Escape the Diet Trap [Paperback]

As a fellow medical doctor, I wholeheartedly endorse the findings and subsequent advice given by Dr Briffa in this comprehensive book. It is well-researched with reference sources unlike the plethora of 'diet' books on the market. His detailed descriptions of the mechanisms and effects of calorie restriction, interaction of protein,carbohydrate and fats on the body's hormonal and metabolic system are clearly explained. The essential fats and protein amino acids are emphasised as are those that should be avoided especially trans fats in processed food, cakes,biscuits and fast foods, citing the scientifically-backed reasons.
His conclusions and recommendations of a food intake based on a high protein, medium fat, low carbohydrate content are logical. Examples of food types to be eaten or avoided are set out. Vegetarians may struggle. The pitfalls of the body mass index (BMI) are described as are the advantages of waist measurement,the mirror, how clothes feel etc. over the scales. The physical and mind problems associated with conventional low calorie diets and their detrimental effects are clearly stated. The other emphasis is on exercise. Intermittent high intensity aerobic exercise in moderation is more important for heart/lung fitness whilst resistance exercise more important in maintaining muscle size and strength (a pair of dumbells work wonders if no access to a gym). Motivation, short-term goals and maintenance are discussed as are overcoming 'sticking points'. If the science is daunting Dr Briffa recommends reading the basic summaries at the end of the first 17 chapters.
Personally, I was a fit rugby player 6'2" and 16stone 4lb aged 21. 40 years later I am the same size and shape (body fat 15%). According to the BMI I have been obese for years. I have intuitively followed Dr Briffa's principles. One swallow doesn't make a summer but it has for me. (It helped my father was a butcher). Highly recommended fact-based book that can guide you to achieve weight and health targets as well as confidence and the 'feel-good-factor'.

I purchased Dr Briffa's previous book, Waist Disposal, in January 2011. I was approaching 40, had developed an impressive middle aged spread (which somehow I managed to disguise by virtue of the fact I didn't put much weight on my face!) and had tried several times over the previous years to lose a stone (I weighed about 16st, 1 stone was not exactly ambitious). I tried the Low GI diet, I tried Atkins, I even tried the cabbage soup diet! I ramped up my exercising, and all that happened was I'd lose a few pounds in the first few weeks, then eventually put it back on, with the added bonus of some additional pounds. So I entered 2011 determined to give it one more go for the sake of my health.

Waist Disposal interested me because it seemed aimed at blokes like me. All the principles laid out in Waist Disposal are captured in Dr Briffa's new book, Escape The Diet Trap, with the latter providing more detail, more up to date evidence, and some new ideas. It's like Waist Disposal on steroids.

All I can say about Dr Briffa's principles is they work. They really really work. I write this review 12 months on from following them, and I have lost 3 stone. I look and feel fantastic. Not only have I lost weight, but I sleep better and genuinely feel healthier. I used to take headache pills once or twice a week before - now once every couple of months. The upshot of all this is that I am happier. You can't underestimate how your feelings of self esteem and happiness improve as you see yourself lose weight and become healthier, simply because you changed your eating habits. I don't consider Dr Briffa's principles a diet, that word suggests it is a temporary state, a fad - for me it's been about a lifestyle change in what and how I eat. And unlike previous attempts to shift weight, a year on I've still kept it off.

And it's not just me - my wife followed these principles, and over the last year she had lost 2 stone! What makes that particularly impressive is that she was 9st 5 to start with, so not exactly heavy, she's petite, and yet she now weighs 7 st 5. And our success has inspired many of my friends to follow Dr Briffa's principles, and they too have seen great results.

So hopefully I have provided some evidence based on my own personal experience that Dr Briffa's principles work. What about Escape the Diet Trap as a book? As I mentioned earlier, it's like Waist Disposal on steroids. It's wonderfully written and structured so that you can read it end to end, or you can pick and choose the section you're interested in. There are good summaries and recaps in each chapter and a final synposis, so it's easy to revisit bits. But most importantly, all the principles and ideas in the book are underpinned by scientific evidence, all of which can be referenced. What is genuinely shocking about the conventional advice on nutrition given to us by the Health Authorities is the really flaky basis on which it is based - our current consumption of simple carbohydrates such as white bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and sugary products, is storing up a load of problems for us in later life. When you think about the fundamental premise of this book, that from an evolutionary perspective we are unchanged in millions of years, then our bodies are designed around the diet of hunter gatherers, a primal diet if you like, it then makes complete sense that a diet based on food which entered our diets only 10,000 years ago, such as grains and sugar, cannot be good for our bodies if we consume carbs to the extent we are told we should.

Waist Disposal really got me interested in the whole area of nutrition, and particuarly the carbohydrate fallacy, so I read lots of other books. Having read Escape The Diet Trap, Dr Briffa has actually added some new content, capturing many of the ideas I'd also seen elsewhere (e.g. how to deal with plateaus, how intermittent fasting can help with fat loss). So in Escape The Diet Trap, Dr Briffa has created to my mind an excellent single source on this whole area. If you buy only one book on "diet", then buy this one. Dr Briffa's ideas changed my and my wife's lives.

As a "big boned" chap I was given this book on pre order for Christmas by my wife. I have just finished reading it and felt that I should write a review. For those of you who need to lose weight and are fed up being told to "go for a run and eat a bit less" then this book is for you. It is not a diet book but a collection of well researched and analysed theories regarding weight loss and health. John Briffa then looks at the available evidence and puts forward a reasoned argument against many of the standard assumptions. For example he explains why just cutting down food intake may not be the answer and discusses the limitations of the standard diets available especially ones involving calorie counting.
The science in this book is very well explained and easy to understand and I feel that having the background knowledge behind the changes I need to make to my diet will, in the long run, strengthen my resolve. I will also be able to explain to my mates exactly why joining them at the gym may not be the answer to our weight loss, although when combined with the suggestions in this book it will result in a fitter me. I also think that this book removes some of the guilt of failing to lose weight in the past despite following various plans by explaining why you may have failed and what to do about it.
There are sections in the book that also discuss the power of marketing and big food producers behind the availability of foods in supermarkets that have certainly informed my shopping practice for the better.
In summary do not buy this is you want a formulaic diet planning book but do buy it if you want to make simple changes to your diet that will change your life for good.