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Jan 12, 2008

Ganesh rated it:

So, two winters ago when I started to put on a little weight, I didn't sweat it at first. I figured "hey, it's normal to put on a few pounds when it's cold out." But when one morning I had difficulty zipping up my pants, I decided to get serious and apply the ideas from this book.

Confession: in the past, whenever I gained weight, I would call up my closest friend and moan "Omigawd! I'm so faaaat!" Inspired by this book, I decided not to go into hysterics. In More...

0 comments like (24 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Kristl rated it:

While I don't believe that French women don't ever get fat, I have to say I was enticed by the tiny woman toting her tiny dog and her wine and baguettes on the cover. Yeah, I admit it. I'm all about the marketing.

I reread this diet book that's a self-proclaimed "not diet book" after the New Year, just to check back in with some concepts that had been blurred by post-wedding gluttony and holiday stretchy pants.

Based on her own experiences, Mireille Guiliano off More...

4 comments like (16 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2009

Oceana2602 rated it:

This is the kind of book your mother gives you for christmas along with the question if it's the new fashion to wear those jeans so tight.
And why, yes, my mother gaves this to me (which is why I read the german version, here. Thanks so much, mom.

Still, I have to give it to Mrs Guiliano (who is not my mother, but the author of the book), she knows about food. And eating. And when and what not to eat.

Her "secret" is that you can eat whatever you want, More...

0 comments like (10 people liked it)

Jan 08, 2009

Aj rated it:

Read in a moment of desperation at my parents' over Xmas vacation. (Picked up from the book exchange in the basement of their NYC building.)

The basic message is that French women don't get fat because they move more than American women, eat good food but in moderation, and enjoy life. I disliked the generalization that American women don't to cook at home, cook what's in season, use good quality ingredients, and to eat in moderation and to try to move more. I disliked her assumption More...

0 comments like (10 people liked it)

May 17, 2011

Zelda rated it:

Well, that was a pleasant surprise. I avoided this book when it was so immensely popular the way I try to avoid all NYT Best Sellers. How it ended up in my library bag 7 years later is a mystery for the ages.

I have a love/hate relationship with France in which I hate that I love it and I love to hate it. I try to keep my past Francophile leanings on the down low. Sure, I took 4 years of French in college, won the university's French poetry competition (for a dirty limerick I scratch More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 05, 2008

Venessa rated it:

Really the secret: eating sensibly. And this is not a diet book, more a lifestyle guide. Sensible things and sensible portions; I’d cut out the meat, being a vegetarian, but most of the recipes were absolutely delectable sounding, especially the pastries. Start with a three week inventory of everything you eat: Guiliano insists that you’ll notice your offenders and be ready for a change before the time is up. Follow that with a weekend of nothing but magical leek soup, which will drain the w More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Mar 14, 2008

Miss rated it:

ok... a chocolate croissant for breakfast?! That is a certainty that I would put a kilo or two on before 9:30am! But I've read so much hype for/against this book so can't wait to read it!

Mar 8 - started this last night and am already halfway through. Que horror!! Ze woman gained 10 kilos in zee visit in zee States! *raise eyebrows* It's not the end of the world honey. Have another glass of bubbly.

Mar 10 - as I continued reading the book, the more annoyed I become. It so More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Sep 16, 2007

Lexie rated it:

An interesting story of a french woman (the author) who studies abroad in Boston when 18 and got quite fat off of brownies and cookies- and her weight-re-awakening once she got back in France. She shares the "secrets" that "all French women know" to keep a healthy weight. Which, when we read them, though enlightening, are things we already know. Drink more water. Sit down and enjoy your food rather than scarf it on the run. Eat higher quality foods in smaller amounts, rather More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 16, 2008

Biz rated it:

This book is a mostly common sense based "guide" by someone with no background in nutrition. Many ideas are great- starting the day with a glass of water instead of sugary juices, for example, make a lot of sense and are great for one's skin. Walking more and taking the stairs? Also good. Some of the recipes are SUPER delicious (ie Ratatouille). Not sure if advising an entire weekend of nothing but "magical" leek soup is sound advice- there's not much magical about boiling More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 18, 2009

Iris rated it:

Um, yes they do. In all seriousness though, this book provides good advice to living well: walk everywhere, eat healthy, eat locally and with the seasons, and treasure your food. If you want to move to Paris to do that, I'll meet you there. The author does provide some staggering, and personal, comparisons between her lifestyle in Europe and her lifestyle while living in America, and how it impacted her body. But she confesses that, while living in America, she stopped at the pastry shop every m More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 19, 2007

A. rated it:

All the advice she gives is spot-on (drink more water, eat smaller portions, eat more fruit) but Giuliano was so damn smug that I spent most of this book wanting to smack her, not wanting to listen to her advice. Alas.

