French Don't Diet Plan 10 Simple Steps to Stay Thin for Life

PART ONE What the French Eat On the Saone River in Lyon, France, a lively farmers' market sprawls along much of the left bank on most mornings of the week. The rst time I came across it, I was astonished at the possibilities beyond our conventional American supermarkets. In this single stretch, vendors sell fty varieties of mushrooms and more than twenty kinds of olives. The market offered dozens of just-baked breads, hundreds of fragrant cheeses, fresh poultry and game, along with countless herbs, greens, nuts, and legumes. Needless to say, there was not a box of macaroni and cheese or ramen noodles in sight, so I ended up buying fresh green beans, some baby red potatoes, and sliced pork for dinner. Once I embraced fresh food as normal, I came to realize perhaps the biggest difference between the French diet and our own: They eat real foods, we eat food products. The U.S. Department of Commerce reported that the steady yearly increases in processed food product consumption reached $461 billion by 1993 and is still increasing. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that the demand for these products is on the rise globally as well. The problem? Almost all packaged products are laced with an Acme junior chemistry set of preservatives, dyes, thickeners, stabilizers, sweeteners, and acidulants, among other things. The ingredient lists for even the simplest foods, like Healthy Choice ice cream or Wonder Bread, neither of which should have more than ve ingredients, consists of rows of unpronounceable microprint. I call these faux foods-and they're directly responsible for sabotaging our weight-loss efforts. Yes, faux foods are cheaper, because food companies can stamp them out with a shelf life approaching that of plastic. Yes, they're attractive, because these same industries spend $33 billion per year to enroll your favorite basketball star and pop singer to endorse them. Yes, they're tasty, because the chemical sweeteners are synthesized to make it 150 times sweeter than sugar. But despite the advertising claims of added vitamins and minerals, nothing makes those products healthy, and they certainly aren't real foods. Nevertheless, we eat them. Instead of eggs (cholesterol!) we eat egg substitute. Instead of butter (fat!) we eat margarine. Instead of bread (carbs!) we eat sorbitol-sweetened oxymoronic low-carb pasta. Instead of normal fruits and vegetables for nutrition, we chase junk food with supplement pills. Instead of natural oils (more fat!) our foods have gone through a chemical hydrogenation process. In this section, I'll show you how a simple return to delicious, ordinary food is the solution for permanent weight loss. The French, not surprisingly, don't suffer our dreadful problems with weight and health-but they don't deprive themselves either. In fact, they're known for the most famously sumptuous diet on the planet and have three times less obesity, three times fewer heart attacks, and they live longer than us-men and women. Think about this: If they can get those results, so can you. I hear what you're saying already. "I'm not a gourmet French chef. I don't have an outdoor market of wonderful fresh healthy foods in my front yard (and no Saone River either)!" Or maybe you're not sure how you'd ever go without the prepackaged stuff you're used to buying. But I promise that it's easier than you ever imagined it could be to transition from faux foods to real foods, even by shopping in your own local grocery store. Yes, there are a lot of products you'll have to pass up-but this doesn't mean you'll be depriving yourself of any favorite meals (including dessert) or the avors you love. To help you make the transition, we'll walk through every aisle together and show you how simple the switch really is. But rst, and this is the toughest part, you must overcome any thoughts that hold youClower, Will is the author of 'French Don't Diet Plan 10 Simple Steps to Stay Thin for Life', published 2006 under ISBN 9780307336521 and ISBN 0307336522.