French
Women Don't Get Fat
The Secret of Eating For Pleasure
By Mireille Guiliano
(Knopf, December 2004)
A
smart, slim French woman publishes
a book entitled French
Women Don't Get Fat and it's
flying off the shelves. Sure, the title is a bit audacious
and sweeping: Spend a few minutes on the streets of
that nation's capital and you're bound
to see at least one pudgy Parisienne. But admit it:
The claim gets your attention! In America, we love
to spend money on diet
books, diet foods and other weight-loss gimmickry;
but, finally, here's the ultimate non-diet book,
as author Mireille Guiliano calls it.
Guiliano
knows a thing or two about the French,
about our wild food habits in the United States and
about a sensible approach to living well. Her credentials?
She's definitely a foodie. (Have you ever noticed
how few foodies and oenophiles are actually overweight?)
And a sensualist à la Colette. And a French
femme, married to an American, who spends her time
between New York and Paris. And the president and
CEO of Clicquot Inc. (the company that distributes
high-end Champagne, wine and cognac with brands such
as Champagne Krug and Veuve
Clicquot). And
she has two eyes in her head with which to observe
the world around her. And she's been
"overweight" herself — sort of. Twenty
pounds, to be precise, which caused her dad, quelle
horreur, to proclaim that she looks like "Un
sac de patates." Cruel to compare your
daughter to a sack of potatoes, but it did the trick.
French
Women for All Seasons
A Year of Secrets, Recipes, and Pleasure
Mireille Guiliano picks up where she left
off with her best-selling first "non-diet"
book. You may adore her slightly preachy
voice and delight in what's pretty
much an elaboration on the kind of advice
she dished out before. Or you may have
a reaction similar to ours: been there,
done that. We were thrilled with the first
effort; the second one capitalizes on
the success of "Real Women Don't
Get Fat." Maybe it's time American
women develop the self-confidence to look
past French stereotypes for wellness advice.
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Guiliano's
advice comes down to this: Adopt "a balanced
and time-tested relation to food and life" and
there's no reason you should ever pile on the
pounds. She advises us to practice the French lifestyle
of savoring food (including chocolate, bread, cheese
and wine), controlling portions, walking, drinking
lots of water, eating a variety of fresh foods, adding
healthy
staples like satisfying Greek-style yogurt and, most
of all, enjoying ourselves.
It
all comes off a bit smug and obvious (gee, take the
stairs?), but Guiliano delivers her message with such
charm that you cannot scold her. She means well. And
it has worked for her and millions of other French
and Western European women. But, alas, we poor heavy
schleps in America have a lot going against us. An
average U.S. croissant is twice the size of one in
Paris. People look at you funny if you take to the
streets in many an urban center (especially L.A.).
And the stairs? Frankly, in most buildings they are
plain scary, not to mention the fact that you run
the risk of setting off an alarm just by opening the
door to them. Relax and slow down? That's easy
to say for the French, who each year enjoy six weeks
of paid vacation. Also, we happen to know that Guiliano
stays in shape with the help of a dedicated yoga
practice.
All
those reservations aside, what we love, what we adore
about this book is its celebration of pleasure, zest
for living, guilt-free but sensible self-indulgence
and a positive slant to everything. Guiliano provides
us with a valuable reminder, if not a brand-new lesson,
for us hurried, guilt-ridden fast food citizens. It's
a brave new world of "eating for pleasure."
So, at your next meal, put down your cutlery between
bites, savor each item on your plate individually
and leave room for dessert. C'est très
facile!
Reviewed
by Sylvie Greil
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