French Dieting. Now that the low-carb craze seems to be fading, could a diet modeled on the way French women eat be the next big American weight-loss trend? Could be, if "French Women Don't Get Fat," hailed by its author as "the ultimate non-diet book" catches on, reports Nanci Hellmich in USA Today. According to Mireille Guiliano, the book's author, the reason so many French women "are slender and graceful" is that they "eat with all five senses ... allowing less to seem like more." No, it's not because they smoke. It's because, as Mireille explains, when she goes out with friends for a sandwich, in Paris, "we sit down, take our time, look at the sandwich, admire the bread or the butter on it. We eat slowly. We chew well. We stop between bites." And "we" don't get fat.

French women, according to Mireille, "don't obsess about weight, skip meals, substitute slimming shakes for meals, snack frequently, eat while standing or on the run, gobble fast food or weigh themselves constantly." Mireille, who is also CEO of the American division of Clicquot, Inc., www.clicquotinc.com, says she's kept a slim physique for 30 years simply by eating "three good meals a day." Her regimen is to "watch portions, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, use seasonings, eat a variety of seasonal foods, drink plenty of water, savor wine, walk everywhere including up and down the stairs," and "indulge in a treat," such as a little bit of chocolate, now and then. In short: "Eat only good food. Relax and savor every bite."

However, nutritionist Keith Ayoob thinks its unlikely Americans will accept Mireille's advice "because we don't want to hear that the French do anything better than we do." Even more problematic, "switching to the French approach to food would take a major change in attitude," among Americans, as noted by neuroscientist Will Clower. "People here would buy a 5-pound burrito if it cost 99 cents even if it was tasteless, but the French would never do that," he comments. He also says he's noticed that Americans tend to lose weight while living in France, "and when the French come over here to live, they gain weight." For the record, "the French report that only about 11 percent of people there are obese," compared to "about 30 percent" of Americans. And, by the way, Mireille says she was fat once, when she was a teenager, having gained 20 pounds eating too many cookies and brownies ... while visiting the United States.

Tim Manners, editor