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Food and the French Woman
Monday, March 27, 2006

The other day on The Oprah Winfrey Show, one of the guests was Mireille Guiliano, the author of the bestselling book "French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure".

Ms. Guiliano was on the show to promote her book-- and also to reveal a few secrets of how French women seem to stay so slim even though they dine on such fattening indulgences as croissants, cheese, chocolate and wine. Apparently in France only 11 percent of the women have a weight problem, as opposed to 67 percent of us here in the United States. So yes, I was intrigued by what this French woman had to say.

According to Ms. Guiliano, French women just look at food differently than American women do. They eat whatever they want, but only in small portions. They never eat until they are stuffed. They put their food on pretty plates and relax and take it in a calming environment-- no standing in front of the refrigerator or TV while they eat.

And the there was something about a three bite rule. That is, if you want something really decadent, like a piece of cheesecake or something, go ahead and eat it-- just stop eating it after three forkfuls.

Huh? That one seems a little difficult to me. But if you look the figures of French women, I guess it works. The point being, that if you are eating solely for pleasure, you will get that satisfying experience in only three bites. Apparently anything more than that is excessive.

One of the other guests on the show was an American woman who had successfully lost 22 pounds in just three months using the "French Women Don't Get Fat" plan. Now this woman looked skinny. Looking at her before and after pictures, it looked like she lost a heck of a lot more than 22 pounds. Still, she swears by this plan and they even showed a little video clip of a typical meal that this woman ate. It was a few apple slices with paper-thin pieces of parmesan cheese between them. Oh, she also washed it down with a big glass of wine. Oprah asked the woman if the apples and cheese were just a snack and the woman said that no, that it was her lunch. She also went on to say that she had managed to lose 22 pounds in three months while still drinking three glasses of wine a day. Sounds like she may be trading one problem for another, but that's just my opinion.

There were a few other points that the author made. French women don't diet. There is no billion dollar diet industry in France. There are also no gyms. The French women don't pump iron-- but they do walk a lot and they always take the stairs. They treat every meal as if it were a divine experience. No unconscious snakcing on chips out of the bag or eating the leftovers off of their children's plates.

Ms. Guiliano also divulged that she has a secret leek soup fast that she recommends to be done a few times a year. A whole weekend of nothing but her homemade brew of leek soup, to cleanse the body. Then it's back to the croissants and wine.

I would like to take a tip from the French women, because I do believe that eating should be an enjoyable experience. If you're choking down a bland salad in the name of cutting calories, surely you will break down and binge on something more substantial later.

So why not quit the charade and just eat the foods that you enjoy? Bask in the preparation of the foods. Create interesting recipes that are filled with the ingredients that you love. Buy high quality ingredients. And just enjoy.

Oprah asked Ms. Guiliano if the French women talk about how fat American women are. Ms. Guiliano smiled coyly-- she obviously didn't want to say anything negative-- but it was clear in my mind that we look very different from the women in France. So they are doing something right

So now, with a license to eat chocolates and croissants what will you do? Will you et a whole bag of grocery store chocolate or will you seek out a high quality chocolate and enjoy juts a few bites. Will you inhale two croissants in a sitting or just take a few mindful tastes of a deliciously fresh baked one?

The choice is yours.

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