My Nathalie Botros Author Of If You Are What You Eat, Should I Eat A Skinny Girl? Interview

The Bon-Vivant Girl, Nathalie Botros, - Interview Q&A

-          What does it mean to be the “Bon-Vivant Girl?”

If you translate “bon-vivant” from French, it means “well living”. A Bon-Vivant Girl is someone who socializes, travels, and enjoys every minute of her life. Thanks to her healthy and happy relationship towards food, she manages to lose weight and maintain it without any conventional diet.

The Bon-Vivant Girl believes that you won’t be happy because you lost weight.

You need to be happy in order to lose weight. And to be happy, you need to live your life to the fullest: go out, travel, and socialize.

-          How did your background in psychotherapy help you develop the attitudes and ideas in your book?

Thanks to my psychotherapy background, I know that when we don’t stick to a diet, it doesn’t mean we are not strong or determined. We are all humans. The minute we say the word “diet”, our brain translates it to “restriction”. The restriction means not eating what we want.

Think when you tell a kid to not touch something? What will they do, go straight and touch it, right?

Now, think that all of us are grown up kids. When society or a diet tells us to not eat something, we instantly crave that food. In my book I keep saying that “you are not on a diet”, and “don’t restrict yourself” or “you can eat everything.” It is positive reinforcement, so my readers don’t feel trapped in the eternal cycle of dieting.

-          What do you think is the most common mistake people make when trying to adhere to a new, healthier lifestyle?

The most common mistake is to think that if a friend loses weight with a diet, it will work for me as well. Each person is unique. We all have different nutritional needs, metabolisms, and lifestyles. There is no “one-diet-fits-all,” there is bio-individuality.

People should stop listening to every diet that they hear or read. They should create their food journal and discover their bad and good food. Once they understand their own weaknesses, they can start on the road to a healthy and skinny life.

-          We all love pasta and the Bon-Vivant Girl is no exception. Why do you recommend cheating with your pasta?

First of all, pasta is not bad for you, especially unrefined ones (whole wheat). Don't forget I encourage my readers to eat from everything!

I also know that most of us won't eat whole wheat pasta and will opt for the white ones. The refined-grain foods may fail to satisfy your appetite. The result would be feeling hungry again, soon after eating a bowl of white pasta.

Now, let's be honest, pasta in itself has a blend taste. Nobody eats it without a sauce or cheese. We actually love more the sauce than the pasta itself. So, why don't we cheat with it?

It could be using vegetable pasta instead of refined one like zucchini pasta.

Another option would be decreasing the quantity of pasta and increasing the vegetables in the dish. If you use the elbow kinds and add a lot of vegetables cut small; you will have a huge plate. It will satisfy your pasta envy and will make your dish healthier.

Final Thoughts

I want the readers to identify themselves in my stories, get motivated, and laugh. I want them to stop dieting and start creating a lifestyle. “Diet” means “restriction”; “lifestyle” means “way to live.”

I want readers to understand that not being able to lose weight is not a failure. It shows that they followed a diet that was not suited for them. They are the only ones who can make it happen; by first loving and accepting themselves, then by creating and studying their food journal, and finally by starting their new Bon-Vivant lifestyle.

This book is not only a different approach to losing weight; but also a book to help the readers to find happiness in everything they do. The big message is “You can’t wait to lose weight to find happiness, you need to find happiness, and then you will lose weight.”

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