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Aug 13, 2008

Sarah added it

I LOVED this book and the author's point of view on eating. Here it is in a nutshell:
-It's all about a balance between indulgence and self control.
-Don't buy "diet foods" like skim milk and fake butter. They aren't satisfying so you just end up eating more. Certainly avoid chemically-altered "nonfoods."
-Don't give up the things you love; do give up the things that you can live without. Never eat something just because it's there. If you put it in your mouth More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 05, 2008

Catbird rated it:

I found this book through a Google search for "leek soup" (don't ask!) and have been thoroughly delighted in my find! Written by an American/French ex-pat, it delves into the wide gap between American and French perspectives on food and weight (among other things.) Dotted with stories from her childhood in France and corporate life in America as the CEO of Cliquot, Inc., it is both an easy and practical read, full of recipes and tried-and-true practices for obtaining and maintaining a More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 15, 2007

korey rated it:

I really enjoyed this book. I love the way this woman thinks and describes life from a French woman's perspective about food and life. This isn't a diet book. In fact, she's opposed to all the diets out there, especially the big ones that say no to all carbs. Something a French person would not even consider for a second. Okay, I admit, I'm probably a bit biased because the author is CEO of Veuve Cliquot in NYC. She loves champagne bien sur, and considers wine as a food. This book talks of pract More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 21, 2009

Maggie rated it:

This is part of a larger program to feel better and live healthier.

Other than Guiliano's fascination with leeks, a lot of what she's saying we've heard before. Eat smaller portions. Eat fresh and seasonal. Sit down and savor your food. If you splurge, compensate. However, Guiliano relates all of this with continual references to Champagne (always capitalized), a scattering of bon mots, and a rather lovely sense of enthusiasm for good food and good living. The moral - stop being a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 29, 2008

Jane rated it:

Well written, and fun--I loved much of what the author had to say, and feel that I'm a little closer to understanding that mysterious French psyche. I picked up several useful tips for staying healthy, and much of what she had to say is a confirmation as to how our family goes about food (with the exception of our fasting) but what I'm really excited about are the many recipes. Can't wait to try the vegetable soups!

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 19, 2007

Moe rated it:

French women don't diet but they don't get fat. Know from this book how. Actually, most of the things the author said here I already know. I already know that drinking lots of water, walking regularly, breathing consciously are good for the body...all those simple things that usually just common sense. But I must admit I take them for granted and not do it consciously. What I like about this book is that it's not imposing and it doesn't say that chocolates are bad. It made me realize how bad m More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 14, 2007

Dayna rated it:

I really enjoyed this book ... although most of the tips are just common sense practices. What I liked most about it were the anecdotes from Mireille Guiliano's childhood and youth as she grew up in France. Enchanting. It reads like a culinary autobiography. Well paced and fluid. Not exactly a diet book or a cookbook ... but there are some recipes for shedding pounds. Most of them sound good. It is really more of an outline of "French" lifestyles. The basics: French women eat to please More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 29, 2007

Lyndsey rated it:

Yum!!! This is a really cool idea for a book, not that it's the first of it's kind or anything, but i love books that are a cookbook and dialogue all at once! Combining food and reading? Brilliant. It's refreshing, funny, and not the kind of book that needs to be read all at once or in any particular order... although I guess it does help if you're seriously looking to go on a diet and lose weight without working too hard. Otherwise for people who are just looking to stay healthy it really jus More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jun 20, 2008

Erin rated it:

