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The Great Aussie Bloke Slim-Down: How an Over-50 Former Footballer Went From Fat to Fit . . . and Lost 45 Kilos
The story of one man who had the guts to lose his gut. This is a book that will finally help an ordinary bloke lose weight. (Don’t worry, it has nothing to do with wearing a red bandana.)Ever struggled with your weight? Or did you stop struggling years ago and let the pies win? Peter FitzSimons has been there and eaten that. In The Great Aussie Bloke Slim-Down, he will lead you through the fads that failed him, the diets that died fast and left him furious, and the ways his waistline kept the belt industry in business.Take tips from someone who knows how to eat and drink way too much. And how to stop. Peter FitzSimons was a large lad with little self-control who has found the light and finally become lighter. In this book he tells you how and shows you who is responsible for you getting fat in the first place. (Spoiler It’s you. And sugar.) Have you ever wondered which diet works? Well, Peter FitzSimons has devoted his adult life to trying all of them and failing miserably. But you may have noticed this man-mountain has lost a lot of his landspace over the last few years. This is the tale of how that happened and how it can happen to the bloke in your life.
- GenresNonfiction
239 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 28, 2016
22 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Peter FitzSimons
85 books483 followersPeter FitzSimons is one of Australia’s most prominent and successful media and publishing identities. His busy professional life involves co-hosting the breakfast program on Sydney's Radio 2UE, writing weekly columns for the Sydney Morning Herald and Sun Herald newspapers, appearing on Foxtel's Back Page television show and, when time permits, authoring best-selling books. A correspondent for London's Daily Telegraph as well, he is also in high demand as a guest speaker and presenter
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 11, 2022
A good mix of science, humour and practical advice. And early experience supports the central thesis of stop the sugar, stop the hunger (and then lose the weight!).
February 9, 2017
Like the Great Aussie Bloke Husband and I, caring and observant types, you will have wondered why tv butterfly Lisa Wilkinson always looks ashamed and sad. We think it could be, yes, her husband’s red bandana. Fitzsimons says it himself, “there is no doubt that heaps of people think middle-aged men wearing bandanas is just PATHETIC”. His message for middle-aged Great Aussie Blokes is, get “fit and strong and healthy” and do something harmless you’ve always wanted to do, regardless of what Australia thinks.
The title says it all. Fitzsimons is a Great Aussie Bloke who lost 45 kilos. He dedicates his book to “all the fat blokes out there who are jack of it – had a gutful of having a gutful”. The first two chapters are “Gawd almighty, how did we get this fat in the first place?” and “Your ‘Come to Jesus’ moment (because you look like Buddha)”. The Introduction starts, “Oi! You. Fatty Boomka. Yes, you.” Fitzsimons is clear on his qualifications, “I am in no way a nutritional expert…I am as far from academic as it gets…I really am you, Boomka”. He assumes that the reader is a member of a rather limited group – a man of about 50, who used to play sport but has had trouble with his weight for some years, yo-yo dieting and always falling back into bad ways.
This is a book for men who despise those who eat green leaves with lunch or dinner “by CHOICE – “not by accident while trying to shovel steak and chips into their gobs”, for those who think that men who go to the gym are “weirdos, DANGEROUS weirdos” and who just don’t have moderation in their psyche. He talks a little, just a little about nutritional theory, a little about diets and why they don’t work and a GREAT DEAL about giving up sugar. His Bible is David Gillespie’s Sweet Poison and boy is he a convert. “I repeat, if you only get one thing from this book, get this: stop the sugar= stop the hunger. If somebody had drummed that into my noggin 25 years ago, I would never have got close to 152 kilograms. But once you get it, and embrace it, everything starts to come good.”. He drums that into the reader’s noggin with the zeal of the newly baptised. Again and again. He bores the poor Fatty Boomka with the struggle of the theories between this sucrose-apologist and that saintly sugar hater ad nauseum..
Unfortunately, specific as Fitzsimons is about the history of his reader and the importance of him weaning himself off the White Death, he is vague about just how the GAB ill do that. He tells the man who likes to have “a big night on the turps, complete with chippies, party pies and chocolate bars, all of it washed down by hot dogs at Harry’s Café de Wheels” to shop around the perimeter at the supermarket and stop drinking. Just like that. As specific as Bandana-Man gets is to say in Chapter Six – I eat porridge/unadulterated muesli or poached eggs, avocado and mushrooms for breakfast; chicken salad for lunch and grilled fish/chicken or tuna salad for dinner. This, as far as it goes, is quite useful, but just when we are hoping for more detail, say about portion control, we are back, in Chapter Seven to “The Politics of Food”. And we’re off on the evils of CSR again, much that that matters to the pub-schnitzel-eater who is just desperately trying to work out what he should eat tomorrow (although the eye-openers about the Australian Heart Foundation tick of approval is salutary reading). The chapters “Giving up the Grog” and “The Virtues of Abstinence” boil down to, “not moderation, just…stop”. He says glibly, ” And yes, of course I accept that it will be difficult for many people, and an agony for alcoholics. I genuinely feel for you.” He tells the Fatty Boomka to go back to exercise – not so simple for those of us who are not former rugby heroes. And this is another point at which his protestations of being just another greedy bloke with no will-power reads false. He gave up cigarettes, sugar and alcohol without a tear. He’s taken to serious weight-lifting and sport with barely a whinge. Yes, Fitzsimons would say that this is his book, for people like him, but the failing is that while his target reader is specific, his methods are not. This is not a stand-alone guide for weight-loss noobs, amusing and sensible though it generally is.
