an issue. In other words, you can have your cake and eat it too,
but your indulgences should be thoughtful, planned, and consciously plan to make
up for it. She reveals tricks she uses to fool herself into contentment
and avoid overeating, and discusses the how French and American attitudes toward
exercise are dramatically different.
According to French Women Don't Get Fat, French women:
Consistently
choose their own indulgences and compensations
Plan their
meals in advance, think in terms of menus, and enjoy shopping to create
healthful meals
Don't snack
or eat mindlessly, pay attention to what they are putting into their bodies
Enjoy
dining in as much as dining out, and love to entertain at home
Walk as much
as possible, prefer to take the stairs, believe exercise should come in the
course of one's natural movement during the day, and frown on the American
practice of "working out and sweating at the gym"
Eat for
pleasure
Care enormously
about how food is presented
Dress even to
take out the trash, follow fashion closely, but don't follow trends
Focus on the
simple pleasures, enjoy the moment and avoid anything that demands too much
effort for too little pleasure
Believe "love
is slimming"
Never go on
formal diets
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. However, given the fast pace of life we Americans share, is it
possible to consistently adhere to this plan? Although inspiring, this
program requires that many lifestyle adjustments be made to start down the path
to a balanced, thoughtful way of eating. In our opinion, it does not
address emotional eating, (as well as binge eating) prevalent issues in our
culture today. Also, many may find it difficult to simply "move more"
during the course of the day, and actually prefer the structure and camaraderie
of organized exercise programs. And why is sweating a bad thing?
Numerous studies have confirmed the benefits of aerobic exercise in maintaining
a healthy heart. Do French women compensate by drinking more red wine
instead?
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