Andrew Shanahan

Every time I pop into my local library there are certain sections that I always check out. These are the politics section, psychology section and the health/medical section. Often I don't bother borrowing any of these books but on occasion something catches my eye. The health/medical section is often a let down because there are far too many books that promise sensational results from certain diets. In my experience, although these things do work for some people, and remarkably well for a select few, they are often not really backed up with too much proven science. This book seemed like a decent catch-all introduction to a healthier lifestyle and although I felt I wouldn't learn a whole lot from it, I decided to give it a read and see what it was like.

The book starts with the author explaining a little about himself and how he had the sudden realisation that he was obese. This had led to health issues, such as a heart condition, and as is usually the case, a reduction in his self-confidence. The way he looked at it was by asking himself a simple question, "does my body allow me to do what I want to?". He asks the reader to ask themselves this question and consider if their current level of health and fitness is restricting their life. One of the common reasons for losing weight and becoming more active in men is so that they are able to play with their kids more. Once the author had decided to make a change, he did what most of us do, he read some magazine and books. Sadly, it has to be said that when it comes to men's health there is a prevailing trend which I have personally come across many times. This trend extends across magazines, the internet and books. The media with tell you that men don't want to lose weight, they want to get 'ripped' and the only way to do this is a following some extreme regime of diet and exercise, and in 6 weeks you'll look like Jason Statham. But what happens if you have a lot of weight to lose or you don't want to be the next Bruce Lee, what happens if you just want to get down to a healthier weight and get fitter without being an underpants model? The answer often is, you try the extreme, you last about 2 weeks and then give up. Well this book is different, it talks about a process which is slow but sustainable, and will improve your health and help you lose weight.

From my point of view, there is nothing new here, I have already learned what the author discusses but it took me about 3 years of hit and miss experimentation. For any man who is just starting out and wants make changes to their health I would heartily recommend this book. There is no 'hard and fast' route to success laid out, but instead, the author talks about a variety of exercises from cycling to weight training and a whole raft of different approaches to nutrition. He explains the differences and key points with some of the main 'diets' that people follow and where to get more information on these. He doesn't push one thing over the other which is a nice change as most books will push one approach and tell us that all others are a waste of time. Some books will cover diet only but this books has diet and exercise as a combination, which in my opinion is the best approach. One without the other is beneficial, but the combination of both will multiply the benefits of the other and result in better overall health. Throughout the book are case studies of people who have lost weight and how they did it. They discuss their failures as well as successes and how they overcame obstacles which presented along the way.

This book takes a very holistic approach to the subject and I recommend it to anyone (men and women) who want to improve their health.… (mais)

Man v Fat is a diet book that looks at other diets. It uses a 3 part structure.Step 1 Understand why you got fat.This is basically survey data on reasons and excuses folks use get and remain fat. Step 2 Learn how to lose weight. This is a review of the 10 most popular diet plans and other methods of losing weight. This was personally the most helpful part of the book. As far as I could tell it is the only book to do this. Step 3 the final step. Create a winning structure . This is review of everything from note pads to track eating habits and exercise to fitness trackers. It seemed comprehensive and unbiased. What makes this book special is that it claims to be targeted at males. That said Shanahan does state what makes this book uniquely male oriented. It does include testimonials only written by guys. Shanahan does make 3 declaratory statements. 1) He claims it is not a diet plan but a means of choosing a diet plan.2) It is not a magic pill, unless you follow the advice given in the diet you chose to follow. 3) The book is not an exhaustive encyclopedia of weight loss. The aim is to address the main questions that men have about weight loss. Out of the books I have read on weight loss this one was possibly the most helpful. It got me to chose the Weight Watchers diet plan and stick with it so far for 6 months with a loss of 25lbs which I have maintained for a month. I would tell you to get your local library to buy this book and then try it out before buying a personal copy. In short take it for a drive before you buy it. I think its worth the money.
… (mais)