French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano
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Book Reviews of French Women Don't Get Fat
Book Review: Haven't Read It Yet
Summary: 5 Stars
Yes it's true, I haven't read the book yet, but I have read the opening pages available on Amazon and am purchasing it on kindle today. I'm commenting here on some of the reviews and sharing my recent experience with weight loss after traveling in France and England for a month and a half during May and June 2010. I also lost weight during my travels abroad. Like another reviewer I ate a huge english breakfast everyday when in England and I had a little joke that I never passed a bakery or fish and chip shop that I didn't like! (And stop in!) Aside from loving the, "What can I get you love?", I truly enjoyed the delicate fried fish! (I usually passed on the chips.) And I found English bakeries just as delicious as the French ones, with fresh, buttery, melt in your mouth pasteries. In France I ate loads of fresh crusty bread and croissants DAILY! And when I say LOADS, I mean it. One day I bought a whole package of croissants (about 8 of them) and ate all of them before nightfall. Everyday I bought cheese as well. Sometimes I'd find a park to sit in and enjoy my meal, or I'd just eat a huge piece of bread while I was driving down the highway. I did a lot of driving through the french and english countrysides, and did some walking through cities like Edinburgh and London, but I can't say I did a lot of walking anywhere. In spite of all the eating I did, I lost about 10 lbs. during my trip, and a lot of it was in my waist and hips. I've wondered about this a lot. I was trying to lose weight for a year before I went traveling and couldn't, although I went to Weight Watcher's, went to the gym, and even had a round (15 sessions) with a personal trainer. Before I left on my trip I was on a gluten free diet for about 3 months. I did feel better, but the weight still wasn't coming off. I just couldn't get down more than a pound or two and if I did, it would come right back. With all the gluten in the breads and pastries I ate over in Europe, it's odd that I felt so good and lost weight. I do think that maybe there's something about what goes into our food here that might be causing some bloating, or something that makes it harder to lose weight. Maybe some pesticides used during the growing process, some food engineering process, some processing ingredients, I don't know, but there has to be something. I'd love to know if people who grow their own vegetable gardens have the same problems with weight gain, bloating, etc.
Getting back to the issue at hand, I can't wait to read the book and add my REAL review! Thanks to everyone for all sharing your experiences and thoughts.
Book Review: This book tells the truth
Summary: 5 Stars
This is in response to some of the negative reviews here. I think they are from people who don't understand the message in this book at all. I'm European and grew up in Germany visiting France and Italy frequently. Even though I lived most of my adult life in the US I can assure you that European women eat plenty, but it is true that they walk or bike everywhere and eat fresh most of the time. The selection of processed food that actually tastes good is slim. It is also not that easy to find fast food restaurants and if you do the food there just doesn't taste good, so they don't eat it. Additionally, the majority of food is consumed during the first part of the day with lunch traditionally (in Germany) being the meal with the most food and home-cooked. Afternoon coffee and tea breaks with snacks are typical and a light dinner is standard. When I go back to visit it becomes more apparent each time how few fat people there are and how bad it has become in the United States. I have never seen a morbidly obese person in Europe or know of anyone there who had gastric bypass surgery, yet five different people at my US work place with only 200 employees had it done. While eating disorders exist there too, the main problem in the US is fast food on every corner. I didn't know what a Big Mac was until I was a teenager and had never seen bacon until I met my American husband. While anti-smoking laws there are poor, not enforced, and way behind the times, I know plenty of Americans that smoke and are fat at the same time. Only a couple of members of my extended German family smoke and the non-smokers are just as thin. And yes - a size 8 is overweight especially for women under 5'7". It's all about standards. People are either fat or not. There it's normal to not be fat, here people stare when you're not. This book will definitely open your eyes and get you moving in the right direction.Book Review: Diet? Deprivation? Count calories? If this is your ideal way to lose weight, don't buy this book!
Summary: 5 Stars
Many millions of Americans diet . . . some join Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers, some diet through deprivation, some buy tiny little boxed meals high in sodium and low in nutrition. Then they watch with envy as their families enjoy a full meal with dessert, usually prepared by the starving dieter. Is it any wonder that we find ourselves losing, and then a year or two later gaining those pesky excess pounds right back?
Since I have never visited France, I'm not sure if some French women have the same dilemma. I do know there are far fewer obese people in Europe than here in the U.S.
The beauty of this book is that you don't have to be deprived of good food to diet. In fact, you will enjoy these recipes much more than your traditional American fare . . . cheeseburgers, fries, chocolate milk shake, etc., if you keep an open mind. Mireille shares her secrets and fabulous recipes, not asking us to give up our desserts, or our cream and butter.
On page 86 she tells us many French people still eat their main meal at lunch. My lunch buddy and I adopted this idea in 2005 (prior to reading this book), and have been quite successful with weight control. I am 57 and I wear the same size as my 25 year old daughter . . . a size 6! Think I am just lucky . . . nope, I work pretty hard at it. But I don't count calories or eat salty tasteless food out of cardboard cartons. I eat "real food" prepared with herbs and other natural seasonings, a diet filled with legumes, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
If you enjoy eating and cooking, this is a great book to have on your shelf. Buy it and enjoy food the way the French do!
Lynette Fleming, coauthor of Lunch Buddies: Buddy Up for a Better Diet
Book Review: A GREAT READ FOR EVERYONE.
Summary: 5 Stars
Everyone should read this book. It has a lot of wonderful insight to eating right. I don't believe in "diets". What I believe in is eating healthy. Watching the amount you eat, how often you eat and what time of day you eat. Making good decision. Exercise. This book basically reiterates that with some helpful hints.
It's been several years since I read thIS book so I don't recall a lot of details. What I do remember, what I got out of it the most is to pay attention when you're eating. Have no distractions. I totally believe in this process though I don't follow it. I have kids that often interrupt meals, and when they aren't around I'm I like to get in a little reading. But I am more aware of what I'm putting ino my mouth as I eat since reading the book.
The other thing I got out of this book is that dark chocolate is good for you...so to speak. And I LOVE dark chocolate so I now have a stash in my refrigerator, and have a VERY small piece of it everyday. I truly believe this helps satisfy any possible craving for "junk" as much as living by the rule, you should be able to indulge in some good things that aren't necessarily good for you. It's all about quantity and moderation, and you must make great choices the rest of the time, along with exercising.
So all in all, I felt there were several things in this book that were good enough that to this day I still incorporate into my life. Therefore, I deem this book well worth the money I paid, and the time I spent reading it.
Book Review: first book ever bought in amazon
Summary: 5 Stars
I used to own a book like this back in the Philippines, but since I migrated here in U.S,I left the book behind. so I decided to look it up on Amazon because this book has always been and should be a mainstay on your bookshelves.
Mainstay because from time to time, we need to brush up on the ideas we've read, and we tend to miss out on small things sometimes, so just when you need to remind yourself a particular page you've read, just reach for this book and you can count on it anytime to put you back to reality and be ahead of your game again. No precise measurements, no pressure in calorie counting, this book reminds us to simply get in touch with our inner selves (which most of us through time always forget) and just listen to what your body needs, it teaches you to be sensitive enough to know and be familiar with your body's signals when it tells you to stop, slow down or go ahead and fill up with what your body needs. Every woman should have a copy of this book because I've read a couple of diet books,which by the way each and everything claims that they're not another diet book out there..puh-lease! talk about Bethenny Frankel's book.. I was so glued with her reality show that it got me intrigued, I bought her first book, still nothing compares to Mireille Guiliano's,chic and classy yet informative..so wherever I'd go,the copy of this book would always be in tow..