﻿ French Diet & American Women

French Diet & American Women (cont.)

ZELMAN: Many people drink champagne for special occasions because the good stuff tends to be pricey.

GUILIANO: People are always happy when they sip a glass of champagne. Many restaurants serve champagne by the glass and all you need is a glass, you don't need to drink the whole bottle. You need to buy the good stuff because there are wines with bubbles that are made artificially and they are not aged. It's quality over quantity.

ZELMAN: How do you determine quality?

GUILIANO: First, you buy the real stuff. You can also buy sparkling wines. Many countries -- America, France, Germany and Italy --all make sparkling wines which are less expensive and they're good for you. Also, red wine is great; we've known that for many years. It's filled with antioxidants.

ZELMAN: Let's talk about weighing on a scale. I know you said you don't own one.

GUILIANO: I don't need one because when I overindulge my pants are tight. I call it the zipper syndrome. I know after the holidays, if I've eaten too many chocolates or iced chestnuts, I need to go back to my little reduction.

ZELMAN: Registered dietitians think scales keep people on track. Many people wear stretchy clothes.

GUILIANO: That's the problem, the clothes. French people always have tight clothes so it keeps us on our toes. All these elastic things are a bad excuse to make you eat more. Pay attention to how you feel and how you look.

ZELMAN: We recommend weekly weighs.

GUILIANO: Yes, you can do that if that helps. Our weight changes so much with the time of the month and what you ate yesterday and how much you drank in terms of water.

Going on the scale is very relative. There is nothing like your clothes that will tell you this is too tight, I can't sit down, I have to have a yogurt, eat soup or do the leek broth for a day to get back to my normal routine.

MEMBER QUESTION: What is the leek broth?

GUILIANO: Buy some leeks and cover them with water after cleaning them well. When they have boiled for about 20 minutes and are soft, you drink the broth. Drink this every hour or so and then for meals (Saturday lunch and dinner and Sunday lunch) you eat the leeks and add some lemon juice or olive oil or herbs, so you are basically eating a vegetarian meal.

At the end of the weekend, on Sunday, when you go back to your normal meals, you will have lost a few pounds because leeks are a diuretic. You will look wonderful, your skin will look wonderful and it is a great jumpstart to your lifestyle.

ZELMAN: You mentioned chocolate and I know you are an admitted chocoholic. How do you manage to satisfy the cravings?

GUILIANO: Again, quality chocolate is an antioxidant, anti-stressor, it has fibers and it has, which is very important, the right fat. We French eat a lot of very good chocolate, but we eat very small amounts.

ZELMAN: You also eat a lot of delicious French bread.

GUILIANO: Yes. Bread is very good for you; it has a lot of nutrients and fiber. Today in America we have lots of good breads -- whole grains, 9 grains. So, if you like bread, why not have a piece with breakfast or lunch? Nothing is wrong with that.

ZELMAN: I am glad you are reinforcing our message that carbs are good for you.

GUILIANO: Surveys are coming out on how people are getting sick because they're depriving their bodies of needed nutrients for weeks or months at a time -- all kinds of deficiencies. Very imbalanced, I think it's terrible.

ZELMAN: It is a crazy way to eat.

GUILIANO: Even my dentist tells me that people who go on certain diets have all kinds of plaque and teeth problems, and who knows diseases we might not discover for awhile because it is so unhealthy.

ZELMAN: I think your book would be wonderful for women going to college. Young women have terrible eating habits and need to understand lifestyles, not diet.

GUILIANO: I must say I have a lot of young women come to my events. I agree, for girls in senior high school, but most important for young college women -- they need to understand. I am trying to do my quiet, non-violent revolution and I hope to continue. I have already changed quite a few women's points of view.

ZELMAN: It is a great revolution and the women who listen will benefit.

GUILIANO: Thank you.

MEMBER QUESTION: There are over a hundred different yogurts out there. Which one is the best to eat?

GUILIANO: The ones you have to look for are the most natural possible, with less sugar. Make sure you do not buy yogurts, which I call poison food, with preservatives, artificial coloring, concentrates, and a huge amount of sugar, sweetness or jam in it.

A yogurt machine is really a great investment because you make eight yogurts for the price of one and the machine does the work for you.

ZELMAN: You give an excellent method in the book to make yogurt without a machine.

GUILIANO: That is if you have the time, but the machine is really amazing because all you do is boil your milk, put the starter in, mix it, put it in the jar and plug it in, and that's it.

MEMBER QUESTION: At what part of the meal do the French eat salad? What does the salad contain? What is a typical serving?

GUILIANO: After the entree, at the end of the meal because we have wine with meals and salad tends to have vinegar with the dressing and that upsets the wine and food. It's also a refreshing course, like a pause, to have something light and green and something like almost a palate cleanser. We eat small salads, about one cup, not like here, and put on a very small amount of dressing.

ZELMAN: In this country we substitute low-fat, fat-free and light products to help save calories. What are your thoughts about these products?

GUILIANO: We are against all that. We want the real thing, the right product, the "real McCoy", but in moderation. If you read the labels, most of that stuff is even worse than regular stuff -- it's a trap.

MEMBER QUESTION: Bread is my downfall. It makes me blow up. How much bread do you eat in a day?