Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle: The Proven Nutrition and Fitness Guide for Lasting Weight Loss, Lean Muscle, and a Boosted Metabolism

This is a terrific book. Whether you have never read a book on fat loss before or have read everything (and are therefore almost certainly confused), and whatever shape you are in, this is for you. It is comprehensive, jargon-free, the advice is fad-free, does not entail any extreme measures, the elimination of any major food groups and nor, despite Mr Venuto being a body builder, does the cardio enthusiasts need fear. Mr Venuto applies compelling reasoning throughout the book, from: ‘If you want to shed body fat and gain muscle, learn from the leanest, best-built people in the world – bodybuilders…’ to 'What could be better than getting leaner, healthier and fitter? How about getting leaner, healthier, fitter and stronger? Throughout, each section provides explanation of the topic, reasoning for its propositions, alerts to threats and presents the reader with clear action steps. In fact, the reader can often select from a hierarchy of actions from simple rules of thumb (such as simply basing nutrition plans on avoiding the ‘terrible 12’ and eating from ‘the terrific 12’), to making detailed plans via clear, easy to follow step-by-step processes (such as determining precise individual nutritional intake to achieve goals safely and in the optimal time). For the more advanced trainer there is a wealth of information covering nutrition, fat loss, training programmes and exercises. But another aspect really sets the book apart. It tackles the crucial mental aspects required to make an important, long-term plan succeed. (I found this the most challenging section of the book to apply, probably because it is the area I am weakest and need the most). Mr Venuto details a process that could be applied to any aspect of life or business. He guides the reader through the importance of identifying what they want and harnessing the power of the mind to get it. Once again it is all done in a practical, down-to-earth manner and is presented with persuasive argument. Finally, Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle reads easily. I did not find myself having to re-read passages to understand the meaning. The arguments flow and technical information can be studied or skipped according to your level of interest. So, as well as being a great guide it was a good read. I thoroughly recommend it to everyone.

I have been working out in the gym for quite some time and I was booking some results before hitting a plateau. I've tried many things, including dieting, extensive cardio sessions, increasing number of visits to the gym, but none of those seems to be a success formula for long-lasting results. Often I felt tired during work-outs and it was hard getting up in the mornings. When doing some research on the internet, I learned about "burn the fat, feed the muscle". I was quite curious about the book as it promised not to diet your body down, but to build your body up, getting fitter and getting healthier. I ordered myself a copy and finished it within the next couple of days. The book first learns you about the most common pitfalls almost all people fall into. People tend to fail their long-term objectives not because of a lack in will power, but a lack in focus and understanding on how your body works and its relationship with food and excersice routines. It is not an "one-size-for-all" book as it introduce at an early stage the concept of different body types, requiring a different approach. The book revolves around 4 main elements: nutrition, resistance training, cardio training and mental training. Nutrition will help you to get leaner and healthier whereas resistance training will help you to build up muscle. The cardio will get you fitter and helps you to get leaner even faster. The mental training will help you to stick to your nutrition and excersice trainings. In his book, Tom Venuto looks at the secrets of the leanest people in the world, i.e. bodybuilders. Don't be affraid by this approach, this book will not make you a bodybuilder if you don't want too. It simply helps you to reach the ideal body composition you were looking for, and this in a healthy and sustainable way. The book gives you many quick start tips which you can easily apply. The positive results of those tips will help you to stay motivated. I'm really enthousiastic about the book, that've recommended it to many of my fitness buddies. Thanks Tom!

I enjoyed this book because it taught me a lot some new things. No matter how you jazz up any diet, they are all the same- you must stay below you calorie allowance overall to loose weight. If you eat this in protein, carbs or just chocolate, if you are below your maintenance level, you will loose weight no matter what. This was the biggest thing I took from this book. (although eating just chocolate would have other negative effects!) I didn't agree with the 6 meal a day plan. That doesn't work for me & prefer the Warrior, Leangains or other Intermittent fasting methods. The book didn't really cover that which was a shame. The main reason I bought this was for the mental preparation section, and found that part the most interesting. As mentioned by other reviewers, he has clearly had this influenced by other writers. But nevertheless it may just mean that there are many that are in agreement over the way we transfer habits into the sub-concious. I enjoyed this, and although I didn't like some of the meal plans suggested as not too practical for me, I am completely convinced that if you follow this to the letter, you will undoubtably transform your body.

