Thread: Just bought BFFM this morning...

I celebrated my new purchase of Burn the fat feed the muscle with a boneless bbq wings from wendys which is really just nuggets, fries and a chocolate oreo frosty.

by the way Im on chap 2 now... man im ready for this to pick up and get to something. it kind of keeps repeating itself still!

it mentions the diff between weight loss and fat loss. very basic stuff at least a couple of diff places so far
the dangers of low calories both in the preface/forward and in chap 2.

still waiting for it to get to something I dont know or that is helpful.
the actual "information" it has covered in the preface/forward and first two chapters is stuff I've known forever. not bad info, just basic. I just hope I didn't fork over 39 bucks for something I already knew.

ok, on page 48 it makes the following point-

4. Use exercise to burn the fat rather than diets to starve the fat
To lose body fat, there must be a calorie deficit. Such are the laws of
thermodynamics and energy balance. However, there’s more than one way to create a
calorie deficit. One way is to decrease your calorie intake from food. The other is to
increase the amount of calories you burn though exercise.
Of the two ways to create a calorie deficit, burning the calories is the superior
method. This is because large calorie deficits cause muscle loss and trigger the starvation
response. Ironically, most people do the opposite: They slash their calories to starvation
levels and exercise too little or not at all. This causes a decrease in lean body mass and
invokes the starvation mechanism.

further on page 49 it states:

2. Exercise creates a caloric deficit without triggering the starvation response.

now im not agreeing or disagreeing with this. I'm just wondering really how the body could tell the differance between the two. I remember losing 10 lbs once from sticking to the same diet and just increasing my exercise. I was looking cut for the first time and dropped down to 12% bf which was my lowest.

Why is working out more a "superior" option than to cutting calories for fat loss?

I have this book also and I really like it. Yeah it starts off slow but it wants to cover all the basics and it assumes the reader knows absolutely nothing about dieting and training. I think that's a good approach considering he wants to tailor it to as many people as possible.

I personally found the goal setting and motivation sections the most helpful. For me that was the one thing that I was missing and it kept me on track and enabled me to reach my goal of single digit body fat in less time than expected. The techniques seem kind of corny but they absolutely work. I was thrilled.

I believe his theory that burning off fat with exercise instead of starvation is absolutely on point. For one, your not initiating the starvation response because well, you're not starving. Your eating plenty, but creating that deficit with exercise. Starving will slow your metabolism while exercising speeds it up. Exercising instead of starving also causes many other positive effects including positive hormone production, improved cardiovascular function and increased muscle maintenance. Not to mention exercising is more effective at burning calories. Example: In 45-60 minutes of cardio I can burn around 700 calories. Shaving 700 calories off your maintenance caloric intake will be detrimental to your metabolism and muscle mass.

Another plus to this approach is that you can keep eating plenty of carbs. I got down to 9% bodyfat eating 50% carbs, clean of course. I think the reason I was able to take in that amount of carbs was because I needed it to sustain my activity levels which consisted of cardio for an hour 5x/wk and lifting 3x/wk.

Originally Posted by awhites1

ok, on page 48 it makes the following point-



further on page 49 it states:

now im not agreeing or disagreeing with this. I'm just wondering really how the body could tell the differance between the two. I remember losing 10 lbs once from sticking to the same diet and just increasing my exercise. I was looking cut for the first time and dropped down to 12% bf which was my lowest.

Why is working out more a "superior" option than to cutting calories for fat loss?

Depends on the kind. If it's shit tonnes of cardio, you're better off starving. Personally, I prefer to create most of the deficit through diet - given sufficient protein and a not-too-extreme deficit, of course. Do some heavy lifting and you'll hang onto muscle.

Regarding individuals at moderate to high bodyfat levels (frankly, lean folks too):

Cardio may significantly decrease compliance. Many may find that a calorie-based deficit may be sufficient in becoming a "Category 1" dieter. After all, diminishing returns may become a factor rather quickly as the dieter struggles to recover from all the HIIT and weightlifting.

Although Venuto isn't necessarily wrong (following his advice as written will almost invariably lead to success), as far as I remember, the book more or less just shows one way to skin a cat. Taking into account the commonly overwhelming amount of factors associated with dieting down, one may find the book to be the foundation of their dieting practices or one may do the antithesis of many of his points and just save the Venuto advice in the back of their minds in case it may be more effective for someone who 'gels' with Venuto's advice.

Ok so been awhile since I updated this, I've been reading it but nothing yet new or worth posting.