The only recipes in the book (designed for the Ocker who is not quite sure where the kitchen is) are vegetarian (but for salmon in one) – Fitzsimons has been taken aback by the wisdom of his vegetarian son. They are – haloumi & rocket, bean & veggie soup, bean mix with brown rice & fresh salsa and omelette/scrambled egg with cottage cheese & salmon. Not for every Great Aussie Bloke every night – but the GABH says that the soup (known as “Bandana Soup” in our test kitchen) is not inedible and the bean mix is almost food.
Fitzsimons says “weigh yourself every day… yes, yes, yes, I know that most dieticians say you shouldn’t weigh yourself more than once a week, but they don’t get out mentality quite the way we do….NOTHING keeps you as honest on a Saturday night when the party pies are being passed around and the ice-cream handed out, as knowing you must face the tyranny of the scales of justice the very next day.” Sorry, we’re with the dieticians on this one. Weighing oneself every day is the surest way to the Eating Disorders Clinic, or the cardiac unit. Take your pick.
While Fitzsimons’ final chapters provide a useful summing up, the concepts really could have been contained in in another of his tv pieces or magazine articles. The anti-sugar diatribes should be in a separate book.
The title says it all. Fitzsimons is a Great Aussie Bloke who lost 45 kilos. He dedicates his book to “all the fat blokes out there who are jack of it – had a gutful of having a gutful”. The first two chapters are “Gawd almighty, how did we get this fat in the first place?” and “Your ‘Come to Jesus’ moment (because you look like Buddha)”. The Introduction starts, “Oi! You. Fatty Boomka. Yes, you.” Fitzsimons is clear on his qualifications, “I am in no way a nutritional expert…I am as far from academic as it gets…I really am you, Boomka”. He assumes that the reader is a member of a rather limited group – a man of about 50, who used to play sport but has had trouble with his weight for some years, yo-yo dieting and always falling back into bad ways.
This is a book for men who despise those who eat green leaves with lunch or dinner “by CHOICE – “not by accident while trying to shovel steak and chips into their gobs”, for those who think that men who go to the gym are “weirdos, DANGEROUS weirdos” and who just don’t have moderation in their psyche. He talks a little, just a little about nutritional theory, a little about diets and why they don’t work and a GREAT DEAL about giving up sugar. His Bible is David Gillespie’s Sweet Poison and boy is he a convert. “I repeat, if you only get one thing from this book, get this: stop the sugar= stop the hunger. If somebody had drummed that into my noggin 25 years ago, I would never have got close to 152 kilograms. But once you get it, and embrace it, everything starts to come good.”. He drums that into the reader’s noggin with the zeal of the newly baptised. Again and again. He bores the poor Fatty Boomka with the struggle of the theories between this sucrose-apologist and that saintly sugar hater ad nauseum..
Unfortunately, specific as Fitzsimons is about the history of his reader and the importance of him weaning himself off the White Death, he is vague about just how the GAB ill do that. He tells the man who likes to have “a big night on the turps, complete with chippies, party pies and chocolate bars, all of it washed down by hot dogs at Harry’s Café de Wheels” to shop around the perimeter at the supermarket and stop drinking. Just like that. As specific as Bandana-Man gets is to say in Chapter Six – I eat porridge/unadulterated muesli or poached eggs, avocado and mushrooms for breakfast; chicken salad for lunch and grilled fish/chicken or tuna salad for dinner. This, as far as it goes, is quite useful, but just when we are hoping for more detail, say about portion control, we are back, in Chapter Seven to “The Politics of Food”. And we’re off on the evils of CSR again, much that that matters to the pub-schnitzel-eater who is just desperately trying to work out what he should eat tomorrow (although the eye-openers about the Australian Heart Foundation tick of approval is salutary reading). The chapters “Giving up the Grog” and “The Virtues of Abstinence” boil down to, “not moderation, just…stop”. He says glibly, ” And yes, of course I accept that it will be difficult for many people, and an agony for alcoholics. I genuinely feel for you.” He tells the Fatty Boomka to go back to exercise – not so simple for those of us who are not former rugby heroes. And this is another point at which his protestations of being just another greedy bloke with no will-power reads false. He gave up cigarettes, sugar and alcohol without a tear. He’s taken to serious weight-lifting and sport with barely a whinge. Yes, Fitzsimons would say that this is his book, for people like him, but the failing is that while his target reader is specific, his methods are not. This is not a stand-alone guide for weight-loss noobs, amusing and sensible though it generally is.
