“No Fries On Us: Cutting Darren Scott Down to size.” Written by Dan Nicholl, with Lisa Raleigh and Darren Scott. Published by Penguin Books.
“I would like to offer you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the quality of your life!” So began an e-mail from lifestyle and wellness coach and personal trainer extraordinaire, Lisa Raleigh, to sports broadcaster and East Coast Radio DJ Darren Scott.
Something within Lisa’s note to Just Plain got through, and he accepted her invitation to meet, sparking his dramatic weight-loss journey and ultimately the book No Fries On Us.
Written by Dan Nicholl, with sections telling the story and process from both Scott and Raleigh’s perspective, No Fries On Us is highly entertaining and motivational reading.
What’s all the fuss about? You might ask. The main thing this book has going for it is Scott’s self deprecating humour and the earnest, “tell-it-like-it-is” message from Raleigh. Neither of them are in the mood to mess around, with Scott making no bones about the state of his health and lifestyle and Raleigh, in calm, straight-forward language preaching her Obama-esque message. “Yes you can.” You can lose weight . . . you can be a healthier, happier person. You can keep weight off in a healthy, sustainable way. Here’s how to do it, and why you’ll be better off for it.
Painful moment
Here’s a quote from Scott: “Where Stallone merely had to pop up in occasional scenes for his director, I had to live through every painful moment. Here was Jabba the Hut trying to walk up a one kilometre hill (Windmill Road) – and failing first time.”
For those not in the know, Scott lost 40kg following a strict regimen of discipline, healthy eating, portion control and exercise. For the first week of his journey he attended Raleigh’s boot camp, suffering hardships like juiced veggies and daily colonic irrigations (plus agonising workouts), and thereafter he was on his own, other than a weekly consultation (being busy and based in Joburg this was all the time available). With Raleigh’s guidance and the required discipline Scott managed to shed 40kg and attain the desired weight of 90kg . . . to date, he’s kept if off.
Have a peak at an extract from the book
The end result is a healthier, happier Scott, fully committed to his new lifestyle. Here’s what he has to say: “I’ve never felt better than I do now. Despite getting up at 4am and regularly not getting to bed much before midnight, I’ve got energy levels I’d never imagined having, and feel stronger, fitter and far more empowered to take on the world every day.”
The book includes recipes, workouts and recommended eating plans.
Witty, information rich and written in an informal, chatty style, No Fries On Us is a fun read, with a serious message you may want to take in. Note, you don’t have to be overweight to appreciate the healthy living message of this book.
ISBN: 978-0-14-352736-7
Review by Garth Johnstone
An Ordinary Day
Trevor R Corbett . . .Umuzi/Random House Struik
When agent Kevin Durant sinks his teeth into a major case, involving international diplomats and smugglers of suspicious materials (thought to be used to make weapons of mass destruction) the pressure turns up five notches and his home life goes to hell.
With a new baby at home and his investigative team suffering the strain of the top secret probe, Durant increasingly feels the pain, worsened by his awareness of the potential consequences of failure, and the increasingly erratic behaviour of one of his team members.
Durant, obsessive and fixated on solving the case, runs into a determined and manipulative adversary who’s not afraid to take lives in achieving his lofty goals.
Trevor R Corbett joined the National Intelligence Service in 1985 and still works for the NIA as a counter-intelligence strategist . . . clearly he writes from experience. Mysteriously, he lives somewhere “near Pietermaritzburg”– we presume to protect his identity (or his family’s) – but what’s most significant about this book is that Corbett uses his local knowledge to set the scene for An Ordinary Day in our city, Durban.
While the book is fast-paced and his knowledge of the subject intimate, it’s surprising how refreshing it is to read a book where all the action takes place at well known local sites . . . like along the Umgeni River; at the port; in the cane fields near Mount Edgecombe; suspended from the port helicopter as a ship leaves the harbour; somewhere in Isipingo; in the Valley of 1000 Hills.
It’s not the perfect, polished article, but Corbett’s produced an excellent first novel, choc-full of action and sizzling with the tropical heat of our home town.
ISBN: 978-1-4152-0082-7
Review by Garth Johnstone