French Women's Diet Review

Diet Review

By Myatt Murphy

With French Women Don’t Get Fat, 60-year-old Mireile Guiliano, president and CEO of Champagne giant Veuve Clicquot, presents a plan based solely on her own observations and beliefs – namely that French women don’t skip meals, count calories , or work out for hours in a gym – and for the most part, they’re still slim. French-born Guiliano is not a weight loss or nutrition professional (and she doesn’t claim to be), but she did have to painfully relearn her French eating habits to shed the extra 20-pounds she packed on during her stint as a foreign exchange student in the United States. Since Guiliano has lived in the United States for many years, she is able to write about how eating habits differ between French and American cultures in a thoughtful and entertaining way. While the book is a blend of some insight, shaky science and speculation, Guiliano does make some scientifically supported recommendations like slurping soup and eating more fruits and vegetables can help reduce overall calorie intake. And who can argue with controlling weight through small changes and savoring good food?

Is the diet healthy?

Technically it’s not a diet, but a list of strategies to help dieters eat moderate portions and keep moving. Even though French foods are typically high in fat, the French eat smaller portions and consume fewer calories by day’s end than most Americans. They move more, too. And let’s face it, more Americans than French are overweight.

What do the experts say?

“The author makes some questionable dietary claims, suggesting leeks are a mild diuretic, have a ‘magical’ quality and cause weight loss (there’s no science backing these claims),” says Katherine Tallmadge, M.A., R.D., National Spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. “She also advises people to start dieting through a semi-fast, eating predominantly leek soup. While most people would lose weight using this method, it’s not nutritionally adequate.” On the plus side, Tallmadge is impressed with Guiliano’s recommendations regarding fruits, vegetables and soup (i.e., eat more of them), as well as her advice regarding walking and weight training.

Who should consider the diet?

People who have less than 30 pounds to lose, don’t like the idea of deprivation and aren’t up for the mental gymnastics of counting carbs, calories and fat grams. It helps if they have no trouble keeping portion sizes small, live in a big city that requires walking and enjoy frequent market trips.

Bottom line

This plan certainly beats extreme diets that call for banishing entire food groups or subsisting only on soup. The crux of the plan is fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthful proteins – with a good deal of walking to boot. If you have the time and patience to savor food and the will power for portion control, you can lose weight on this diet – and enjoy yourself in the process.

Foods

You can eat pretty much anything, but the plan emphasizes high quality foods – especially fruits and vegetables. Just like the French, Guiliano recommends eating meals of several courses in very small portions. Instead of nuking canned vegetables and noshing on mealy off-season fruit, select produce at its peak in terms of flavor and freshness. Indulge in a few ounces of filet mignon rather than half a pound. Guiliano also stresses that dieters should go for the real thing and stave off feelings of deprivation. So instead of fake, low-fat cookies, or mass-manufactured candy bars, opt for a couple of bites of crème brulee or one small piece of high quality dark chocolate. The plan also includes a system of checks and balances, so if you order dessert at lunch, you might skimp on dinner or take an extra long stroll after work. Recipes range from basic to complex, including Asparagus Flan, Egg Omelet with Herbs and Ricotta Cheese and Soupe Aux Legumes de Maman.

See the French Women's Diet at a Glance