Americans are tired of fad diets, counting calories, and living within restrictive guidelines about carbs and fat. They are turning to Mireille Guiliano for her sensible and admittedly contrarian advice on eating well.
I eat three home-cooked meals a day, all prepared in advance. My ethos is to stay away from unsustainable low-calorie diets and aim for something balanced: loads of veg, protein and enjoy the carbs you love. Be realistic. I don't count sugar or salt or grams of fat: it's very restrictive and unenjoyable.
I probably eat about 300-350g of carbs a day. About 160g of protein, about 60-80g of fat, which I think is about 2,500-3,000 calories.
Stop turning to fad diets and use common sense.
For the vast majority of those who are obese - those with a Body Mass Index over 30 - their size is their choice. They choose to take in more calories than they burn. They choose to take in high fat calories over low-fat ones. They choose to fad diet, if they choose to diet at all.
I never count calories. Counting calories is stressful and intimidating, so I avoid it! I know that if I'm eating something that's a treat, I don't need to count it because I mostly eat healthy and am conscious of what I'm putting in my body.
Fitness isn't about being extreme and hard-core. Healthy eating is not about counting calories, weighing food, or finding less tasteful ingredients. Life is about balance.
Because fats are so calorie-dense - there are nine calories per gram of fat - at 400 grams of fat, you're getting a lot of calories in. It's so easy to digest fat, too. That was my fuel.
Here's the number one reason Americans are heavy: The brain, very smartly, wants nutrition. But the average American is not eating nutrients; he or she is eating empty calories. So you finish that 2,000 calories and your brain says, Keep going until you get nutrients.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that carbs are bad. It's a fad right now. Full disclosure: I'm sponsored by Barilla. But I've always been free about saying I love carbs, including pasta, in moderation.
The fad diets that many Americans are on are perfect if you want to be hungry all the time and miserable.
Once you have to start counting calories, it takes away from the joy of eating.
I'm truly blessed with great genes. I've never done anything drastic in my life, and I can proudly say I haven't tried any of those crazy fad diets, either. I believe in eating right and living healthy. Plus, I love going to the gym, and I enjoy yoga because it streamlines your body.
Most Americans are skipping meals and when they do eat, they're starving and they're eating an excess of sugar and calories. Really it's about eating breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and dinner, and trying to feed yourself.
It doesn't look like Michelle Obama follows her own nutritionary dietary advice. And then we hear that she's out eating ribs at 1500 calories a serving with 141 grams of fat ... No, I'm trying to say that our first lady does not project the image of women that you might see on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue or of a woman Alex Rodriguez might date every six months or what have you.
What you want is to rev up your metabolism so that you are burning fat and calories, not preserving fat and calories.
This is what people don't understand: obesity is a symptom of poverty. It's not a lifestyle choice where people are just eating and not exercising. It's because kids - and this is the problem with school lunch right now - are getting sugar, fat, empty calories - lots of calories - but no nutrition.