The book is currently sitting in the bestseller lists - perhaps indicative of our desire for a simple solution. The trouble is, a truly simple solution wouldn't fill a book, and to fill up a book, simple can become convoluted.

The Basics
Eliminating flour and sugar effectively reduces the amount of "empty" calories from your diet. Many of these foods (based on refined carbohydrates) are also high in fat (pizza, donuts, etc).

The premise is a good one. Despite all the contrary dietary advice of recent years - there does seem to be a growing consensus about refined carbohydrates: We eat too much of them and they provide us with little nutritive value - not to mention the issue of glycemic response.

No Flour, No Sugar addresses the finer points of reading food labels (and determining what is a flour or sugar). The book also gives a nod to the value of exercise - suggesting half an hour a day. In keeping with simplicity Dr Gott doesn't bother with complex phases or waves - from Day 1 you "simply" eliminate flours and sugars.

Inconsistencies
In Dr. Gott's introduction he mentions that "no one wants to be bothered with counting calories" and "you don't want to memorize daunting lists of food". However as you progress through the book, you do indeed come across daunting lists of food, and a detailed chart of daily calorie requirements.

Like many diet authors, Gott takes great pains to deride "fad diets", and in particular low-carb diets. What is ironic here, is that by reducing refined carbs (i.e. flour and sugar) from your diet - you are, by default, embarking on a form of a low or reduced carb diet. This is unless you continue (or begin) to eat lots of rice or potatoes (which are perfectly acceptable in this diet).

Practicality?
Simple in concept may not necessarily be simple in execution. The No Flour, No Sugar Diet has 80 pages (almost half the book) devoted to meal plans and recipes. Call me cynical, but if the diet is as simple as dropping flour and sugar, then why do we need loads of recipes?

For a person who lives on pizza, bread rolls, and donuts - suddenly eating Spiced Edamame and Vietnamese Shrimp Wraps (p. 101) may present something of a challenge.

Conclusion
If the average person removed flour and sugar-based foods from their diet they would probably experience weight loss. These kind of foods make a large part of our modern diet, and, in my opinion, are at the root of many health issues.

Gott has the right premise, but fails to address behavioural issues - or the reason why we eat the way we do. Those who are already familiar with the basic mechanics of healthy weight loss will find nothing new here.