The only recipes in the book (designed for the Ocker who is not quite sure where the kitchen is) are vegetarian (but for salmon in one) – Fitzsimons has been taken aback by the wisdom of his vegetarian son. They are – haloumi & rocket, bean & veggie soup, bean mix with brown rice & fresh salsa and omelette/scrambled egg with cottage cheese & salmon. Not for every Great Aussie Bloke every night – but the GABH says that the soup (known as “Bandana Soup” in our test kitchen) is not inedible and the bean mix is almost food.
Fitzsimons says “weigh yourself every day… yes, yes, yes, I know that most dieticians say you shouldn’t weigh yourself more than once a week, but they don’t get out mentality quite the way we do….NOTHING keeps you as honest on a Saturday night when the party pies are being passed around and the ice-cream handed out, as knowing you must face the tyranny of the scales of justice the very next day.” Sorry, we’re with the dieticians on this one. Weighing oneself every day is the surest way to the Eating Disorders Clinic, or the cardiac unit. Take your pick.
While Fitzsimons’ final chapters provide a useful summing up, the concepts really could have been contained in in another of his tv pieces or magazine articles. The anti-sugar diatribes should be in a separate book.
January 1, 2018
Easy to read and a no bullshit story on what he learnt losing his weight and getting fit.
I better get cracking lol
I better get cracking lol
January 23, 2017
Whilst I am not the target market for this book I still can't understand the point of it. I wanted to enjoy reading it hence why I persisted until the end. There is no magic cure in fact he omits describing the process of how he lost weight leaving the reader to assume he stopped drinking and cut out sugar, something I knew prior to reading the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 30, 2016
I vowed a long time ago to never read another diet book in my life. I broke that promise to myself this week when I devoured Peter Fitzsimon’s Great Aussie Bloke Slimdown. I’m sure that I’m not his target audience – this is unashamedly aimed at Aussie men like my husband – but man, he could have been speaking to me. He certainly speaks my language. I had more lightbulbs go off reading this book than I reckon I had in all of 2016.
Everyone preaches moderation – and I get that’s something we probably should be aiming for. In fact, I remember reading or hearing something a few years ago that immoderation was a sign of immaturity. But I’ve always suspected that some of us simply aren’t wired to be moderate. And that was one of his key messages too. That maybe rather than trying to be something that we’re not, we take that and turn it on its head. I really get that. Of course, he had a lot more to say than that – mainly about sugar and alcohol – but that was my key takeaway. Geddit? Good common sense advice provided in a way that has you nodding and agreeing and excited to get into it.
Everyone preaches moderation – and I get that’s something we probably should be aiming for. In fact, I remember reading or hearing something a few years ago that immoderation was a sign of immaturity. But I’ve always suspected that some of us simply aren’t wired to be moderate. And that was one of his key messages too. That maybe rather than trying to be something that we’re not, we take that and turn it on its head. I really get that. Of course, he had a lot more to say than that – mainly about sugar and alcohol – but that was my key takeaway. Geddit? Good common sense advice provided in a way that has you nodding and agreeing and excited to get into it.
January 21, 2020
Today I finished reading Peter Fitzsimons latest book "The Great Aussie Bloke Slim-Down".
I admit its not an ideal time to finish this book on Easter Sunday where so much chocolate abounds.
It's a great book that really has at its heart getting rid of sugar from your diet, especially in sugary drinks, processed food and junk food. This complemented with eating whole foods and regular exercise and you will begin to look and feel young again and read your body the way it was meant to be. His focus is in losing weight without even having to think about it.
It is written like a yarn to the typical Aussie bloke so well worth a read. It is also well researched which is explained in layman's terms. The forward by Lisa Wilkerson (Peter's wife) is well worth a read also.
I admit its not an ideal time to finish this book on Easter Sunday where so much chocolate abounds.
It's a great book that really has at its heart getting rid of sugar from your diet, especially in sugary drinks, processed food and junk food. This complemented with eating whole foods and regular exercise and you will begin to look and feel young again and read your body the way it was meant to be. His focus is in losing weight without even having to think about it.
It is written like a yarn to the typical Aussie bloke so well worth a read. It is also well researched which is explained in layman's terms. The forward by Lisa Wilkerson (Peter's wife) is well worth a read also.
