The Body Fat Solution: Five Principles for Burning Fat, Building Lean Muscle, Ending Emotional Eating, and Maintaining Your Perfect Weight

When I was reading medical journal reports about obscure metabolic chemicals and still gaining weight I realized that I was getting far into the weeds and missing the forest for the trees.I have tried Body For Life, Esselstyn and the Paleo diet and while all of them have strengths, what I liked about Tom's approach is first the simplicity of the message and secondly the focus on the mental dynamics that are conducive to losing weight and how not to sabotage yourself.The essential message of the book boils down to this: Eat less and exercise more. By doing this you will create a caloric deficit at which point you will lose weight. No leaving out entire food groups, no complex focus on glycemic load or researching the family farm from which you get your chickens to the 2nd and 3rd generation, or researching chemical structures of which types of saturated fats will generate which thermogenic responses. Simplicity that works. It's that simple, despite the hocus pocus of other diets. He does seem to lend credence to the fact that eating certain types of food are better than others and that the glycemic index dynamics do play a part in nutrition but he always keeps the focus on the main major weight loss principle which is : maintain a caloric deficit.This message would be enough to keep someone from being frustrated by following other fad diets that may or may not work and get caught up in complexity and quit, but not quite enough to motivate them to do it. To this end he spends a great portion of the book writing about some of the emotional blocks that can hold us back and solutions to those issues. Ultimately being overweight is more of an emotional issue than anything else. He talks about eating for emotional reasons, being tempted by over-eating during social events and basically acknowledging and validating all the ways we hold ourselves back from our fitness goals and then he lays out a simple nutrition and exercise plan to keep the all important caloric deficit maintained. Many might find this focus on the psychological aspects of dieting and working out 'filler', but to me this was the heart of the book.Another great point about the book is that he follows what he calls a 90% compliance rule which if you're like me and done with "extreme" diets is something that I think I can keep up. No food is forbidden and you can slip up and overeat 10% of the time. To me that is what makes this "diet"/"lifestyle" (whatever you want to call it) realistic for me for the long term.I once lost 45-50 pounds on the Body for Life diet (which really really works) but at 35 I no longer give a $%*! enough to follow something so extreme. I will say that the two programs are very similar. The main difference in TBFS that you can eat any food you want as long as you maintain a caloric deficit, that you count calories (not nitpicky weighing, just approximations..as opposed to BFL's even more approximate portion sizings) and somehow the workouts seem to also be less intense. To me this is a realistic way for me to maintain a lifestyle.The one weakness of the book I think is that the workouts are not prescribed in enough detail/there isn't enough handholding there and I would have liked to see some more safety information on the workouts especially the dumbbell shoulder press for which due to bad form I permanently damaged my shoulder (on another program years ago). That is ultimately my responsibility but think these styles of books should include that information since many of the people are likely not fitness aware.

Hey there,I was fortunate enough to recieve a pre-view copy of Tom Venuto's new book 'The Body Fat Solution' and having read Tom's e-book "Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle' repeatedly I was not sure what Tom was going to cover in his new book.Tom is a personal friend and I work closely with him and I was anxious to read his new work. I have admired and respected Tom since I first stumbled across his writings and have always felt that he was one of the "good guys" (you and I know there are plenty of people out there claiming to have the cure for your fat loss woes but Tom is one of the few that delivers on his promises).As a certified fitness professional and someone who helped hundreds of people to get in better shape I valued the fat loss information shared in "Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle" and I have told many people that I considered BFFM to be the "Fat Loss Bible."So,I wasn't really sure how Tom could top his previous work.I dug into the Body Fat Solution and immediately saw that Tom delved deeper into important, and often ignored, aspects of what it really took to lose fat and keep it off permanently.Having worked with so many personal training clients and consulting with hundreds more online I have come to learn that a lot of people claim that they "already know what they SHOULD do but they just have a hard time getting motivated and getting themselves to actually put into practice what they know."That's where Tom excells and that's what he reveals in this new book.If you consider yourself to be someone who knows what you "should" do but have a hard time actually get the motivation up to do it then you need this book.If you are someone who has been "riding the weight loss roller coaster" (lose weight, gain it back, lose weight, gain it back) then Tom's book will help you break the cycle...Even if you are someone who has read every diet and fitness book under the sun I would recommend that you read this new book as it is different and can give you new ideas and strategies to gain even more of an edge.I think that everyone who works with people who want to lose fat (Doctors, health professionals, personal trainers, coaches, etc) should read this new book as it not only reveals how to effectively get motivated but Tom also teaches you how to STAY motivated and tap into the power of your own mind.Here are some of the topics Tom covers in this new book:-Stop bingeing-End emotional eating-Burn Fat-Increase Lean Muscle-Eat delicious foods you enjoy-Stop obsessing over details-Get motivated and stay motivated-Increase your metabolism-Develop a positive, supportive social network-Break Fat Loss Plateaus-Develop a positive relationship with food-Maintain Your ideal weight for life-Never diet again!This is one of those books that will be prominently displayed on my book shelf and one that I will read over and over again.I hope that my review has been helpful and I encourage you to pick up a copy of Tom's excellent book.You'll thank me for it later I hope. :)Train with purpose,Kyle Battis CSCS, NSCA-CPTSite Manager[...]

Simply the best educational material for any regular busy person who is serious about getting into shape and maintaining a successful long term healthy lifestyle.I previously used the audiobook version (which itself is excellent). Thanks to Tom's honest guidance and straightforward approach to concepts which (at least for me) might otherwise be quite complicated, I went from being a mentally and emotionally over-the-hill 33 year old with a size 38 waist in January 2011, to a size 28 waist and a complete attitudinal overhaul just 18 months later, feeling like a new person with everything to look forward to in life. What I loved in particular about this book is that Tom helps you to understand the 'why' behind the 'what' and 'how', so that you yourself begin to add value and importance to the instructions and develop a deeper understanding whenever you undertake an action.Five years later I still apply Tom's advice today with my lifestyle choices, and I can't recommend this book highly enough. Thanks Tom.

Potentially the only book you'll ever need on losing weight/bodyfat. The way this book is written is fairly scientific and can be heavy-going, but that's the nature of this subject. This is the only book I have read that tackles the problem of excess bodyfat in every area, rather than simply addressing one small factor eg carbs/physical training/mindful eating etc. this book takes all elements and combines them together. The most useful book for anyone serious about this.

Knowledge is nothing, unless we utilize it!!...Read, put to work and see results!...Read, don't use/ implement then see non....With anything, you only get out of it, what you put in!...I fully Recommend this book, full of good knowledge... That we must act upon, to get to where we want to be :)Set goals and smash them!!

Cant wait to get the next BFFM, but keeping with the topic, this book is a brilliant inspiration for those who have tried many diets in the past and gave up due to different "reasons" of there own. No bull, and to the point. Read this and you wont look back. With detailed help, support and advice, from meal ideas, exercise, and important info about giving up emotional hunger. FOOD IS FOR FUEL!!

Brought for a friend she has nearly read it says it makes a lot of scence hopefully it will help her loose weight