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Escape the Diet Trap
‘No need to count calories, go hungry or diet ever again’ The Times
This revolutionary book reveals:
• Ten reasons why eating a low-fat, calorie controlled diet makes sustained weight loss virtually impossible.
• Why the less hungry you are, the more weight you’ll lose.
• How different types of calories have different fattening potential.
• Why weight is not just about calories, but the impact our diet has on key hormones including insulin and leptin.
• Why you should ignore foods labelled ‘low fat’ or ‘light’.
• Why aerobic exercise has little impact on weight, and the type of exercise that does.
• The simple and mental tricks to ensure permanent success.
322 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
37 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 9, 2015
I read this book based on my GP's recommendation and I would probably recommend it to people, even though I’m not going to follow it to the letter myself. I think I’ve now reached the point in my life where I’m quite happy with my lifestyle, my diet and the way my body looks. I’m not susceptible to weird emotional food binges and I still like cake.
I think the gist of this book is: fat is good, carbs are bad, processed foods are really bad, you don’t really need tons of exercise to lose weight.
My problem with the above is that I actually love tons of exercise, so his comment that exercise generally doesn’t burn as many calories as we think is not true for me. I actually burn about 5000, 6000 kcal a week exercising, so my diet needs to take that into account and I can allow myself more carbs than the author recommends.
Having said that, I wholeheartedly agree with him on the fat issue. Please stop being afraid of fat. Don’t buy low fat products – they are going to bad for you, because they are usually full of sugar. He neatly explains the science behind it all, what happens with carbs in your body and what happens with fat. It all makes sense and I can corroborate it with my anecdata from Poland. When I was younger there were no low fat products in Poland. Everything was full fat. And there were very few fat people. End of anecdata.
I can’t quite get behind the reasoning behind paleo diet (although I don’t doubt it works) – mostly because obesity hasn’t become a problem when we as a species abandoned ‘paleo diet’ but when started consuming absurd amounts of sugar and processed food and started driving everywhere.
The book gave me some things to think about and it’s always good to have some extra nutritional knowledge and some of its advice works for me. I love cooking and I cook a lot so not relying on processed food is a matter of pride for me. I’m not a fan of interval training but I love going for very long runs (at a steady pace). I will probably never be particularly thin but I’m not sure why I would want to be – it doesn’t seem affect the number of men attracted to me, my level of fitness, or my general happiness anymore.
I think the most important thing to remember is that healthy food is not a penance and bad food is not a reward. Also, don’t try to make drastic changes in your lifestyle from ‘next Monday’ – you’re much better making a small change right now.
That's all, folks.
I think the gist of this book is: fat is good, carbs are bad, processed foods are really bad, you don’t really need tons of exercise to lose weight.
My problem with the above is that I actually love tons of exercise, so his comment that exercise generally doesn’t burn as many calories as we think is not true for me. I actually burn about 5000, 6000 kcal a week exercising, so my diet needs to take that into account and I can allow myself more carbs than the author recommends.
Having said that, I wholeheartedly agree with him on the fat issue. Please stop being afraid of fat. Don’t buy low fat products – they are going to bad for you, because they are usually full of sugar. He neatly explains the science behind it all, what happens with carbs in your body and what happens with fat. It all makes sense and I can corroborate it with my anecdata from Poland. When I was younger there were no low fat products in Poland. Everything was full fat. And there were very few fat people. End of anecdata.
I can’t quite get behind the reasoning behind paleo diet (although I don’t doubt it works) – mostly because obesity hasn’t become a problem when we as a species abandoned ‘paleo diet’ but when started consuming absurd amounts of sugar and processed food and started driving everywhere.
The book gave me some things to think about and it’s always good to have some extra nutritional knowledge and some of its advice works for me. I love cooking and I cook a lot so not relying on processed food is a matter of pride for me. I’m not a fan of interval training but I love going for very long runs (at a steady pace). I will probably never be particularly thin but I’m not sure why I would want to be – it doesn’t seem affect the number of men attracted to me, my level of fitness, or my general happiness anymore.
I think the most important thing to remember is that healthy food is not a penance and bad food is not a reward. Also, don’t try to make drastic changes in your lifestyle from ‘next Monday’ – you’re much better making a small change right now.
That's all, folks.
February 16, 2019
A quick read with many good tips and strategies for keep extra pounds off!
February 29, 2012
I started off thinking this was a really great book the discussion and explanation around why being overweight is not good for your overall health was very easy to understand. Dr Briffa provides excellent referencing for his statements but the constant need to debunk current theory became a little tedious. I also noticed when he started prescribing his food plans etc all referencing died away and we were to take his word for it.
