The Fat Fallacy : Applying the French Diet to the American Lifestyle by Will Clower Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Fat Fallacy : Applying the French Diet to the American Lifestyle
Book Review: The way we used to eat!
Summary: 5 Stars
Once upon a time(before fat was the enemy) we just ate. We didn't drive ourselves to neuroses about low fat, fat-free, high carbs vs. low carbs, etc. Finally someone who tells us what we always knew but were afraid to think about. It's okay to eat, as long as it's real food. If you stick to the outer aisles in the grocery store, you can pretty much fill your cart with what you need. Whole milk yogurt(whole milk anything), butter, real(not processed) cheese, foie gras, real veggies, whole grain bread, sour cream not(horrors!)non-fat sour cream dressing. Fat does not make you fat. Au contraire,once in a while le bifteck is good for you.Book Review: This book is incredible!
Summary: 5 Stars
As a continuous Amazon customer, after reading this wonderful book, this is the first time I have felt absolutely compelled to write a review. If 10 stars were possible, this book deserves it. Will Clower's book really wakes you up to the way most typical Americans eat, and view meals. I have been on and off weight watchers for years, struggling incessantly, and this book really woke me up. I have spent years of my life, eating fat free food products that are loaded with chemicals, some of them sounding inedible after reading Clower's book. These chemical ladden foods, which were supposed to assist in my weight loss, caused me to eat tremendous amounts of food, and constantly crave sugar. Nothing was ever sweet enough. I also ate this "food" with a constant feeling of guilt, thinking everything would make me fat, and then when I would blow it I would go on a binge.
I have been eating with the suggestions of the book for 5 days now. I can't tell you that I have ever loved food more. My cravings for sweets have disappeared. This has never happened to me, and I just can't bring myself to eat the chemical ladden food I once did. Clower really woke me up! Thank you!
Book Review: Using Common Sense in Eating
Summary: 5 Stars
Will Clower has taken an extremely common sense look at why Americans continue to gain weight, while other cultures have no such problems. The book is easy to read, funny, and engaging. It includes many examples, some easy-to-understand science behind the recommendations it makes, and a series of recepies in the back, to serve as examples.Why is America - and more specifically, you and I - fat? We spend zillions on diet books, exercise programs, special foods, and still we are statistically more obese, have a shorter life expectancy, and suffer more debilitating health problems from our diet than the French. Yet the French eat what they want, when they want, are terrible about smoking and exercise, and do not give weight a thought. Is life just not fair?
Well, not really, according to the book. Our weight problem, and their lack of such, has to do with cuisine and eating habits; what we eat that they do not (and vice-versa), and how we go about eating it. Dr. Clower identifies and expands on how these result in a lack of success for the American diet, and the tried and true results of the French one. This is not to suggest that everyone start eating veal cordon bleu and singing "Marsaille", but that the habits that work for the French (and coincidentally, many Americans while they are visiting there) could work for us here, if we identify the lessons of the French diet and apply them.
What those lessons are fill the bulk of the book, and they are worth discovering for yourself. As you do, you will find yourself repeatedly smacking your head and saying, "Of course!" A favorite section for my family was the "Faux Food" pages, as we tried to guess what type of junk food was listed by its ingredients. I have literally not touched some of my old favorites since finding them listed there.
A big point in the book's favor is that the plan is not presented as the fervent and unbending requirements of a converted disciple. If you can't eat one meal according to the suggested pattern, don't panic! Eat the right way the next time. Clower points out that with his plan, you cannot fall off the wagon, as there is no wagon to fall off of. That is because the French diet is not a fad plan with points, counters or weigh-ins, but a rational approach to including food in your life.
In the author's words, readers should "develop a healthy relationship with their food." I totally agree. The "Fat Fallacy" opens a door to the lessons on food we have always known, but forgot. Don't pick up another book telling you what you should not eat. Get this one to remind yourself why good food is an essential part of the good life.
Book Review: a reader
Summary: 2 Stars
After the first thirty pages of this book, I was very tempted to toss it into the fireplace. However, given my curiosity of why anyone would give this 5 stars encouraged me to slog on. The first 100 pages have all the charm of an "informercial". There is a lot of irrelevant diversions as well as an attempt to shock the reader (e.g. the descriptions of Olestra and stomach stapling). The only thing I could think of was this had never had a serious editing.
I was also offended by the lack of serious substantiation of his claims. Quick, out of context, name dropping seems to be the style here. Single studies are mentioned, however in the world of nutrition, a single study cannot stand on its own. They need to be substantiated with other studies. He also claims that this diet that gives longevity is the result of a long developmnet time. Who is he kidding? It is only in the last century or so that sanitation and medical care has improved to the point that diet is an issue. We know that humans are adaptable to many diets, however until recent times none of them were concerned about heart disease. Given he likes to tout his Ph.D. on the cover, the author should be doing a better job of substantiation. Testimonials by readers proves nothing. He is clearly out of his area of expertise.
The recipe section at the end is substandard. Most are largely "throw some stuff" together. Given that person who might benefit from this is probably not well experienced in the kitchen, leaving amounts up to their imagination is a recipe for failure. While he might enjoy giving the banana bread away at Christmas, that recipe from my junior high home ec class needs to be updated. Given the railing he gives to hydrogenated fats, the shortening should be replaced with butter or vegetable oil. This was not well thought out.
I do give 2 stars for encouraging overeaters a method for controlling their consumption. However, if this book were well edited and the font reduced down to a normal print, all that would be left is a large magazine article.
I discourage the use of this book due to its inherent lack of useful information. You won't find enlightenment on the French Paradox here, only a personal interpretation of the food the author encountered in France. For someone seriously interested in nutrition, try Walter Willett's "Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy".
Book Review: some good information
Summary: 4 Stars
The book has alot of good information about processed foods. The all-purposed flour is processed and bleached. It probably isnt the same as the french.