"French Women Don't Get Fat"

Are You In a Rut? There is an Answer!!

2012-03-28T14:40:00.001-07:00

I've been eating the ways of "French Women Don't Get Fat" for three months now (I'm just a couple days shy of the three month mark). I've not worn any spandex outfits, and I've eaten some amazing meals and I've lost almost 22 pounds! My taste buds have become down right picky! If it doesn't taste good and/or fresh, I just don't want it! My husband and I went on a date last week and went to a fairly nice restaurant in the area. The food was bland - nothing exciting about it - I ate very little of what most people would have considered a nice meal. It's exciting to think that what I make at home tastes better than eating out - good for my pocketbook, waist and taste buds!

HOWEVER, in the last couple of days my head has not been in the game. I thought, how can this be? I am eating things that don't taste all that great even when I am NOT hungry (double whammy). What happened??? I could probably come up with a dozen excuses as to why my behavior changed - the weather, stress, boredom, feeling overwhelmed due to procrastination, etc... Okay, so I've only been experiencing this lack of focus (aka, boredom) for a couple of days - time to get back in the game! If you've found that you've gotten off track, here are some things to consider:

Often there is less pleasure in a food (either an offender or eaten mindlessly) than you think. If you're going to eat, make sure it's something you like and then CONSCIOUSLY enjoy every bite!
Make sure to enjoy variety - continue to try new things - boredom is an enemy. Think about how you ate before you started the "French Women Don't Get Fat" journey - your diet was probably boring and predictable.
Make the food/eating process pleasant and enjoyable. You can look forward to shopping, cooking and eating! Find new recipes, shop at a different store, buy something you've never tried before and then look up a recipe online or in a cookbook for the ingredient.
You can have too much of a good thing! Let's say that in your new way of eating, you found that you really enjoy a bowl of fruit, a piece of gourmet cheese and a glass of champagne for lunch. Problem is that you've been eating this new found lunch for a couple of weeks. Your taste buds have become bored - it's time to switch it up! Look for a new sensation to try - something to look forward to and something to wake up your taste buds again! (This would be me, by the way!)

Okay, so life isn't perfect, but that doesn't mean you should throw in the towel at the first sign of imperfection. Try to discover what got you off track and then pick yourself up, get focused and you'll rediscover the joy that you found at the beginning of this journey. There is an endless number of things to eat these days, and with the internet there's an endless number of ways to prepare any given ingredient. You got out of your old rut - don't get stuck in a new one - keep forging ahead with new foods, new recipes, new stores, etc...!

Herbs and Spices

2012-03-17T10:22:00.000-07:00

I have been experimenting with so many new recipes lately - most of them have included spices and herbs that I have never used or tried, while others I have tried only in the jar form (you know, the ones on the spice aisle of your grocery store!). What I am finding from my new way of cooking, thanks to "French Women Don't Get Fat", is that fresh is where the flavor is at its best! I have started a very modest herb garden on my kitchen windowsill. I purchased small plants of my new favorite herbs, allowing me to have the freshest (most flavorful) and least expensive method of seasoning my food. The jarred varieties are bland and expensive and if you buy "fresh" herbs in the produce department, they also lack taste and are way up there in price (not to mention the fact that they don't last long!) It's not practical to grow every herb, so choose the ones you use most frequently - your food will truly come alive!

In addition to my new garden, I rediscovered a wedding gift given to me almost 25 years ago - a mini-chopper/grinder. It's been sitting in my cupboard for many years, as I didn't really know what to do with it! I now use it to mince/chop/grind/dice my fresh herbs - it's just the right size for such a small job! I had always used the jarred garlic (already minced and floating in liquid), because I didn't understand how easy it was to mince garlic with my mini-chopper/grinder. I also didn't understand that the jarred variety is stale - lacking aroma and taste. There is NO substitute for fresh garlic, and NO excuse for not using it when it's so easy!

Visit your local grocery store or nursery and buy a few potted herbs, and invest in a mini-chopper/grinder - you'll never go back!

We're Talkin' Recipes!

