From today's Boston Globe. I haven't read the book but it sounds to me like "clean eating" with a little wine thrown in. :9 Has anyone read it and what do you think? Are there any new insights or just the same old stuff in a different package?
How do French women stay slim? It's simple, she says.
By Alison Arnett, Globe Staff | May 4, 2005
Her book sales in the United States are projected at a million and a half copies by the end of the year. Readings from Ireland to Australia are crowded with fans, and she's having trouble squeezing in television appearances around her day job. But Mireille Guiliano, author of ''French Women Don't Get Fat" (Alfred A. Knopf), now translated into 10 languages, is sitting at a banquette in the Federalist restaurant and manages to look serene.
As soon as she sat down, a slim flute of Champagne was placed in front of her, explains Guiliano, who is president and CEO of the Champagne company Clicquot, Inc. But before tasting it, she asks the waiter for some bread. ''Wine is food," Guiliano says, adding that the habit of young American women to drink three glasses of chardonnay or brightly colored cocktails before dinner is ''insane" and means they can never really savor their food.
Guiliano, small, perfectly coifed, and wearing a pale turquoise ruched silk jacket, talks of her best-selling book -- 4Æ months after publication, she's also a bestseller in several European and Asian countries -- as a mission to change the way people view food. ''French Women" grew out of friends' asking her how, since she was passionate about food and wine, she avoided getting fat. For years, she would laugh and simply say that the French have their secrets. Finally she decided to put her philosophy down on paper.
The slender book, printed with a whimsical drawing of a tiny French poodle pulling a woman pulling a grocery cart, is not a diet book, and it's this element that Guiliano thinks is part of its success. She writes about the differences between the way Americans view eating -- on the run, big portions, indulgences, and snacks -- and the French model of eating slowly and savoring meals with friends. Over dinner, she admits that the hectic pace of life here can conspire against leisurely meals. But she insists that eating three meals a day that include small portions, avoiding processed foods, and ''paying attention to what you eat," along with walking, can work wonders. Her voice purrs a little over consonants, and she frequently mentions that American women are too hard on themselves, but she's quite firm. ''You think you're hungry but you're not. Have a glass of water instead."
Born in France, Guiliano had an early brush with American foodways when she lived as an exchange student with a family in Weston. After a year of chocolate chip cookies and other snacks, she returned home 15 pounds heavier -- to her and her family's chagrin. Her battle to return to a typical svelte French figure provides the basis for Guiliano's diet wisdom. As she slowly savors a three-course meal, talking of her mother's golden fried beignets and what she cooked for her American husband last Saturday (sauteed scallops with vegetables and golden potatoes, with pineapple for dessert), it's obvious she follows her own advice. Our meal ends with a few spoonfuls of creme brulee and a discussion of dark chocolate -- all part of life's pleasures.
Even her publishers are surprised by the sales of ''French Women." The volume is an ''incredible" success and ''the book of the moment," says Paul Bogaards, executive director of publicity. When Guiliano appears later this month on ''Oprah," book sales are expected to skyrocket, he says.
After reading this slender book, what lingers are Guiliano's three pages of aphorisms, reminding: ''French women eat smaller portions of more things." ''French women don't snack all the time." ''French women take the stairs whenever possible."
This may be the genius of Guiliano's book: With this French woman's voice lodged in the brain, maybe keeping the hands out of the bag of chips and the feet moving up the staircase will be a snap. At least until the next craze comes along.
--Lois
"Don't forget to breathe!":9
How do French women stay slim? It's simple, she says.
By Alison Arnett, Globe Staff | May 4, 2005
Her book sales in the United States are projected at a million and a half copies by the end of the year. Readings from Ireland to Australia are crowded with fans, and she's having trouble squeezing in television appearances around her day job. But Mireille Guiliano, author of ''French Women Don't Get Fat" (Alfred A. Knopf), now translated into 10 languages, is sitting at a banquette in the Federalist restaurant and manages to look serene.
As soon as she sat down, a slim flute of Champagne was placed in front of her, explains Guiliano, who is president and CEO of the Champagne company Clicquot, Inc. But before tasting it, she asks the waiter for some bread. ''Wine is food," Guiliano says, adding that the habit of young American women to drink three glasses of chardonnay or brightly colored cocktails before dinner is ''insane" and means they can never really savor their food.
Guiliano, small, perfectly coifed, and wearing a pale turquoise ruched silk jacket, talks of her best-selling book -- 4Æ months after publication, she's also a bestseller in several European and Asian countries -- as a mission to change the way people view food. ''French Women" grew out of friends' asking her how, since she was passionate about food and wine, she avoided getting fat. For years, she would laugh and simply say that the French have their secrets. Finally she decided to put her philosophy down on paper.
The slender book, printed with a whimsical drawing of a tiny French poodle pulling a woman pulling a grocery cart, is not a diet book, and it's this element that Guiliano thinks is part of its success. She writes about the differences between the way Americans view eating -- on the run, big portions, indulgences, and snacks -- and the French model of eating slowly and savoring meals with friends. Over dinner, she admits that the hectic pace of life here can conspire against leisurely meals. But she insists that eating three meals a day that include small portions, avoiding processed foods, and ''paying attention to what you eat," along with walking, can work wonders. Her voice purrs a little over consonants, and she frequently mentions that American women are too hard on themselves, but she's quite firm. ''You think you're hungry but you're not. Have a glass of water instead."
Born in France, Guiliano had an early brush with American foodways when she lived as an exchange student with a family in Weston. After a year of chocolate chip cookies and other snacks, she returned home 15 pounds heavier -- to her and her family's chagrin. Her battle to return to a typical svelte French figure provides the basis for Guiliano's diet wisdom. As she slowly savors a three-course meal, talking of her mother's golden fried beignets and what she cooked for her American husband last Saturday (sauteed scallops with vegetables and golden potatoes, with pineapple for dessert), it's obvious she follows her own advice. Our meal ends with a few spoonfuls of creme brulee and a discussion of dark chocolate -- all part of life's pleasures.
Even her publishers are surprised by the sales of ''French Women." The volume is an ''incredible" success and ''the book of the moment," says Paul Bogaards, executive director of publicity. When Guiliano appears later this month on ''Oprah," book sales are expected to skyrocket, he says.
After reading this slender book, what lingers are Guiliano's three pages of aphorisms, reminding: ''French women eat smaller portions of more things." ''French women don't snack all the time." ''French women take the stairs whenever possible."
This may be the genius of Guiliano's book: With this French woman's voice lodged in the brain, maybe keeping the hands out of the bag of chips and the feet moving up the staircase will be a snap. At least until the next craze comes along.
--Lois
"Don't forget to breathe!":9