January 18, 2019
3.5 stars. This was an amazing read, laced with conspiracies and highlighting some serious flaws in the Australian health system. There is nothing new or surprising about this book, but it is written for your blokey audience and done so effectiveley.
The all or nothing approx taken in this book will be great for people without any discipline, but if you can go weeks or months at a time without a drink, I think it's safe to say that you don't have to give up booze to be successful here, your progress may be a little slower, but that's Okay.
Worth the read, if not just for the self deprecating humour and you get to find out the bandana background story.
The all or nothing approx taken in this book will be great for people without any discipline, but if you can go weeks or months at a time without a drink, I think it's safe to say that you don't have to give up booze to be successful here, your progress may be a little slower, but that's Okay.
Worth the read, if not just for the self deprecating humour and you get to find out the bandana background story.
June 19, 2018
In a very truthful "almost autobiography" Peter Fitzsimons tells how he went from young and fit, to old and fat thanks to poor choices. He then explains how by making a few key choices, he has lost a big whack of weight.
He summarises David Gillespie's "Sweet Poison" and adds to it.
In effect this book is a weight loss manual, but written in a very knock-about style.
He summarises David Gillespie's "Sweet Poison" and adds to it.
In effect this book is a weight loss manual, but written in a very knock-about style.
December 14, 2023
A good read. Sure to be inspirational to many. I read this book because I was interested in finding out if the author had come to the same conclusions I had - sugar is making us fat. That's exactly the point the author makes, but he does it in a hilarious Aussie manner. A good read even if you know the content.
September 16, 2022
Amazing and honest account and very inspiring
Really enjoyed reading the book, I had a few nervous laughs and was well challenged by the central theme of the book. Peter makes it plain and simple in his delivery in an entertaining and accessible way. Great read
Really enjoyed reading the book, I had a few nervous laughs and was well challenged by the central theme of the book. Peter makes it plain and simple in his delivery in an entertaining and accessible way. Great read
January 1, 2017
This book is a must read for anyone who has struggled with their weight, wants their family to eat healthier or just enjoys a well-researched book! Pretty terrifying stuff!
June 19, 2017
A fun read--dont eat sugar---excercise more. End of the lesson
February 27, 2018
He knows what he’s talking about. I haven’t had sugar since I finished this book - and have lost 9 kg in 10 weeks.
November 26, 2018
Written in an aussie blokey style that I found irritating even though I can see why. Basically boils down to no sugar, no alcohol fatty.
January 1, 2017
He certainly has me pegged, so he's written this year's resolutions for me.
December 6, 2016
Lots of humour made this a very easy read and being able to hear the authors voice so clearly made this a very personal read which I thoroughly enjoyed. Hopefully I can embrace some of the advice and lose weight
December 28, 2016
Written with the larrikin charm familiar to readers of FitzSimons' newspaper columns, this book addresses the serious subject of the damage that sugar is doing to the waistlines and health of Australia's men. FitzSimons explains the dangers in a way that is easy to understand and difficult to ignore, issuing a wake-up call to the blokes like himself who've been ignoring their ever-expanding waistlines.
It's an upbeat, entertaining read, full of good advice and encouragement from someone who's been through it all himself. Highly recommended for anyone, male or female, who'd like to make a lasting change to their shape and health.
It's an upbeat, entertaining read, full of good advice and encouragement from someone who's been through it all himself. Highly recommended for anyone, male or female, who'd like to make a lasting change to their shape and health.
February 9, 2017
I surprised myself with how quickly I read this book, and how much it has stayed with me. Clearly I'm not his target audience (I don't think that my diet has ever included all that many party pies), but we can all take on board some of his rather sensible advice.
Stop the sugar = Stop the hunger
Don't eat sweet
Give up the grog
Get moving
http://astrongbeliefinwicker.blogspot...
Stop the sugar = Stop the hunger
Don't eat sweet
Give up the grog
Get moving
http://astrongbeliefinwicker.blogspot...
January 2, 2017
Get rid of sugar. Eat more plants and other pearls of wisdom. No nonsense, super practical, easy as ABC for those of us who don't want to count calories, fast for 2 days out of every 7 or eat only broccoli for two weeks. Read it in an afternoon and get started that day.
December 18, 2016
He is right.
Have tried half hearted attempts at all this before. The book makes a simple and strong case for change. I'm in, Peter. Thanks mate. Kim
Have tried half hearted attempts at all this before. The book makes a simple and strong case for change. I'm in, Peter. Thanks mate. Kim
April 12, 2017
Peter Fitzsimons has a worthwhile message to give and says it well. His style is sometimes a bit over the top, but he's an effective communicator. Very readable. A good book for those trying to improve their health.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews