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+--- Thread: Eating for Pleasure diet (/thread-13243.html)
- Zinner - 01-03-2005
I've noticed a couple of recent posts mentioning diet and fitness, so I'm assuming that some of us have made resolutions or just decided to tackle this area. So I thought I'd mention a book I've been reading and am very happy to see. I got an advance copy though a publication I work with, but it should appear very soon--publication date is Jan. 4th.
It's called French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure by Mireille Guiliano, published by Alfred A. Knopf. She is president and CEO of Cliquot, Inc. in New York and a director of Champagne Veuve Cliquot in Reims.
The author came to the USA as an exchange student in her youth and quickly pudged up on American food. When she went back to France, she shed the pounds and has maintained a svelte figure in spite of the entertaining with wine and food that she now does constantly in her job. In the book, she talks about the differences in French and American attitudes to food and shares tips and recipes.
The recipes look very simple and I'm eager to try some of them, particularly the Chicken Au Champagne and some of the soups. This book is way more fun than Atkins.
Also, they just built a stunning new fitness and wellness center not too far from my home --lots of windows and skylights. I'm no exercise aficianado but this place is so gorgeous, it makes it seem like it won't be so bad. Whirlpools and saunas and stuff to recuperate with after you half kill yourself on the machines. So I splurged on a membership as a gift to myself. Wish me luck and if you have any tips, please do tell!
- winoweenie - 01-03-2005
Happy there Zinner. Will definately get the book on release. Have been on the South Beach diet now for almost 6 months and am in phase 3 which I find extremely easy to maintain. I drink the same amount as when I was putting on the pounds but just stay within the parameters of foods set out. love the diet and have succeefully blown forty fat ones into the atmosphere. Have always excersiosed so that's no problem. Good luc! WW
- hotwine - 01-03-2005
Glad to hear about the new exercise program, Zinner. Can't emphasize enough the importance of a good program.
Features I look for in a health club:
- Good work-out temperature (low 60's)
- Clean equipment
- Plenty of fresh towels, plus spray bottles of disinfectant with paper towels
- Good work-out music. Should have a strong beat but only moderate volume; acid rock and rap crap not welcome.
- Tunable individual TVs with cable or satellite service near each machine (and actually on each treadmill)
- Enough personal trainers on hand to help with equiment and answer questions.
- Rugrats banished to an on-site nursury.
- Good selection of equipment for both cardio and strength training.
- Clean locker rooms with showers.
- Plenty of plants scattered throughout. They seem to help cleanse the air somehow.
- Upscale decor is nice but convenience is even nicer.
- Prompt response from staff to a question or complaint. My complaints have been about dirty equipment, lack of towels or paper towels or disinfectant, sorry music selection and high temperature. (I sometimes carry a little battery-powered digital thermometer to check temp, and start raising hell when it reaches 72.)
For a doc's guidance on a good work-out environment, see http://www.ultimate-exercise.com/pb5.html
The main factor in a work-out program is your own discipline. A regular routine, plus a low fat/low carb/high protein diet, can really work wonders. Good luck.
- tandkvd - 01-03-2005
Time for my small rant.
"Good work-out temperature (low 60's)"
We take care of the HVAC in some Charlotte area Work Out centers. Maintaining low 60's now is easy. But normal A/C equipment is designed to maintain 72 deg. when it is 95 deg outside. Then add several people in the mix sweating , adding moisture and heat to the space it is darn near impossible.
Although to maintain lower temps. and humidity special options need to be added at substantial cost. Ofcourse this equipment is rairly specified to keep cost down. Then everyone gets mad at the service tech. because he cannot make the equipment maintain the desired comfort levels.
Last year I quoted replacing the existing equipment for an arobics room with equipment especialy designed for the application. I had the factory rep come and take temp. and hunid. readings and size the equipment. The space had about 15 tons of cooling. The cost to replace the equipment with the same type would be around $20,000, but to install the correct equipment the cost was around $70,000. Which way do you think they went.
I can save the upset members a lot of money. Drop your membership and come up on the roof with us when it is 100 deg. and 90% humidity. You will loose the weight a lot quicker.
[This message has been edited by tandkvd (edited 01-03-2005).]
- hotwine - 01-03-2005
"100 deg. and 90% humidity"
I don't have to go onto a roof to get those conditions.... backyard or south pasture works just fine. But when I'm paying for an optimum workout environment, I don't expect heat stroke in the first 10 minutes.
Zinner, suggest to you that useful warning signs as to a club's financial health include excessive heat/humidity, sudden across-the-board changes in staff, widespread idled equipment due to maintenance, unannounced rate increases, and poor janitorial service. When taken together, they indicate a club in transition.... preparing to be sold or closed.
If you see those conditions, you might also be looking at a business opportunity.
The battery-powered thermometer that I sometimes tote to the gym is one that normally monitors the little HEC wine fridge in the laundryroom. Nifty gadget.
- Zinner - 01-03-2005
Thanks for all the suggestions. Sounds like some of you are intimately familiar with fitness clubs.
This one has no past history to judge it by because it just opened today, but it is being done by a local hospital with a great reputation for service....thus the wellness aspect. It's part medical, part spa and part fitness. All the cutting-edge equipment. Periodic testing and personal trainer advice for changing the workout based on your goals. Staff seems well-qualified and friendly. Plush environment.
I was looking for some place that I would actually look forward to going to rather than one that's depressing and you have to force yourself to go. I will give them a period of time and then evaluate after I see how useful it seems.
- hotwine - 01-03-2005
Sounds like a wonderful facility. You shouldn't encounter any problems with cleanliness in that environment! Hot & cold running nurses, maybe...
- winedope1 - 01-03-2005
I resemble that remark, Hotwine.....WD
- californiagirl - 01-03-2005
Thanks Zinner- I'll look for the book.
I'm joining Curves for several reasons:
- I don't get enough exercise, (outside of chasing kids around)
- close proximity of 2 different locations to work and home
- 30 min circuit training, then you're done
- fits into my work and family's schedule
- know several people who've been their and look great
- it's not the "gym" atmosphere
WW helps me to pay attention to what I'm eating. I don't tend to taste a little bit of this and nibble on that when I know that it all counts. It helps to maitain a new way of eating- not really a diet, more of a life change. ( It didn't work for me last time b/c when hubby started working nights, I was snacking alot . )
They don't require a sabbatical to wine, it's allowed on the program and fits in to my daily points. I'm doing it on my own to give my body a break.
I want to have more energy, not be so tired all the time. Just not fit like I used to be.
Good luck to all on your New Year's resolutions!!
- hotwine - 01-04-2005
Several of the Curves franchises have opened locally in the past year and seem successful. We've actually quit going to the local "big box gym" in the past couple of months, due to many of the problems I mentioned above (as well as doubling of monthly dues), and now drive 14 miles (instead of the previous 2) to support a club opened by wife's personal trainer. It's already doing well, and although not a part of a large hospital, it is very close to one, and also to a country club that has a poor fitness center. I'm expecting there will soon be a wine fridge in the massage room....
- Zinner - 01-09-2005
It looks as though the author of the French Women Don't Get Fat book may be featured on Dateline tonight(Sunday). Caught a glimpse of a promo on TV.
- chittychattykathy - 01-09-2005
First off I would say that portion size is the #1 problem here in the USA-- you can eat anything and stay trim-- just not 18oz of it. I try to eat small dishes, five or six times a day, keep to the "fist size" portions of meat and I really try not to eat after seven. Hard to do when you are out with wine people at ten!
I also drink a ton of water and various decaf teas-- hydration, for me at least, is #1.
When, like now, I am feeling out of shape, I cut all processed food out for a month or so-- amazing how much better you feel!
As far as gyms go, I agree with all the above! My biggest pet peeve after cleanliness/temp is the safety of the members. I am constantly seeing people in weight rooms using equipment in potentially dangerous ways. I.e.- bench pressing without a spot or using a machine with the seat at the wrong height. I think all gyms should keep a much better eye on members while they work out, offer "free" limited on the spot training and that members should be "checked out" on equipment before being able to use it...
I also believe that all gyms should have an AED (defibrillator) this is a real biggie. Ask if yours does-- if they don't tell them to get on the ball! They do not cost very much compared to what they can do!
Anyway,
By the time everyone is here this summer I will have done my first "century" ride on my bike and a three-day walk for breast cancer. This after being a trainer at a gym and them going the last few years without a regular program-- hated that!
For me, having those goals seems to help me on those days when I just do not want to go to the gym but know... No excuse! I have all I need to work out with here at home-- me.
BTW-- I 've been to France a few times... and there are lots of "fat" women there. (Probably not eating French food though. lol)
- winoweenie - 01-10-2005
She was indeed on the program and made sense in her statements. The diet she reccommends is very similar to the Phase 3 of the South Beach. Still on the sabbatical and SB diet and still losing. WW
- winedope1 - 01-10-2005
good for all who are trying to stay or get fit and lose!!!! It can be a truly hard thing for all of us in these busy times. I quit the gym scen several years ago because I couldn't stand the "macho atmosphere" when trying to do my wieght training. Curves looks like a great alternative and there are a number of them here in the Ocean State. The only problem is that their hous are too limited to fit into my everchanging duty schedule. I have developed my own routine at home which keeps me trim. I know that this type of system doesn't work for a lot of people. I think that mine works only because I have done it for so long that it has become ingrained. Good luck to all!! WD
- Zinner - 01-11-2005
Having made a number of trips to France and having stayed quite a few times in French homes, I can say from personal observation that the French definitely eat multi-course and generously portioned meals sometimes, but they seem to space them out. It's not a three times a day thing.
Generally the men, as well as the women, stay quite trim. I'd guess some of the fat folks in France are not native French. Since they got the golden arches, a few have put on weight, but French obesity rates are very low while ours are extremely high.
But I think it's a very complex problem. Remember that the Europeans refuse to take the hormone and antibiotic laden meats and cheeses that are so widely available here. Soy is touted as a health food here, but if you research it thoroughly, you find there are problems associated with it. But it's a big agribusiness so when you read labels, you'll find it places you never imagined. And the flouride in our toothpaste and water...flouride used to be used to treat people with an overactive thyroid to slow their metabolism down. It's a disturbing thought.
Some of this must be disturbing others as well, since our local Publix is now touting their Greenwise buffalo(no hormones or antibiotics) on the front of their advertising section(no longer hidden within). Specials this week on the organic salads and such.
Organic and other food that is less meddled with getting easier and easier to find here. Hopefully Americans are getting more picky about their food just like the French have always been.
I do think the people on this board probably eat healthier than the general population. Wine drinkers probably pay more attention to their food as well as drink.
Applause to all of you who have made your eating and fitness plans work for you.
- californiagirl - 02-26-2005
Zinner- I picked this book up last week and started reading it. Very interesting concept- and totally makes sense!!
I'll post more when I'm done=)
- Zinner - 03-09-2005
Well, CG, it seems to work for me. And I haven't given up bread, butter, mayonnaise, etc. I eat none of those diet, low-fat or low-carb foods. I just have the richer foods in small amounts and fill up on veggies and the healthier end of things.
I do however still go to my gym, though according to Guiliano, that isn't the French way. Tonight I did a hip-hop class, pilates and walked a mile. I like it more than I thought I would.
Mireille Guiliano is going to be at the High Museum Wine Auction in Atlanta soon, so I hope to get a chance to chat with her.
[This message has been edited by Zinner (edited 03-08-2005).]