According to an recent story on WebMD, many people are succeeding at losing weight on a diet that recommends wine, chocolate, cheese - and no calorie counting.
Yes, says Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure.
As reported by WebMD, her recipe for weight loss success according to the book is this:
- Eat high-quality food in small portions.
- Prize quality over quantity in the foods you choose.
- Savor each bite you take.
- Walk for exercise and do weight training.
- Eat three meals a day at regular times.
- Breathe properly.
- Keep good posture.
You'll go through four phases on this diet:
- The wake-up call: Noting what you eat for 3 weeks to see which foods you should add or subtract.
- Getting started: You'll spend 3 months learning about French food, appropriate portion sizes, and drinking lots of water.
- Stabilization: Using new tools to use to reach and maintain your weight goal.
- The rest of your life: Your lifestyle habits now are permanent.
For the first 2 days of this diet, you'll go on a semi-fast, eating only leek soup and drinking lots of water.Afterward, you add vegetables, fish, fruit, and still more water.
Throughout the diet, Guiliano recommends eating a wide variety of fresh, seasonal ingredients with plenty of good seasonings and herbs.
Guiliano recommends eating two servings daily of yogurt, a French favorite.
You can have wine or champagne, but not liquor. Sweets are OK in small amounts.
Here is a sample of a spring menu du jour:
- Breakfast: Yogurt, cereal with strawberries, bread, and coffee or tea
- Lunch: Asparagus flan, green salad, cherry clafoutis without dough, noncaloric beverage
- Dinner: Pea soup, grilled lamb chops, cauliflower gratin, rhubarb compote, glass of red wine