I DID NOT KNOW

Fat cell number can increase throughout life but it cannot decrease (except through liposuction). Fortunately, what can change is the size of the fat cells. - Chap 5 p. 80 Tom Venuto

a little more detail on it in the link. but you dont lose fat cells. they just get smaller. hmmm

How do fat cells work and what happens when you start to lose fat? - Question of the Day

It sucks, don't it? The empty fat cells are hungry, too.

Originally Posted by Built

It sucks, don't it? The empty fat cells are hungry, too.

Lipo to the rescue.

Originally Posted by awhites1

still waiting for it to get to something I dont know or that is helpful. the actual "information" it has covered in the preface/forward and first two chapters is stuff I've known forever. not bad info, just basic. I just hope I didn't fork over 39 bucks for something I already knew.

it's a book geared towards beginners.
if you are unhappy with it you can get a 100% refund.

Originally Posted by Phineas

Lipo to the rescue.

Yep, that works.

Figure out how to eat to prevent regain before you do it though - otherwise, you'll just gain more fat cells and be no farther ahead.

Originally Posted by Built

It sucks, don't it? The empty fat cells are hungry, too.

I've always wondered about that. I've never gotten lean enough to the point where this would matter, but theoretically (at the extreme) someone who was previously obese could never be as lean as someone who was lean throughout their life without something like lipo?

The skin is often too stretched out on the profoundly obese. When I was fat, most of it was on my legs and there are a lot of fat cells there now, albeit shrunken down. The skin on my legs never entirely snapped back from when I was fat either, so the combination of not-skin-tight skin and empty fat cells means the look is looser than I would like. For that, I'd need lasers and drugs.

I WANT LASERS AND DRUGS, DAMMIT!!!

Originally Posted by Built

The skin is often too stretched out on the profoundly obese. When I was fat, most of it was on my legs and there are a lot of fat cells there now, albeit shrunken down. The skin on my legs never entirely snapped back from when I was fat either, so the combination of not-skin-tight skin and empty fat cells means the look is looser than I would like. For that, I'd need lasers and drugs.

I WANT LASERS AND DRUGS, DAMMIT!!!

I just want drugs...fuck the lasers.

Originally Posted by Prince

it's a book geared towards beginners.
if you are unhappy with it you can get a 100% refund.

Easy... I'm not knockin it. It was slow at first but it's picked up. I'm just kinda writing this review as I read it.

Originally Posted by Built

I WANT LASERS AND DRUGS, DAMMIT!!!

Ditto

YEAHS!! Down to 188.8 this morning. lost 10 lbs since the week of christmas. bout 10 more to go and I'll have my visible ab definition back. I'm commin home mama

seriously though, its really hard for me to lose fat so I'm excited.

Originally Posted by danzik17

I've always wondered about that. I've never gotten lean enough to the point where this would matter, but theoretically (at the extreme) someone who was previously obese could never be as lean as someone who was lean throughout their life without something like lipo?

I think the levels of fat necessary for this to become noticeable are so low that it really doesn't matter for many people, though theoretically it's interesting.

Ok so I've lost almost 14 lbs. Things I've taken from BFFM so far that I changed from my old diet. I still haven't finished it, just been busy the past few weeks baitin' and being lazy on it but I'm applying the information I've read so far. It has helped.

I actually found 5 meals a day not 6 works better for me while I'm trying to lose fat.
I drink nearly a gallon of water a day to help with appetite control and just staying hydrated on reduced calories and carbs.
I eat A LOT more veggies. I try to get broccoli, tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, spinich, etc something like that in every meal.
And prob so fat lastly, set specific goals! Monitor your progress regularly, count calories, count calories, count calories!

My ulitimate goal is to hit 175. When I was at 175 before I had visible abs and had no prob taking off my shirt.

BFFM was an awesome book, Im thinking of reading again to remember the important things.

Are you losing your weight because of your diet, or training, or starving?

Originally Posted by DiGiTaL

BFFM was an awesome book, Im thinking of reading again to remember the important things.

Are you losing your weight because of your diet, or training, or starving?

diet mostly. i haven't been as consistent in the gym over the past couple of weeks b/c of a vacation then a getting a cold. but i started drinking a gallon of water a day to help with appetite and added BCAA and Isopure RTD shakes to prevent muscle loss b/c I wasn't getting enough protein in my diet.

Other than that it's just counting my calories and eating clean. Lots of veggies.

Glad it's working out for ya. I knew it would. Keep up the good work.