Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto

Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle: Transform Your Body Forever Using the Secrets of the Leanest People in the World by Tom Venuto is a good read for those who are looking to follow bodybuilding principles to lose weight, gain muscle and live a more healthy life. Maybe it is because of the years I’ve read Muscle & Fitness magazine and other books by bodybuilders that I connected with the program that Venuto lays out in this book. I’ve trained this way for many years, so this book wasn’t so much of new information or training philosophy as it was reinforcing ideas that I’ve already followed and believe in.

The book is well written and easy to read. I would say the only thing lacking, that many other fitness books contain, is pictures. This book has absolutely no pictures. It is 100% text. For those that like pictures to help motivate them, you’ll have to look elsewhere. However, for those motivated by encouraging words and a sold straight forward program, this book contains plenty.

The first part of the book contains three chapters that deal with the philosophy behind the program, It lays out why the author believes a bodybuilding model is preferred for getting lean and what the program can do for you. The second part of the book gets to the L.E.A.N. program. The first two chapters of the part deal with establishing a baseline by measuring body fat and learning how to track your progress. The book then gets to the L.E.A.N. program.

Learn: Mental Training. One chapter on setting goals and mental training. This is a very important component, and should not be neglected.

Eat: Nutrition. Eight chapters on various aspects of eating and proper nutrition. Chapters include understanding calories, macronutrients, good fats and bad fats, protein, carbohydrates, hydrating, nutrient timing, and the programs meal planning system.

Activate: Cardio Training. One chapter on maximizing your fat loss with cardio training.

New Body: Weight Training. Two chapters on weight training principles and a 28 day weight training program.

The final part is The Next Level: Advanced Strategies. This part contains two chapters on breaking plateaus and how to accelerate your fat loss. The book then concludes with some tools to help you plan your goals and achieve them.

There are many books on health and fitness, and even when they prescribe different plans, they often work for those who follow them. For me personally, I’ve found many of the principles in this book to be those that I can follow and that work at keeping a person fit. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to incorporate bodybuilding principles and training into their fitness routine.

Check out Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle on amazon: