This fantastic $39 book really can turn your life around. Not only is there a ton of motivational info in here but also at it's core is great diet and exercise advice that will take you from Flab to Fab in no time at all. Written by a Natural Bodybilding Champion.

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What is Burn the fat feed the muscle about?

Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle is setup with 17 chapters, a conclusion and an appendix and each of the chapters is broken up into many smaller sections so it is nice and easy to read even at its rather large size.

I will not review each chapter individually but instead would like to go through an overview of the sections of the book as well as list some points that the author raises.

First section: Introduction

The author stresses the importance of some principles such as no quick fixes, weight loss is not the same as fat loss and that the book is not even just about fat loss but more about making people healthier. Second section: Goal setting, strategies and motivation.

As we all know goal setting is very important to reaching what you want with your health and although I have written extensively about this subject in the past Tom Venuto has done an admirable job in really crystallizing the art of goal setting so that it will work much better for almost anyone. Third section: Body types, how to identify what you need

This is the first place in this book where I like the way that Tom Venuto has really broken down how people have different body types. Almost every trainer I have ever seen thinks that every person's body will react the same way with the same diet and exercise and this book stops that idea dead in its tracks. Fourth section: Meal frequency and macro nutrients

This is one of the two sections that I can not go into great detail with as it would give away too much of the book and let's face it Tom Venuto is a much bigger and stronger guy than me. Suffice to say he talks here about how many meals to eat as well as the relationship that you should use between protein, carbohydrates and fats to have a good diet that you can live with the rest of your life. Fifth section: Liquids and actual meal plans

The author covers a couple of very important points that are very often overlooked in most other books and those are proper intake of liquids and foods that you should eat. Tom Venuto uses about 20 pages to cover foods that you should and should not eat including replacements for some of the bad foods that you are already eating. Most of the foods listed are based on the rules that he has set up in the previous section and because of the breadth of the good foods listed the diet that you would have yourself on is not at all restrictive and allows you to eat a wide variety of foods that is so often missed in conventional diets. Sixth section: Supplements

Tom Venuto and I are of essentially the same mind on the use of supplements and how this industry is very good at marketing many overpriced products with very little benefits to almost any user unless they are in a very sickly state. Let's face it, in North America our prosperity has not lead most people to under eat so the supplementation is not the most important thing. However, Tom Venuto has included information on the most important supplements and I was a little surprised but happy to see how straightforward he is about many of the supplements in the bodybuilding industry and the effect that magazines advertising has had on the objectiveness if those magazines. Seventh section: Cardio and weight training

We all know how important exercise is in losing weight and the diet that has been created in Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle is definitely geared toward having both cardio and weight training as an essential part of the package. I have never seen a diet that did not at least mention exercise but this book stresses it as very important part of the equation and many other diets would do their followers more justice by stressing a lot more exercise. Here is one personal review.....

I've been using your program for 1 month. I've dropped 8 lbs., 4 inches on my waist and 2% on my body fat. I still have a way to go but I can't believe how quick my stomach is shrinking. You can actually see that I work out now. This program kicks ass. Matt Malena There are very good sample workout plans that are great though for making sure that anyone new to weight lifting would be very comfortable getting started as well as a very extensive list of frequently asked questions on weight lifting itself.

Diet and micro nutrients

Diet is one of the easiest ways to lose weight and to keep it off. Not only is a proper diet a good way to lose weight but also it is a great way to get healthier. Most people make one of four problems in their diet. In my view the four most important things in your diet are:

The mix of carbohydrates, protein and fats.
The amount of water drank per day.
The number of meals a day.
Micronutrients, especially vitamin and mineral supplements.

The correct mix of carbohydrates, protein and fat is, I believe 60% 20% 20% in calories. When compared to the regular north American diet you will find that this is a little highter in protein and a little lower in fat. Protein is an essential nutrient for the building of muscle and that is the reason that I raise this number a little. The greatest problem I believe in diets in north America is the high amount of fat that people take in. The best way to reduce fat is to stay away from any fried food including fries, fired chicken and bacon.

The next major way to improve your diet is to take in more water. Most of us never want to drink just a plain glass of water but if you look at the benefits you will probably get over the boring taste of water. Water is essential to your diet with almost 90% of your body made up of water. Also you will find that drinking at least eight glasses of water a day will make you have a lot more energy, better concentration and will also help you digest your food better.

The number of meals that you eat a day is very important if you want to lose weight. I know many people that eat six meals a day. Of course six meals a day shold not be big meals but instead smaller meals that will sustain you and keep your energy up. Nearly always we eat three big meals many hours apart and these meals end up leaving us lethargic and sluggish. Do the math, if you are eating 2000 calories a day then the best meals will be about 350 calories. Buy a calorie counter book and you will find that this is actually quite a bit of food but not like a big meal that you are used to, you may need to adjust to that a bit but in the end it is a great way to eat I myself love it.

Vitamins are the last part of this plan and one that is quite controversial as you know. In my eyes I must take vitamins everyday. I personally take a multivitamin, a calcium pill and an Omega 3-6-9 pill every day. Do I need to take these multi-vitamins? I believe so but that is because I do not trust that I am getting all of the nutrients that I need from the food that I eat. Do you think that the bread made with refined flower, fruit picked a couple weeks ago in South America, or hormone stuffed steak are really full of the stuff that you really need.

You may have heard these clues to a healthy diet many times over the years but take them to heart. This could be a great way for you to become healthier just be rejigging your diet and drinking a little more water. Try this starting today and just for the next week and then come back here, see how you did and how much better you feel.