As part of my responsibilities as a nutrition critic, I read a lot of diet and nutrition books.
Admittedly, there are so many diet books out there it is almost impossible for me to read ALL of them, but every so often, when one hits the the best sellers list, it’s time for me to visit my local book store and get my read on.
Last week was one of those times. After over hearing some very positive conversation at my local coffee shop I realized I needed to get my hands on a copy of “French women don’t get fat” by Mireille Guiliano.
After a weekend of reading, I’ve finished the book, and have this review to offer.
I found this book to be unlike most of the other diet books I have reviewed lately. There is no hokey psuedo-science, no clearly-defined plan, and no lists of “magical foods” that you have to avoid or have to eat.
The premise behind the book is fairly simple. According to the author, French women are not fat – Therefore we should eat like the French.
Now, if you remove all of the stories about life in France, some useful recipes and some sporadic uses of the French language, then you are left with one easy message:
“Eat less, but enjoy the foods you eat. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables, and lots of herbs and spices. And maybe most importantly, spend less time stressing over the types of food you are eating.”
Sound familiar? This is close to exactly the message that I have been promoting on this blog and in my articles for grrlAthlete.com
Now you may be thinking that this is this some coincidence, or that maybe I have met Mireille Guiliano, and I can tell you that neither of these are true.
I have never met Mireille (However, I would like too), but the similarity in these messages is not a coincidence.
The reason that our messages are almost identical is because they work.
Your absolute best tool for creating a great nutritional diet is eating less but enjoying the foods you eat. Follow this by eating lots of fruits and vegetables, and lots of herbs and spices and you are well on your way to a diet that is near perfection. And once you stop stressing over the types of food you are eating, well at this point you are golden.
BP
