French Women Don’t Get Fat - Does French Women Don’t Get Fat Work?

French Women Don’t Get Fat Overview

Mireille Guiliano first came to prominence with the 2004 release of her book ‘French Women Don’t Get Fat’. Up until this time Guiliano was an extremely successful business woman, who had spent many years with the Cliquot champagne company. Mireille’s belief is that the reason French women are able to stay so much slimmer than their North American counterparts is due to the fact that they enjoy food, celebrating it rather than denying it. One quote from the ‘French Women Don’t Get Fat’ website sums this up saying ‘French women think about good things to eat, American women worry about eating bad things’.

There is a lot of good information to be found on the internet regarding Guiliano’s book and philosophies, and anyone interested in following the diet plan can not only read the book but subscribe to the online plan for extra help and support. The website is a beautifully designed site that includes information about the author, a list of online tools and features accessible to the subscriber and, of course, ordering details. Unfortunately, there are no FAQ’s or testimonials although the book is reviewed by past customers on retail sites such as Amazon.com.

French Women Don’t Get Fat – Product Description

By signing up for this plan, the consumer is encouraged to throw out all their previous ideas of what entails a weight loss plan. In fact, the French Women Don’t Get Fat plan is a ‘non-diet’ in that it requires no counting calories, no food restrictions, and no formal exercise regime. As explained, French women tend to stay thinner on the whole because they enjoy good food, made with quality ingredients, as is proved by some of the sample recipes shown. Because the ingredients are rich and of good quality the consumer does not feel the need to overindulge, eats smaller portions and becomes satisfied with less. In terms of exercise, the French lifestyle encourages more walking or cycling, not relying on a car for transportation.

Subscribers to this plan receive the standard online tools offered by many other plans, such as weight trackers, daily food logs, meal plans tailored to the consumer’s preferences, shopping guides and food related articles. Users are also invited to have their questions personally answered by Guiliano and get support from the dieting community via message boards.

The price of the online plan is not clearly available and the consumer must first register in order to even take part in the fun ‘How French are your eating habits’ quiz. However, the pricing can be determined by reading the many terms and conditions section on the site, where it is revealed that, after an upfront signing fee of $29.95, the monthly cost is $19.95, far more than similar plans.

French Women Don’t Get Fat Advantage

• The diet plan is based on Guiliano’s best selling book
• The plan allows consumers to eat well and savor food without excluding any major food groups
• The diet acknowledges that dieters may need to ‘get back on track’ and provides a cleansing Leek soup recipe for this purpose
• The diet encourages exercise is taken as part of one’s normal daily activities
• The online plan includes weight loss tools and community support
• The ‘French Women Don’t Get Fat’ book can be purchased for a reasonable cost
• Free gifts and subscription offers are featured on the site occasionally

French Women Don’t Get Fat – Drawbacks

• The online plan is far more expensive than similar plans
• The cost of the plan is hidden in the small print
• The diet plan may not be practical for the North American lifestyle
• The long term health effects from eating rich, higher fat food is not known
• The plan may not be suitable for those with a large amount of weight to lose
• The meals are not suitable for vegetarians
• Guiliano has no medical qualifications

French Women Don’t Get Fat – The Bottom Line

It is easy to see the appeal of a ‘non-diet’ that encourages rich, tasty food and eschews formal exercise, although in reality it may not allow the user to achieve the slim body promised. Not only that, but since the release of the original book, there have been many speculations as to whether French women really are slimmer than North Americans or if indeed it is just a myth.

Because of the high subscription fee and the overall novelty feel of this plan, a prospective customer would be far better off simply buying a copy of the original book and following some of the tips as part of their overall diet and fitness routine.