The French Secret

While we’re talking about the aging of French beauties, here’s a picture from Cannes of the 41-year-old Juliette Binoche.

It’s not a terribly flattering haircut, but she’s nonetheless very beauty, and thus far seems to have avoided the temptations of cosmetic surgery.

Here’s another article about Mirelle Guiliano, this one from U.S.A. Today

When French-born Mireille Guiliano was walking through Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport a few weeks ago, she looked at all the people who were eating and tried to find some who were enjoying their food.What she observed were people gulping down hamburgers and fries while typing on their laptops, talking on their cell phones or reading the newspaper.

“I couldn’t see anyone eating with pleasure,” says Guiliano, 58, CEO of Clicquot Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of Champagne Veuve Clicquot. “Food is one of the best pleasures in life. We should not eat like we’re robots or on autopilot. It’s not like eating. It’s like stuffing yourself.”

And that, she says, is the difference between the way the French and Americans view food. And it explains in part why Americans struggle more with their weight than the French do. Perhaps it’s time for the French women’s diet.

I don’t know about you, but I when I’m in the airport, I find that it’s awfully hard to locate a nice little bistro, one that serves a crusty baguette, a runny cheese and a glass of fine wine.

Nonetheless, I suspose that the point is well taken. Part of this french diet is built on the savoring of smaller portions of good quality food, rather than substituting quantity for quality as too many Americans already do.

Here’s a link to a funny account of a Mireille Guiliano book signing in Houston, Texas, a city that Men’s Fitness has declared contains the “fattest people in the country.”

For those of you who were wondering what Mireille Guiliano, the author of French Women Don’t Get Fat, looks like, here’s a picture. Predictably, she’s quite attractive.

Madame Guiliano has been popping up all over the country touting her book. This photo was part of an appearance on CBS’s morning show.

Here, as a special bonus for the few of you who read this blog, is a list of bullet points that outline her theories about staying fit..

Savor What You Eat
Slow And Steady
Variety of Foods
Drink Water
Ritual Eating
Portion Control
Walk
Ritual Preparations

All good, sensible advice.