The French Secret

Here’s a picture of Catherine Deneuve with her magical diet secret.

Uh oh, let the backlash begin!

n the recent verbal salvos between the United States and France, perhaps it was inevitable that we would only find detente on the battlefields of the Diet Wars. I refer, of course, to the nationally bestselling book, “French Women Don’t Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure,'’ penned by Mireille Guiliano.

How remarkable that less than two years after there was a bitter campaign to rename french fries “freedom fries,'’ we’re now clamoring for French-style freedom from flab. And the battle plan was so simple. All Guiliano had to do was hit us in the belly by focusing on eating for quality rather than quantity. Just start with her “Magical Leek Soup'’ for three days, she writes, and then you can usher in a wonderful new lifestyle that includes delicious bits of butter, cream, chocolate and wine.

The book’s smug tone force-feeds the notion that French women are far more sexy than Americans, informing us that among our differences are: “French women love fashion'’ and “French women love to laugh.'’ Oh, give me a très grand break. The only time I’ve heard of French women really guffawing is when they’re watching Jerry Lewis or listening to Americans trying to speak French.

Yes, there is something a little smug about those who are touting the French diet, and their belief in the superiority of the French manner of eating. But, then it works, doesn’t it? Even this reviewer, writing in the San Jose Mercury, has to admit that there is truth here.

Nevertheless, even Yank nutritionists and counselors heartily approve of Guiliano’s central message. “The good part of what she says is emphasizing the sensuality of food and liberating eating from `morality,’ ‘’ said Deb Burgard, a psychologist in Los Altos who specializes in weight and eating disorders. “She makes it clear that we deserve a lot more pleasure from what we eat and a lot higher quality.'’

Once again, the French diet is about moderation and pleasure. You eat well, but you don’t eat huge. You savor moderate quantities of excellent food.

Here, for your viewing pleasure, another picture of the 61 year old Catherine Deneuve aging well.

Here’s a blog that I definitely need to add to my blogroll. Cucina Testa Rossa, a blog that promises its readers a “culinary journey through France.”

Sounds like it’s right up our allez.

Here are several good pieces of fun anecdotal evidence from the blog of the Food Musuem.

Mireille Guiliano is by no mens the first person to have written a book on the power of the French diet. In fact, since the CBS’s Sixty Minutes did their famous story on the French Paradox nearly a decade ago, several authors have turned out their own version of the French diet book.

I’ve purchased a couple of them, and looked at more than a few of them, usually over a strong coffee and a croissant in a bookstore coffeeshop, and so I’m somewhat qualified to make a few remarks about each of them over the next few days.

First up: The Fat Fallacy : The French Diet Secrets to Permanent Weight Loss by Will Clower.

Like many of the French diet diet books, this one is less about specific diet plans, and more about trying to address the unhealthy American diet, trying to get American to stop gobbling giant portions and eat like the French. Although, it’s also clear that Clower, neuroscientist is more than a little dogmatic in his reponse to temptation, saying over and over again, “not one ounce” to all sorts of temptations. That, of course, does not sound very French.

Once again the “secrets’ revealed aren’t that secret. Avoid the junk food; slow down and savor; olive oil is good; giant portions are bad; etc, etc.

Still, on the whole the advice is sound and one could do a lot worse than follow his advice with regard to eating and exercise.

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.