A brilliant book clear and concise.

Bought this book on recommendation from a weight loss Facebook group. Arrived in good condition. I have gone through the whole book to put together a meal and exercise plan for me and my son. It takes quite a lot of effort to do everything in the book and I had to read it a few times (lots of surplus/background info) but once you wade through it you get some good tips. I bought the calipers it recommends from Amazon but they are very hard to use and don't give reliable readings (user error), so would recommend just to go with measurements/weight and calculate TDEE. Just started our weight loss journey so can't yet give you the results of this system or tell you if the loss is really permanent, but it is definitely a more healthier lifestyle and eating plan (and fits in with real life) which can only be a good thing.

When we aim to lose weight, most of us want to shed fat and enhance muscle tone, so the premise of burn fat/feed muscle makes sense. There is much sound information in this book, such as calculating your caloric needs and understanding good and bad carbs and fats. I certainly found these aspects helpful, but in other areas the book just wasn't a practical model for me to work with. As a vegetarian, I find it hard to balance my diet to get enough protein without overshooting fat or carbs, and there was no real help here. It briefly states that you can use the programme without meat, but offers no advice on low carb/low fat meat free protein. Even the one example given was of a man who only gave up red meat and was semi-vegetarian. I found some of the advice confusing, in particular being told not to eat bread or potatoes and finding both items in the meal plans. The suggestion that pilates is useless for developing muscle grated a bit with me. Obviously pilates won't get you ripped but it does give good muscle tone. The idea of the book seems to be that non-bodybuilders can use bodybuilding philosophy to get good results, but in its execution the book doesn't adapt this principle broadly enough to be of practical use in this way.

i dont normally leave a review but this book is fantastic so far. im 25% of the way through this book and there's always a golden nugget of information on every page. extremely motivational, it goes into depth about the science behind muscle building and fat shedding whilst also explaining the purpose behind every action!

I stumbled across this book on Amazon it kept popping up in my recommended books. I had been looking for a book on nutrition having lost a lot of weight gained a bit during lock down and then suffered very slow frustrating weight loss and an inability to stick to my previously successful plan. I was looking for answers on how I could fix this and reach my goals. This fantastic book has not only opened up a brilliant life changing program addressing the mind, the diet, and both cardio and resistance training to fully sculpt the body. it's really well written and and easily explains how the body works and what to do to burn the fat and gain the muscle or maintain the muscle. My plan wasn't to gain muscle but to keep lean body mass and increase my metabolisms and this book explains how. This book has opened up a whole new community to me the fact that Tom the Author is so open to helping people you can pop him a message on the face book group asking a question and he gets back to you with help and advice. I feel like I can make the rest of my journey a success with the guidance of this book. I whole heartedly recommend this book, plan and community best wishes burning the fat and gaining the muscle.

