Nothing in this book is revolutionary given all the information we have these days about dieting, diet culture, and living a healthful life. Yes, portion control and choosing healthier options more often are two of the easiest ways to control your weight if there are no other underlying causes and no, you don't have to have be on a diet that cuts every good food out of your life in order to be healthy. Those seem to be the two biggest takeaways from this book and yet they are both things I knew long before I read it.
There was a lot of superiority expressed about how great French people are because they intrinsically "know" certain things because they are French (which is just silly). There also seemed to be some dated information about what American life was like which, from what I gathered of the author's experiences, probably comes from growing up in the 60s and 70s in a very urban area in America and what probably was, at that time, more of a stark contrast between European and American lifestyles. Most of what she said about American life is wrong from my experience now a days (especially that no one cooks, everyone drinks mostly soda, the only reason people go to the gym is to punish themselves, etc.).
Bottom line: if you're already living a healthy lifestyle then this book likely won't have anything new to offer you. If you're not living a healthy lifestyle, then there are likely much more helpful guides out there that are much less biased and judgmental.

Loaded with stereotypes which grated a little. Also, even with her professions of only needing to buy small quantities of high quality foods this isn't aimed at mothers of small children living on a budget. Goodness only knows when I will find the time to go to the farmer's market, and the deli, and buy my shopping fresh every other day to avoid supermarket awfulness! So, some things annoyed me. But some of the advice was good. Drink more water, of course. Don't deny yourself pleasures. Savour what you eat. Walk up stairs instead of taking the lift...
But I'm pretty sure we're not going to manage to have champagne as an appetiser every night!

2.5 stars
Reading this book reminded me of eating out with my Grandma. You spend half the time enjoying her outspokenness and the other half hoping the waiter did not spit in your food.
I think I enjoyed it, though it was not necessarily a book for me. The author alienated me with her tone. I found her pretentious. (Pretentious might be the wrong word. I do think she knows what she is talking about. She just sounds so smug about it all!)
I also don't particularly care about my weight (at least, not enough to read a book about dieting, which this book basically is) and I found her general thoughts about what "French women know" familiar advice from my very non-French, American mother.
Drinking water, moderately exercising, and eating plenty of fruits and vegetables do work better than lose-weight-fast diets for maintaining general health.
Good tips in here and I will try and incorporate some mindfulness in my eating...at least for the next day or two while I remember this book. Then I will probably just think of it as 'the book where the lady asks the waiter to tell her how the dishes are prepared.'

I remember picking up this book before college; I wasn't impressed. I'm really surprised that my rating has gone from two-stars to five-stars in under ten years. I've always struggled with my weight and self-esteem but have gotten better over the years. So why give this book another chance? Well, it all started on lazy Sunday after gazing at Pinterest: Mimi Thorisson (my #1, absolute girl crush/role model/whatever-you-want-to-call-it) and French kitchens. Then I was daydreaming about what my life would be like in a French country chateau. Then I remembered this book (and its leek soup recipe). I am an "armchair traveler" at this point in my life; I do not have the means to explore, but I am endlessly enthralled in learning how others live their lives day to day. Growing up in a southern, American household, food has always been front and center...and not always for the best. This quote explains this disastrous mindset: "Nevertheless, most Americans eat at least 10 to 30 percent more than needed, not to survive but to satisfy psychological hunger. The trick is to manage and gratify your appetites, while determining how, when, and what to reduce." I did not expect this book to be a miracle or the magic key I need to break lifelong habits and environments. (I also really hate the title!) I came out with tons of takeaway tips to embrace my joie de vivre and gained a small view of how the French interact with their food and bodies.