The French Secret

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.