Picture yourself in a French caf´ savoring a meal and sipping wine while chatting with friends and you'll understand the philosophy behind the best-selling book French Women Don’t Get Fat. The author, Mireille Guiliano, says she has not written about a diet per se, but an approach to a healthy lifestyle where food is more than just sustenance. According to Guiliano, eating slowly, downsizing portions and choosing fruits and vegetables only when in season, along with exercise, will help you stay as slim as the French.

Diet Fundamentals:

Phase I: Recasting
• Keep a food journal for three weeks.
• Cut out problem foods temporarily.
• Eat three balanced meals a day.
• Eat fresh foods in season and not only enjoy, but savor what you eat.
• Exercise.
• Drink water.

Phase II: Stabilization
• Slowly add problem foods back into your diet.
• Eat smaller portions, especially of problem foods.
• Focus on seasonings and seasonality of fruits and vegetables.
• Increase daily movement and exercise.
• Increase daily water intake.

Phase III: The Rest of Your Life
• Incorporate the new eating habits into your lifestyle.

Sample Menu:

Breakfast
• Plain yogurt with a little bit of high-fiber low-fat granola or some high-fiber cereal and berries

Morning Snack
• Serving of soy nuts, plain yogurt, fresh fruit or vegetables

Lunch
• BLT sandwich on whole-grain bread
• Fruit

Dinner
• Grilled chicken with rosemary
• Cauliflower au gratin
• Arugula salad with some olive oil-based dressing
• Glass or two of wine

Dessert
• Grilled peaches with lemon thyme or a piece of fine chocolate (dark with at least 62 percent cocoa)

Snack
• Serving of soy nuts, plain yogurt, fresh fruit or vegetables

Pros and Cons

The Pros
This is a commonsense, balanced approach to eating and living. It emphasizes smaller portions, fresh fruits and vegetables, being more active, and actually enjoying what you eat. Perhaps a novel concept for most dieters. Nothing’s off limits. All food groups are included, which increases your chances of sticking to this way of eating permanently.

The Cons
There may not be enough structure for most people to lose weight successfully with this way of eating. This approach is just not that practical for most Americans working long hours and juggling career and family. The emphasis on only the highest quality foods can be more expensive, and not all of these foods are readily available throughout the country year round. This approach will be more challenging and probably less successful, short and long term, if you don’t enjoy cooking or if you eat out often.

Bottom Line
Overall, the basic principles of this approach are sound. Decrease processed food. Increase fruits and vegetables. Smaller portions, and no deprivation. Adopting even just a few of these could help Americans not only be thinner but also healthier. If you’re really a foodie, <i>French Women Don’t Get Fat</i> could be right for you. And if you adopt the primary message of changing your attitude and approach toward food, you might be able to say <i>au revoir</i> to some of those extra pounds.