Vorweg eine kurze Information zu meiner Rezensionsform: Da es sich hier um ein Sachbuch handelt, gibt es bei mir zwei wesentliche Kategorien: Inhalt und Umsetzung. Beide bewerte ich mit je 1 bis 5 Sternen. Zum Abschluss gibt es eine Summenwertung, samt Empfehlung und Fazit. Allgemeine Infos: - Englisches Sachbuch - 336 Seiten - Zielgruppe: Ernährungsbewusste Menschen (vorwiegend Sportler), die Körperfett reduzieren wollen. Primär richtet es sich an Bodybuilder und generell Kraftsportler, ich konnte aber auch als Ausdauersportler sehr viel aus dem Buch mitnehmen. Inhalt: 4,5 Sterne Ich selbst bin aktiver Triathlet, hauptberuflich Trainer und habe nun wirklich schon unzählige Bücher zum Thema (Sport-)Ernährung gelesen. Leider war der größte Teil davon wirklich schlecht und oft wurde versucht mit reißerischen Titeln die Leser zu ködern. Immerhin handelt es sich beim Thema "Ernährung" und vor allem beim Thema "Abnehmen" um eines jener Themen, wo viel Geld mit vielen sinnlosen Tipps und Diäten erwirtschaftet wird. Nicht in diesem Buch - so viel vorweg. Ich wurde durch einen Userbeitrag in einem amerikanischen Forum auf dieses Buch aufmerksam und wollte dann meine Ernährungsbuch-Sammlung erweitern. Bezogen habe ich es über Amazon - ich konnte aber nur eine englische Fassung finden. Das stellte aber kein Problem dar (siehe unten). Das Thema "richtiges (!) Abnehmen" wurde (endlich!) nüchtern betrachtet. Keine Verschwörungstheorie-ähnliche Diäten, keine populistischen Aussage, keine Hypes. Wenn doch, dann wurden diese Themen (Paleo, Vegan etc.) nüchtern, kurz und sachlich behandelt und Diäten mühelos entwaffnet. ENDLICH wird auch einmal mit Nachdruck fesgehalten, dass das Gewicht, das morgens auf der Waage abzulesen ist, NICHTS zu bedeuten hat, und einzig und allein das Körperfett, bzw. die Fettfreie Masse eine Bedeutung hat. Wer will denn schon Muskeln abnehmen und das Fett behalten?! Eine Frage, die sich offensichtlich die wenigsten Leser von Ernährungsratgeber stellen... Das Buch vermittelt die wesentlichen Dingen, die zum (Fett) Abnehmen nötig sind: Kaloriendefizit, Krafttraining, Ausdauertraining. Wer nun denkt, "gut, dafür brauche ich nun echt kein Buch", der täuscht sich. Ich konnte wirklich sehr, sehr viel aus dem Buch mitnehmen. Es hat nicht nur den theoretischen Background (von der Zielsetzung bis zur Umsetzung) hervorragend abgedeckt - nein - es gab auch wirklich praktische Anleitungen und Formeln, sowie Vorlagen, die schon während dem Lesen erste Handlungen ermöglichten. Zusätzlich gab es Verweise auf die Homepage des Autors wo diese Dinge in "druckbarer" Fassung heruntergeladen werden können. Auch das Thema Sport (Sowohl Kraft- als auch Ausdauersport) wurden ausreichend behandelt. Eine - kurz gesagt - ganzheitliche Betrachtung des Themas. Einziges Manko - und daher der halbe Stern Abzug: Für mich ist auf das immer größer werdende Thema der vegetarischen bzw. veganen Ernährung zu wenig eingegangen worden. Umsetzung: 5 Sterne Die Aufmachung des Buches gefällt mir sehr gut. Es wurde auf seitenfüllendes "BlaBla" verzichtet, das Buch ist genau so lang, wie es sein soll. Jedes Thema ist kompakt, aber ausreichend aufgearbeitet, die Formeln, Fact-Boxes und Ähnliches lockern das Buch auf und machen es sehr gut lesbar. Ich habe es nahezu "in einem Zug" durchgelesen. Obwohl es auf Englisch ist, ist es wirklich super einfach zu lesen. Ein paar einzelne Lebensmittel kann man ja ganz leicht nebenbei googeln, wenn man wirklich mal hängen sollte. Fazit: Abschlussbewertung 4,5 von 5 Sternen Empfehlung: ja Ein hervorragendes sachliches Buch, das in einem Jungle von schlechten Ernährungsratgebern mit waghalsigen Thesen durch praktische Anwendbarkeit und logische Nachvollziehbarkeit hervorsticht

