Mireille Guiliano

A disclaimer: If you are hoping to find a positive review of this book, you may want to stop reading right now. I really did not like this book at all, for many reasons. I have left a longer review on my own blog, but for the first time ever, I have cut it short for my review here. I should point out that many many people have praised this book, and this review is entirely my own opinion! Please understand that I have no criticism of France or French people – my problems are entirely with show more this book and the author.

The book is part memoir, part diet advice. The writer, talks about how France does not have the obesity problem which the US – and increasingly the UK – has. She attributes this to the French attitude to food and eating, and suggests how everyone can adopt the same attitude, and in so doing, maintain a healthy weight without depriving themselves of the food they love. Sounds great? Well yes, but I have a few problems with this book.

1. I disliked the hypocrisy of the author in initally (and correctly) criticising crash diets, and then going on to suggest that one should kick-start their weight loss with a weekend of eating nothing but boiled leek soup!

2. The book contains many recipes, some of which admittedly do sound lovely, but there is nothing here that you won’t find in other decent cookbooks. At one point, the author suggests piling salad leaves on a plate, adding tomatoes and crumbly cheese. In other words – make a salad!

3. The author also constantly mentions alcohol, to the point where I actually wondered if she had a drink problem. It seems that she does not consider a meal worth having if there’s not champagne or wine involved. There is in fact a whole section dedicated to champagne, and the author seems to practically worship the drink. (She is the CEO of a champagne producing company, which also made me think that she might have her own agenda in such blatant promotion of the fizzy stuff.)

4. The constantly condescending attitude towards America and American people. She is correct that the USA (and increasingly the UK) has an obesity problem. I have no issue with her pointing this out or discussing the possible reasons. I DO have a problem with her sneering attitude towards anything American (although she is married to an American man, and lives in America).

5. The dietary advice provided is somewhat obvious – eat more good stuff, eat less junk, and exercise. Hardly news for anyone hoping to lose weight. What the book fails to do is address the psychological reasons that people gain weight. She is correct that people should not expect to have to give up simple pleasures like good chocolate or the odd dessert, but the problem is not that people don’t know that such things should only be an occasional treat – the problem is how to get your head around the issue.

6. The author is clearly affluent - no criticism from me there. However she seems to forget that most of the advice she gives is just not reasonable for people living on an average salary.

There was one part of the book I enjoyed – in the chapter about chocolate, the author discusses the history of chocolate, and how it became the food we all know it as today. She also says that rather than eating the cheap chocolate which is so widely available today, people should have the best quality chocolate, but only in small amounts (which I tend to agree with). This particular section was interesting, but sadly not nearly good enough to make up for the rest of the book.

I was very disappointed with this book, especially as I had been looking forward to reading it. I did not and do not need or wish to lose weight, but I had a very uneasy love/hate relationship with food in my teens, some of which occasionally crops up to this day – and I had hoped to find at least some insight into the psychological causes of such relationships with food. Unfortunately, I did not find this at all. I’d love to be able to recommend this book, but unfortunately simply cannot do so. show less

Mireille Giuliano is the author of a book you may have heard of, French Women Don't Get Fat. While I haven't read that best-seller of hers, not yet anyway (it's all for health, I assure you, vanity has nothing to do with it!), the title of this book made it seem like it would be a good read right now: lately I have been pondering career advancement, how we women fit into the world where men continue to rule, and why the situation is what it is. Guiliano was president and CEO of Clicquot, show more Inc. for several decades, so I figured she'd have some interesting thoughts on the matter.
I wasn't wrong. This French-born powerhouse tells it like it is, from women having to work harder and smarter than competitors to get ahead, to the fact that women continue to get the short end of the stick when it comes to compensation. What I liked though was that none of it was a lament of the situation. "It is what it is, face the facts, put on your big girl pencil skirt and go get 'em if that's what you want to do" is Guiliano's kind of career advice.
She is realistic about our feminine shortcomings (not playing up our own worth, not negotiating the terms to get what we want, gossiping, trying to take care of everything and everybody at the expense of ourselves) just as she is realistic about our strengths (ability to listen and see a problem from different angles, being flexible, being enough of a novelty to command immediate attention if we position ourselves as an equal with valuable insights to offer). She gives practical advice on topics ranging from presenting ourselves in the best possible light both on paper and in person, to entertaining, to value of excellent communication skills and time-priority balance. She talks about what makes a good leader and a good manager, the importance of not being reluctant to share information with other women and help each other advance, as well as the fact that sometimes chance and luck are huge factors in the course one's career takes.
Throughout the book she illustrates her points with real-life examples from her own career and experiences of other women, and men, she knows, which helps to make the book a more lively read. It is already written in a very accessible voice so these illustrations make it helpful and fun at the same time. If that's not fun enough there are recipes, self-deprecating humor, wardrobe advice and a healthy dash of French turns of phrase.
My only reservation regarding this book stems from the fact that despite all the positives I didn't get a feeling that it is aimed at women who aren't aspiring for corner offices. Granted, Guiliano writes from her experience, and she was a high-level executive in a luxury industry for many years, but not everybody is looking for titles with Cs in them, some of us just want to get out of the rut of the lowest levels of the support staff positions. On the other hand of course the time she spends talking about entertaining business associates or working with leaders of foreign companies only makes this book more useful for those of us who do want that C title. After all, tips on working smarter is something we all can use, from an entry-level assistant to a president of a corporation.
One last note: the very last sentence of this book is "Bon courage". Not luck, courage. That alone made the book worth reading. show less

French Women Don't Get Fat, and after reading Mireille Guiliano's book, I now know why.

This is a fascinating book on many levels. Part memoir, part diet book, part cookbook, it it a wholly satisfying read.

Mireille (meeRAY) was a normal teenager until she came to America as an exchange student. When she returned home after living like an American for a year, she was 20 pounds heavier. Her family was shocked. But her family doctor gave her a simple plan to regain her optimum weight, and the show more women of her family shared their secrets for maintaining her optimum weight. Now, Mireille shares that plan and those secrets with the rest of us.

I cannot wait to try her "Miracle Leek Soup," which sounds divine and can help a woman drop several pounds in just a weekend. Her other recipes sound equally delicious, and her suggestions for desserts will have a special following among women whose sweet tooth is destroying their figures.

The little tips and tricks, the idea of "compensations," these are painless adjustments that add up to pounds and inches kept off of the body. Nothing could be better. And from Mireille's explanations, nothing could be easier. Vive la femmes de France! show less

I liked the general idea of this book - slow down and actually enjoy the food you are eating instead of mindlessly shoving it into your mouth.
It made me look at my own bad habits (eating in front of the TV and not paying attention to what I was eating and actually enjoying it).
I found it worked for me, slowing down and savouring food made me eat less overall and more of the foods I enjoy. When visiting France hubby and I happily indulged in great food and walked everywhere, and at the end of show more it were slimmer, fitter and happier depsite all the pain au chocolats we had devoured. We also rarely snacked, and if we did, it was on a piece of fruit from a market stall. The French, regarding their view and culture of food, have it right in that respect.

But there were some parts, like the alcohol chapter, that felt outright self-promoting (she works for a champagne company...) show less