2012-03-12T15:16:00.001-07:00

I am NOT a great cook, but I found a way to be one! Cook's Country and America's Test Kitchen, test their recipes over and over and over before publishing them, and they often include very helpful preparation tips. This means that I can count on my meals coming out great every time! They have done all the work for me, giving me only recipes that I can count on. Their recipes are full of flavor - after all, it's not worth eating if it doesn't have flavor! They have thousands of recipes available in cookbooks or online - some of them are labor and time intensive, while others are 30 minute wonders! Start with recipes that fit your current palette, and then be willing to expand and include foods and spices that are unfamiliar or that you haven't tried in some time. Try one or both of their websites for a 14 day free trial. Membership is $29.95 per year, per website at the end of the trial (you don't need both past the 14 day free trial, just choose the one you like most!). I am not paid to endorse them (they don't even know who I am!!), but I have been able to produce amazing meals for my family, sticking to the principles of "French Women Don't Get Fat" with the help of their recipes. Remember that these recipes do NOT fit the American diet food mold - they fit the principles of eating things that you like and that are fresh and loaded with flavor and nutrition. I have almost reached a weight loss of twenty pounds in a couple of months by eating fresh and flavorful. When your plate is colorful, fresh and flavorful a little bit goes a long way! Enjoy what you eat, or don't eat it!

Spreading the News!

2012-03-11T19:33:00.000-07:00

Jerusalem Artichoke Flour Pasta with Broccoli Rabe

A week ago, a local newspaper reporter, Pam Mellskog, visited my home. She wanted to write about how my eating guided by "French Women Don't Get Fat" has changed my views on food and eating. Pam spent two hours with my family, over a lunch of Jerusalem Artichoke Flour Pasta with Broccoli Rabe (recipe in the article link below). We shared food, ideas, laughter and more. It is an afternoon I will not soon forget! All this to say that I am thrilled that more people will learn about "French Women Don't Get Fat" and how revolutionary the ideas are to most Americans. Live with joy, and include delicious and real food in that joy - your weight and body will follow!!!!

http://www.timescall.com/lifestyles/food/ci_20115851/longmont-woman-eats-like-french-shed-weight-and

http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_20115851/longmont-woman-eats-like-french-shed-weight-and?IADID=Search-www.dailycamera.com-www.dailycamera.com

How About Starbucks!

2012-03-07T12:56:00.000-08:00

(Cheese and Fruit Bistro Box - Starbucks)

Okay, so the other day I was out running a million errands and forgot to have an "en-cas" (in case) with me. The "French Women Don't Get Fat" book explains that you should always have an "en-cas" with you so that if you're caught in a situation without decent food choices available, you have something with you. I was at a food warehouse at lunchtime when uncontrollable hunger hit - oh no!!! I went to their cafe and ordered a slice of cheese pizza. Now, a year ago I would have thought that it was wonderful. However, after being on the "French Women Don't Get Fat" way of eating, I actually found my slice of pizza to be a tasteless slab of grease! My daughter (who by the way, works at Starbucks) told me I should have gone to Starbucks for lunch. Really???!! I thought Starbucks only sold drinks! She explained that Starbucks sells several varieties of fresh, full-of-flavor bistro boxes. Really??!!! Next time I am out and about at mealtime and don't have my "en-cas" with me, I will find a Starbucks in a heartbeat - after all, there's one on every corner!! No need to suffer through tasteless choices anymore!

Of course Starbucks has all of those delicious drinks available now in Trenta (a whopping 30 ounces) size! So here's where I remind you to order for the size you want to be! Remember that your taste buds tend to tune out after the first several bites or sips, so if you want to enjoy a Starbucks drink order a Short (if it's a hot drink) and a Tall (if it's a cold drink) and then order a Trenta glass of ice water! Enjoy Starbucks, but do it with your size in mind!

An "Aha" Moment - Are We Doing It Backwards?

2012-03-06T15:09:00.001-08:00

There is a saying that says "Where the mind goes, the body will follow". So is it that American diets have it backwards? Are we thinking that "where the body goes, the mind will follow"? I believe so - we have it backwards! American diets have extreme deprivation of some sort and/or they deliver all of the food or tell you how many points something contains. All of this means that even on the best American diets, we follow them mindlessly! There is no brain power in consuming foods that have been delivered to you or points that have already been calculated. Therefore, the body eventually changes because of a diet of some sort, but the brain doesn't change. No wonder that when people who give up on a diet, they do so because the brain was never engaged in it and they return to the ways of their brain. Additionally, those who diet often don't accept their new body - they think they are still heavy - the brain was never involved! Hmmmm....... I think it's time to engage the brain first! Eat what you like responsibly - find enjoyment in flavors and textures - you will consume less and enjoy it more and the brain is leading the charge! If the American diets haven't worked for you and you've spent a lot of time and money trying them all out (that would be me, by the way), I really encourage you to read "French Women Don't Get Fat" and get a different perspective on eating. I can't imagine ever going back to my old ways - my brain and my body really like this new way! I can't imagine giving the American diet industry even one more dollar for deprivation, starvation, bland and unhealthy foods, pills, shakes, etc... My money is better spent eating delicious, healthy foods than making their bank accounts fatter (and a lot of us too!).

Be a Food Snob!

2012-03-02T09:12:00.002-08:00

I have several things that I run through my head off and on during the day. One of the latest things I find I am saying to myself is, "be a food snob". This means eating quality over quantity. It means eating only the best bites on my plate and leaving the rest. It means buying the freshest ingredients that I can afford. It means that I won't settle for just anything to stick into my body. In America there is no shortage of choices at grocery stores, with most of them carrying thousands of items and no shortage of choices at restaurants, with some menus being pages and pages. There is also no shortage of types of grocery stores or types of restaurants. So be picky!

At the grocery store, pick up foods that appeal to you and that are of the highest quality that you can afford. Buy gourmet cheese, fresh fruits and vegetables (include some you've never tried, and buy some that you like but just haven't purchased for awhile), upscale sauces, pastas, artisan breads, etc... Variety is so key, and will allow you to consider yourself a food snob! A food snob is not going to eat a frozen diet entree, fake cheese, chemical-laden ice cream, etc...

At restaurants, order what you really want - not what a typical American diet plan would have you order. I no longer order salads with diet dressing on the side! I now enjoy steak, prime rib, and shrimp with one of my all-time favorite foods is a Reuben Sandwich - if it's on the menu I'll order it! However, I now eat only the choicest bites and leave the rest! I try new things that I would have overlooked before because I was either on some extreme diet or hooked on the all-American bland, boring food preferences (full of salt, sugar and fat but lacking any real flavor). Live a little - eat what you like responsibly and try something fun and new!

Bottom line: Be a Food Snob! It's actually pretty fun once you get the hang of it!

Touches of Beauty Go A Long Way

2012-02-28T10:32:00.000-08:00

Dinner at my house used to be a quick no-frill event. I've discovered, however, that a little beauty goes a long way in making your food feel special (even if it's not your finest creation!). I've purchased inexpensive, but pretty tablecloths and placemats for everyday use. Kohl's, Target and Bed Bath and Beyond have great sales on these items regularly. Plain white cloth napkins (they will go with whatever other linens you choose, and they bleach nicely) were a find at Sam's Club. Cloth table goods are easy to wash and use time after time, and add a real touch of beauty to the table - change them according to your mood or the season - have fun with it! Quilted placemats are especially nice, as they come out of the dryer ready to go, and most are reversible so you get double-duty out of them! Add to that a couple of pretty candle holders and a pair of tapered candles and things really start to feel special. Cut glass or crystal holders reflect the candlelight, adding an extra touch to your table landscape. Lastly, shop your local florist or grocery store for the flowers that they have on sale - even just a couple of stems can be so beautiful. (One note: candles should be scentless and flowers should be those with little to no aroma. This way, your candles and/or flowers don't compete with the wonderful aroma of your meal.) I keep the linens, candle holders and candles all in one spot so that setting a beautiful table is a snap. You'll be amazed at what a little beauty does for your appetite - your meal feels elegant, encouraging you to slow down and savor what you're eating instead of shoveling it down. Set a table, make a meal, light the candles and don't forget to add a glass of champagne or wine - every day should be special!

One Size Does NOT Fit All

2012-02-26T15:29:00.000-08:00

One thing that I learned from "French Women Don't Get Fat" is that one size does NOT fit all. The American diet programs (you all know who they are) insist that their program will work for you (and several million of your best friends)! This simply isn't true! However, this multi-million dollar industry has the money to successfully market their program to you, convincing you that their program is the one that will successfully make you thinner! Thinner, maybe, but at what price financially, physically, psychologically, etc...? Your eating regime must be just that - yours! Make your eating habits as unique as you are! Make your food choices like you do your clothing choices - unique to your personality! What do you like to eat? Eat it proportionally and responsibly! What foods do you dislike? Don't include them in your food choices of the day! (Remember that if you have trigger foods that just cause you to go out of control, please avoid them for the time being. Someday, those foods may not be triggers and you can reintroduce them into your life.)

The foods that appeal to you and make you feel good are probably totally different than the foods that work for me! You may have been on so many published diets at this point that you no longer know what really tastes good to you and what makes you feel good. Be open to trying totally new foods - you might find some new favorites! Try eating some foods that have been on your forbidden list and see if you still like them. You are unique, and so should be your food choices! There is so much freedom in deciding what you will or will not eat - you be the author of your food plan, not a corporation that does not know you and your likes, dislikes, lifestyle, etc...

It's Contagious!

2012-02-23T12:26:00.000-08:00

My excitement over food has infected my whole family! They now cannot wait to see what's for dinner! I have chosen to make several new recipes with new flavors, and our new way of eating is delicious! For instance, I made a pot roast the other night (bought a smaller roast than in days gone by), made with a vegetable based gravy - it was THE best pot roast any of us have ever eaten! It was easy, delicious and based on fresh and natural ingredients. The recipe is from America's Test Kitchen and can be found at "Classic Pot Roast" - enjoy!!! The whole family has gotten away from eating processed food and fast food over the last two months, not because they had to but because their taste buds have been awakened and the bland, fat, salt and sugar-laden foods no longer hold the same appeal. I haven't gone out of my way to stop eating out (and I was eating out a couple of times of week for lunch and a couple of times a week for dinner), it just doesn't sound that good anymore! I still budget-shop at the grocery store, but I no longer look for the sales on packaged foods, rather I look for the sales on un-packaged foods! We've now tried broccoli rabe, leeks, mangoes and artichoke flour pasta, just to name a few! All of them have been delicious and would not have found their way into our diets prior to this.

My point? Try shopping only the perimeter of your grocery store, buying only things that are unprocessed and un-packaged! You'll be amazed at what you find and how good they are! If you are eating quality, flavor-rich foods, you'll eat less and there will naturally be less of you!

Eat for the Size You Want to Be!

2012-02-22T12:36:00.000-08:00

I'm just shy of two months now since I read the book "French Women Don't Get Fat", and am down an amazing 15 pounds! I've learned a lot on the journey, and continue to reread sections of the book as a reminder and as inspiration as I continue on this journey. It is NOT a diet! It is a different way of looking at food - 180 degrees from the typical American viewpoint. My whole perspective on food has changed - it is now my friend, not my enemy! It is taste, nutrition and enjoyment, not calories and fat grams.

One insight that came to me a few days ago is that I need to remember to eat for the size I want to be. I am rediscovering portion sizes! It really doesn't take as much food as I thought it did to make me satisfied and comfortable. I am learning to love every bite that I take, or why take it?! I am not counting calories, rather I am learning what portion makes sense for me and what makes me feel good!

Cut back a little bit at a time - there should not be anything drastic about this approach to eating. Step-by-step, start eating for the size you want to be!!

Forget the Sticks!

2012-02-18T11:07:00.000-08:00

American women think that a diet includes carrot and celery sticks, carrot and celery sticks and then more carrot and celery sticks! Please forget the sticks! Don't buy them unless you truly like them or you're making soup or stew! If you need a snack between meals, choose something you like - really like. Take three or four small bites of that special food along with some water and then stop and see if the hunger feeling goes away. Your palette becomes numb to food, no matter how special, after the first few bites (which is why at events that serve wine or champagne, your first glass will be the more expensive version and the following servings are an inferior version - you really can't discern much after the first glass). After satisfying your palette, it's a matter of determining if your stomach still needs more. If it does, take a couple more small bites and move on with another activity. Snacks and meals should be about eating what you like, within reason - not about following someone else's rules or eating things you don't like. Use your own common sense and remember to slow down and savor and enjoy what you're eating! If you eat quality foods that have flavor and nutrients, you'll find you eat less and enjoy it more!

Food for Thought on You Tube

2012-02-16T08:46:00.000-08:00

This is a very interesting video of Mireille Guiliano, author of "French Women Don't Get Fat". She talks about her philosophy regarding food and finding a balance/equilibrium. Take a five minute break and get a breath of fresh air about eating - she has some interesting "food for thought"!! Mireille Guiliano on You Tube

Diet without the Guilt

2012-02-15T08:49:00.000-08:00

In "French Women Don't Get Fat", the author remarks on one of the big differences between French and American eating - the way each culture treats pleasure foods. She says it best, when talking about a play she saw called Les Mangeuses de Chocolat (translated Women Who Eat Chocolate):

"The play was satirizing a French obsession (chocolate), but also the therapeutic establishment, which perhaps one couldn't get away with in America. I took it in good fun, except when a comment was made about women who eat their chocolate en cachette (in private). To the French, the idea seems silly enough for a gag, but given my American experience, I couldn't laugh. Too often American women eat on the sly, and the result is much more guilt than pleasure. The tendency goes with an attitude that should be changed. Nothing is sinfully delicious. If you really enjoy something, as I adore chocolate, there is a place for it in your life. But we cannot allow guilt-ridden scarfing. Only with cultivated pleasure can you enjoy chocolate in the clear light of day. The same goes for other excellent foods Americans have come to consider no-no's."

Apply this message to whatever food it is that you enjoy! Stop eating it in private and heaping it with guilt! Try eating those foods in the open, cutting down on your portion and forgetting all of the diets that tell you that you should NEVER eat those foods! Try to put all of the American diet industry's multi-million dollar rules and foods aside, and start enjoying your food! Savor every bite, even those foods that have been "off limits" to you for years, maybe even decades.

Chocolate!!

2012-02-14T12:32:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe, but I've lost my now twelve pounds in six weeks with a diet that includes chocolate!! In "French Women Don't Get Fat", the author talks about how French women DO eat chocolate! The difference is that the French eat a more pure chocolate. She suggests aiming for chocolate that is at least 60% cocoa. Having grown up on Hershey's, I wasn't too sure about the 60% cocoa thing (Hershey's has more sugar than cocoa). I fell in love with "Chocolove", available at Whole Foods and Vitamin Cottage (where it is on sale this week) (today is Valentine's Day - the perfect day to buy chocolate!) Chocolove comes in a variety of flavors, some at the suggested 60% and others at a close 55%. Remember that everything should be in moderation. I have found that I don't need as much of this chocolate because of its wonderful rich and deep flavor! Savor it and let it slowly melt in your mouth so that you can enjoy the flavors. You might find that you don't need as much as you might think! (Remember though, if chocolate is a stumbling block for you, please don't bring it into you house!)

Happy Valentine's Day! Enjoy that quality, delicious chocolate!

Helpful Hints to Get You Started

2012-02-13T10:34:00.000-08:00

Mireille Guiliano, author of "French Women Don't Get Fat" suggests that it takes about three months to "recast" your body - getting your body to "think" differently. To start off the three months, she encourages the consumption of a Leek Soup (recipe provided in the book) for two days. I did not follow this advice, but rather jumped right into to the "recasting" process. The big things to consider during the recasting, according to Guiliano, that worked really, really well for me:

Slow and steady - remember, this is NOT an American food plan (few of which are successful long-term)!! :-)
Variety - be open to trying some of the author's recipes, which may include foods you've never tasted!
Buy only what you need for a couple of days at a time - put aside the warehouse trips for now
Drink water
Make your meal an event - set a place, eat with silverware, savor what you're putting in your mouth (pay attention to your food, not the TV, computer, etc...)
Watch your portions - cut back slowly (don't take seconds, for instance)
Don't keep food in your house that will cause you to slip up - your family will be the better for it too!
Learn to find some wholesome substitutes for some of your high-calorie, unhealthy foods - I actually forgot how good fruit is!! Stores like Whole Foods and Vitamin Cottage are excellent sources of healthy alternatives. Take some time to wander their aisles and try something new!!

Happy Eating!

The Beginning

2012-02-08T18:12:00.000-08:00

After having dieted most of my life (like so many American women), I just couldn’t bring myself to participate in one more manufactured diet with mass produced food, extreme food restrictions and exercise routines that were too frequent and too severe. My protest of all the fad and dictated diets, however, wasn’t getting me anywhere either. While surfing the net one night on a totally unrelated topic, I found a link where I could read several pages of the book “French Women Don’t Get Fat”. It was a title that I had heard of in the past, but never investigated. After reading several pages, I went to the local library and checked out a copy. I could not put the book down! Page after page, I could relate to what the author was saying. She insisted that American women were going about their weight control all wrong. It seemed to me that since the American way wasn’t working for me (or millions of others), why not try going international? I decided to think and act French for a while and see what happened. My taste buds came alive with the very first recipe I tried, there are no calories to count and I enjoy champagne for lunch regularly! Six weeks into this new way of thinking, eating and moving I am down eleven pounds and haven’t counted a single calorie, eaten a frozen diet meal or joined a gym. Cheers!!

Here's a link to the book: French Women Don't Get Fat.