- ISBN13: 9780307336521
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Wouldn’t you rather savor a buttery croissant instead of inhaling an artificially flavored diet shake? Isn’t taking a relaxing stroll preferable to pounding out early morning miles on the treadmill? The French live t… More >>
The French Don’t Diet Plan: 10 Simple Steps to Stay Thin for Life
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5 Responses to 'The French Don’t Diet Plan: 10 Simple Steps to Stay Thin for Life'
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My book was missing 20 pages! But, Amazon took care of the problem immediately and sent a new book within a couple days.
Excellent customer service
Rating: 1 / 5
French food does have fewer additives (not always zero though – read the label from a European imported item and see for yourself although it’s true there’s no low fat BS) – but they also have time to shop every single day, at several different shops and bakeries. (They also have tiny refrigerators.) If you don’t want bread wrapped in plastic then you have to buy it every day because it goes stale in one day.
On the other hand, try getting a salad in Europe. At best you’ll get a few cucumber slices drowned in a cream sauce. The French incidentally believe that pregnant women should not eat salads, and nobody drinks water in Europe.
It’s true that the French, and the Germans, the Dutch, the Swedes, the Spanish, the Swiss, etc. are thinner and healthier than we are. I agree that wholesome food is part of it but it’s also due to their portion sizes, lack of snacking, and also in the fact that they have shorter workdays (so they can shop every day), much longer vacations, and don’t have to worry about being laid off (illegal in many European countries) having no health care, or not having enough savings for retirement.
In short they are less stressed than Americans and have more time to relax over a meal. (On the other hand they have higher taxes which they gripe about and many of them feel the tradoff isn’t worth it and they move here) BTW there are also fat French people. Oh, and everybody walks and cycles a lot more due to a much better transit system and the high cost of owning a car, plus centralized cities.
Germans are also thinner and diet less. I lived in Germany for two years. Never saw a salad. Breakfast was huge slices of bread with about an inch of butter and anything on top – meat slices, cheese, often Nutella, some people sprinkled sugar on top. I saw people eat sandwiches made of bread and cake inside. In short just about everything was put on bread. And for the most part they stayed thin because it’s really all about calories – the food can be fattening but it’s in smaller portions – and without such a demanding schedule you can relax and therefore you don’t crave food, plus your body is more balanced. Their biggest meal is in the early afternoon and they go home for it – for a couple of hours – and afterwards they go back to work if they feel like it. In the evening they have a repeat of breakfast basically in small portions.
Dr. Clower has these excerpts in his book which list all of the ingredients in packaged foods – this is just pure sensationalism since we all know what those labels say. While I thoroughly agree with the premise that counting fat grams and carbs and so on is worthless and has led to a huge industry in fake food that’s just plain bad for you and doesn’t help you lose weight, the way our society is set up and our lifestyle calls for a different solution than looking at the French. Besides, Americans have this weird thing about French people and make up all this stuff about them as if they came from another planet. Ridiculous.
Rating: 1 / 5
Having lived for 8 years in Europe (Germany), I can tell you that the following is the reason for Europeans, or at least Germans not being as heavy as Americans:
1) Walking. When I lived there, I walked to the train, then walked to a bus. Then from the bus, walked to work. Same on the way back. I then walked to the local store to buy food for the evening. I walked everywhere and did not even own a car. I now live in Dallas, a city designed around the carbon combustion engine. In Dallas, you drive 2 blocks if you are visiting friends. You have someone do your lawnwork. You don’t even park your car, but have a valet guy do it. The entire American way of life is built around convenience and not having to ever walk anywhere. Have you been to a Walmart, and seen all the obese people and older people who sit in these ridiculous carts and drive around the store, because they are “too weak” to walk ? In Europe, older people bike to stores and only paraplegics use a cart. In Texas, older people get special handicapped parking signs for their cars, which then allows them to save having to walk 100 feet to a store. It is ridiculous, and then we have to have special diets to make up for the fact that we Americans will do almost anything to not have to walk somewhere.
2) Meals. Germans eat a small breakfast (bread with meat on it), a “regular” lunch (pork and cabbage or potatoes), and a small dinner. Compare that with 3 big American meals and you have the entire story. Also, Germans don’t really snack. When I worked in Germany, we would have coffee breaks, but we did not really eat, we had coffee. An American might have a big 600-calorie snack during the 3 breaks. This all adds up.
3) Smoking. About 35 % of Europeans smoke, and about 18 % of Americans do. Smoking is a well-known appetite suppressant. I knew rail-thin chain smokers in Germany. I am just curious as to how many of those supposedly healthy French people die of cancer from smoking their entire lives because it is “cool”, or die from liver disease from drinking red wine every day ? The book really does not discuss that, and thus I think that the link: low BMI = health is deceptive, because like I mentioned, there are probably many French people who are thin, but due to smoking.
That really is the truth. It is not about “faux” foods. It is about walking and not eating three huge meals, and also maybe smoking to keep hunger at bay.
Also, one last thing: there are “morbidly obese” people in Europe, but they stay at home and you do not see them. They have not been convinced by the media and public schooling to have self-esteem no matter how you look or what you do, so they go out less in public, for reasons of shame. here in the US, it is the opposite and many obese people just don’t care that they are obese.
Rating: 4 / 5
With so many diet related books out there, it is hard to make sense of what we should be putting in our mouths, how we should be exercising and how to make this all add up.
The French don’t diet does a great job of making the Mediterranean Lifestyle applicable to our daily lives to help us to lose and manage weight and prevent chronic diseases.
I find it to be a very applicable book in which I walked away applying the principles and benefitting my weight and health.
In addition it is like you are getting two books for the price of one because there are many recipes that are included.
I recommend this book for anyone who wants to quit the yo-yo dieting and is ready to live a lifestyle that can help them lose and manage the weight loss and prevent chronic diseases!
Rating: 5 / 5
Book strives for you to understand how inportant it is to eat healthy and as natural a posible.
Rating: 4 / 5