If you’ve ever found yourself Googling the latest diet trend at midnight while eating a biscuit, this book was written for you.
Fat and Knackered is a candid, humorous, and thoroughly relatable account of what it’s actually like to be overweight in a world obsessed with quick fixes and miracle solutions. The author pulls no punches in chronicling the exhausting merry-go-round of fad diets, crash programmes, intermittent fasting, liquid diets, meal replacements, and the kind of plain old starvation that leaves you raiding the fridge at 2am wondering where it all went wrong.
What sets this book apart from the avalanche of diet titles on the market is its honesty. This isn’t a glossy before-and-after story delivered from a position of smug success. It’s a genuine account of the frustrations, false starts, and hard-won realisations that so many of us quietly recognise but rarely see reflected back at us in print. The tone is warm and self-deprecating throughout, making it an easy and enjoyable read even when it’s covering ground that can feel deeply personal.
The author’s conclusion centres on calorie counting as a sustainable weight loss method — and to their credit, they present it not as a revolutionary secret but as a straightforward, accessible tool that worked for them. The inclusion of practical tracking sheets at the back of the book is a thoughtful touch, giving readers something concrete to get started with rather than leaving them inspired but directionless.
It’s worth noting that calorie counting, while effective for many, isn’t a universal solution. Individual bodies, lifestyles, and relationships with food vary enormously, and readers should feel empowered to take what works for them and leave what doesn’t. That said, if calorie awareness is something you haven’t genuinely tried, this book makes a compelling and unpreachy case for giving it a go.
Funny, frank, and free of the usual diet-book sanctimony, Fat and Knackered is the kind of book you’ll find yourself nodding along to on every other page. Whether it transforms your waistline or simply makes you feel less alone in the struggle, it’s a worthwhile read.
I award 4 stars.