I've bought both the physical as well as the kindle version. I first read the ebook version of "Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle" in 2006. I've also got Tom's other 'physical' book, "Body Fat Solution'. I'm now excited to read a totally revised and updated version of the ebook Tom wrote 10 years ago. The core principles remain, but everything has been refined, updated, re-jigged and made even more accessable than ever to the average man or woman who wants to get in shape. One of the things I love the most is that Tom Venuto takes both an, (a) scientific, and (b) a real-world experience approach. This is incredibly important. A lack of appreciation for, and understanding of, the scientific evidence leads to the plethora of whacky diet books that fill the shelves, and that desperate dieters buy. However, there is also an 'paralysis by analysis' that can occur when someone starts reading the scientific research themselves (or starts following one of the 'evidence-based' weight loss guys). The solution? Take on board the science, but also look at what has worked in real life, human experience. And, that's exactly what Tom (as both an educated fitness expert and a real world body builder) does. What is interesting is that, over time, many of the academic studies have given good proof to various age-old body builder practices. You don't have to wait for everything to be proved to get started! Another thing I love; the old phenomenon of it being so rare to find someone who has the combination of expert knowledge, the experience of a real-world practitioner, AND has the ability to teach (and not just teach, but coach) is not true here. Tom has the lot, with an engaging style to boot. Being a trainer has also kept Tom from the "curse of knowledge" that is sometimes true of experts (where they forget what it is like to be brand new, and therefore can no longer relate). Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle has everything you need to know to finally start losing weight (oops, I mean 'fat') effectively & permanently. That's not an empty statement. I take great encouragement from knowing that thousands of people have already used this plan to achieve great success. One of the key things to also note, is that this is NOT JUST A BOOK FOR BODYBUILDERS or even those who only have a "physique first" goal. Tom has written this book for everyone. That's the whole point. He takes the 'secrets' of the bodybuilding world (because, as mentioned, they work!) and makes them applicable to a real world, modern day, average person. Any 'advanced techniques' are kept to the back of the book. Tom doesn't neglect the mental side of things. He addresses goals and mind frame in some of the most important chapters of the book. There is enough 'education' in this book to keep a reader who likes to know the ins and outs (like me), happy. But it is also fast paced enough, and a very comfortable read for anyone to dive into. In fact, within the first couple of chapters, Tom gives you the exact chapters to skip to in order to get started right away (literally, "with your very next meal!") - which you could certainly do, and then come back and read through the rest of the book at your leisure, whilst implementing the plan! I am so happy to see Tom's magnum opus of fat loss finally in print! Whether it's true of other diet books or not, it certainly is true of this "lifestyle" book: if you read, learn and then apply what you learn (even imperfectly) from this book, you WILL get great results. You basically cannot, not get results (if that makes sense!) I'm using my reading of this brand new edition to prep me up for my best year ever, physically speaking, in 2014! I've read many a diet book since reading the ebook version of Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle in 2006, and so I feel qualified to honestly say; this really is the one that can be the last 'diet book' you'll ever need to buy! Thousands of others have used Tom's plan to succeed. You can too.

Simple, practical, insightful. Easy to use as a textbook for body change.

Questo libro mi ha letteralmente cambiato la vita...mi sono avvicinata al mondo del body building e ne sono rimasta rapita! I tools online sono eccellenti, e lo straconsiglio a chi non abbia una cultura dell'alimentazione. Unica pecca, è un approccio un pò datato rispetto agli approcci più moderni (ad esempio non è vero che mangiare spesso accelera il metabolismo) ma per iniziare è un ottima base.

Con este libro me he dado cuenta que estaba perdiendo el tiempo en mi endocrino. Con la pandemia, el teletrabajo y otros acontecimientos en mi vida: he conseguido que tras ir dos años al endocrino sólo haya perdido 2 kilos... perdí peso al principio y luego gané, gané peso mientras iba al endocrino semanalmente. Confiaba en mi endocrino, pero los resultados han hecho que busque información para conocer mejor la nutrición, y para mí este es el mejor libro de nutrición (y también de fitness). Mi endocrina en dos años me ha puesto dietas bajas en caloría y dietas muy muy bajas en carbohidratos... con este libro ya puedo tener una idea de pq no ha funcionado, y voy a intentar cambiar mi alimentación. Muchas gracias por escribir este libro (el libro cuesta aprox 20€, me he gastado 2.500€ en un endocrino 2 años...)