I found this book absolutely charming. It's not a diet book, in the traditional sense, but really a missive about how French women see life differently than American women, and eating is a huge part of that life. They eat with pleasure, which we all admit is something we rarely do (and I say that being unable to put down the second jelly-filled dunkin donut at my conference yesterday...*sigh*) and they eat logically. I try to take care of myself, eat right, exercise, but I suffer from bouts o More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 29, 2008

Rebecca rated it:

Some have said that this is a book of things we've all heard from our mothers over and over. In a way they're correct. But here the information is presented with all le charme et l'exotisme of la France. Plus it shows what I've known about the French/American differences since I lived in France in 1999-2000: that French people don't exercise (the way we do), they eat wonderful food, and they are healthy and beautiful. I like how she blames our Puritan heritage for our behavior. I've been blaming More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 07, 2008

Virginia rated it:

a slightly less scientific version of "The Fat Fallacy" By Will Clower.

Which isn't saying much, because I don't think Clower's book was particularly scientific. However, the principles in it did help me lose 30 pounds or thereabouts.

Anyway, "French Women" was ok. Not great. Her basic principles - don't eat crap, watch portion size, don't deprive yourself - are sound, except for maybe the leek soup miracle cure (only eat leek soup for an entire weekend More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 27, 2011

Jeanette rated it:

I was not as impressed by this book as I should have been, given all the hype and popularity. Still worth reading, though, for the French perspective and a few good tips. I like her philosophy of self and life and food.

American women would do well to learn from her about temperate indulgence.

"One thing French women know is that the pleasure of most foods is in the first few bites; we rarely have seconds. The things we enjoy we don't enjoy as a matter of routine. Consi More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 07, 2012

Mary Lou rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Dec 12, 2011

Mia rated it:

I actually still can't believe that french women don't get fat. Maybe most of them are not fat, but there should be some fat women there. Hahhahahha

Okay, being successful on my diet (fat loss) a couple months ago, I didn't know why I still wanted to have and read this book while I have known everything related to fat loss, at least the very basic foundation to shred the fat in my body. And it works like a charm on me.

Now after reading a few chapter of this book, I might say More...

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Nov 16, 2011

Janet rated it:

Just read the phrases on the back cover: "Don't diet * Eat chocolate * Drink wine * Take long walks *Enjoy life * Stay slim the French way". Well, where do I sign up? Of course the tooth fairy and the diet book that will have the unwanted pounds start slip sliding away does not exist. Darn. What makes this slim memoir cum diet advice book worthwhile is that it's very honest. It shines a spotlight on the "growing" American trend to super-size everything to do with food. That b More...

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Jul 17, 2011

Elizabeth rated it:

French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano (pp. 304)

It’s not a diet book. French ex-pat and senior executive at champagne-maker Vueve Clicquot makes an armchair analysis of why French women seem to never get fat and American women are constantly pushing their seams. There’s no specific “do-this, don’t-do-that” régime. There’s no secret sauce, but taken together, Guiliano’s words make more sense than most diet and lifestyle books on the market.

Some of the content More...

2 comments like

Feb 28, 2010

Sue rated it:

I think that this is definitely one of the more simpler "diet" books I've encountered. If you are looking for a technical calorie-counting book this is not the right choice for you. The author really takes a common sense approach to eating and exercise.

Some of the major points include:

-Eating smaller portions. The french women indulge in chocolate and wine but they don't have ridiculously large portions. (Has anyone been to the cheesecake factory lately?) They More...

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Oct 20, 2009

Jen rated it:

So, my curiosity was peaked about this book, French Women Don't Get Fat, a long time ago when I actually still watched The Today Show and I saw Katie Couric interview the author. I thought, That's a good point. French women really do eat bread and cheese and chocolate and drink lots of wine, but they are almost all thin and well-dressed and adorable. I finally scored a copy on BookMooch and then it languished in my to-read pile for months before I was finally in the mood to pick it up and read i More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 09, 2009

Molly rated it:

I am not fat.

I haven't ever struggled with my weight, but that doesn't mean that I should eat whatever the hell I want and not expect to gain a few pounds here and there... I have always been fascinated by the way other cultures (non-Americans) have an ability to remain trim, while consuming wine, pastries, etc- and this book explains it! It is about enjoying your food, taking time to prepare it yourself, choosing seasonal fruits and veggies- and purposely indulging in foods you kno More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

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