I have finished feeling unsatisfied (much like I would if I never ate ice cream again as he suggests)and further confused about what constitutes a good diet! I suspect it really comes back down to the old adage "moderation". The idea of virtually eliminating all carbohydrtes from my diet simply because they are a recent addition (by recent he means 10000 years)to our diet is a)difficult and b)will result in the loss of some my favorite foods. Frankly I am not willing to do that on his recommendation.
However I am glad I read it and it has certainly given me much to think about.
I have finished feeling unsatisfied (much like I would if I never ate ice cream again as he suggests)and further confused about what constitutes a good diet! I suspect it really comes back down to the old adage "moderation". The idea of virtually eliminating all carbohydrtes from my diet simply because they are a recent addition (by recent he means 10000 years)to our diet is a)difficult and b)will result in the loss of some my favorite foods. Frankly I am not willing to do that on his recommendation.
However I am glad I read it and it has certainly given me much to think about.
September 3, 2013
Really enjoyed this book - it didn't bang on and on. I found it easy to read but I do like this type of book. It's a book that I will read again as it had so many interesting bits - studies etc.
This book encouraged me to look at the New Atkins and also re-think Paleo. It's working and I'm losing without the violent mood swings of Dukan ... I'm a nice person again.
This book encouraged me to look at the New Atkins and also re-think Paleo. It's working and I'm losing without the violent mood swings of Dukan ... I'm a nice person again.
July 31, 2023
Found an unlisted/read book from 2015. I was sooo stupid back then, thinking that eating fat makes me fat, and eating sugary drinks is as drinking water to my belly fat :D It was one of the first books that I got the basics of insulin - that fat people usually are tired and hungry mostly, because of it. Today I can say I'm quite advanced on these topics (intermittent fasting often etc) so no point in covering my 2015 review - just do less carbs to fix insulin resistance. I, for instance now, usually eat (and drink) sugar-added things only on weekends. Insulin is baaaaaaa-aa-a-ad (read it in a sheep voice).
***
Oh, I do like one illustration from the book: imagine the WHOLE existance of human specias as one year timeline - compared to it, wheat (carbs) was invented on 30 dec night, and milk 31 dec day, and sugar 31 dec evening :D So all of those are not what our species eat/drank for most of their existence.
***
Oh, I do like one illustration from the book: imagine the WHOLE existance of human specias as one year timeline - compared to it, wheat (carbs) was invented on 30 dec night, and milk 31 dec day, and sugar 31 dec evening :D So all of those are not what our species eat/drank for most of their existence.
June 27, 2025
I think this book published in 2012 is one of the better ones and advises we eat the plant based diet that, a decade on, is promoted by most experts. But I'm clearing out my books (June 2025) and I'm never going to sit down and read this one again. I feel I've absorbed the learning. Hopefully someone at the charity shop will pick this up and improve their health.
July 31, 2017
I read Diet books like I read novels and discard most of them as just not sustainable or not fitting in with a normal lifestyle. I like the sound of this one though. Am in the process of putting it into practise.
July 27, 2020
I enjoyed the book, though fragmented and I still expand.
Definitely worth a read for its incidental advice.
Definitely worth a read for its incidental advice.
February 1, 2022
Excellent pieces of advice, right now I'm successfully following them :)
February 17, 2015
Finally I have a handle on the essential reasons why eating 'primally' is the best thing for our bodies. There are other books (eg The Paleo Solution) that are, I'm sure, scientifically sound but which overwhelm me with leptins, lectins and molecular structure. John Briffa presents his material in a reasonable, realistic and achievable way (exactly like his talks) and somehow more Britishly. I feel the upward call to more protein.
September 25, 2012
Similar to Gary Taubes "Why we get fat, and what to do about it", but with extra bits about our diet culture and what it does to us.
If you would really like to loose weight and keep it off for good, and understand why and how to live the rest of your life to support your body rather than abuse it, then you should read this book.
If you would really like to loose weight and keep it off for good, and understand why and how to live the rest of your life to support your body rather than abuse it, then you should read this book.
May 31, 2012
Very interesting reading - makes a lot of sense from an evolutionary point of view. If all of this is true then the Government and health agencies seriously need to revisit the advice they're currently giving out...
July 2, 2013
More of the low card stuff - very interesting and sensible, but I was sad when he wrote that the waist measurement for healthy women is lower than others have quoted...Oh well, what's an inch or tw betweent friends?
May 11, 2015
This added to my determination to try a low carb high fat diet - I've now completed 3 weeks of one and have never felt better. I am also 7 pounds down without any calorie counting - which is frankly a miracle.
March 25, 2013
Excellent evidence-based summary of the many pros and few cons of a low-carb lifestyle, written in an engaging style primarily for British readers.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews