Has anyone tried this Burn The Fat book? I've read that it has helped lots of people on the BFL program get results faster and without spending money on supplements..

Here's the article:

What's the difference between Body For Life (BFL) and BURN THE FAT? Well, all fat loss programs that are bodybuilding-inspired will have similarities; so if you’re looking for “100% new,” “breakthrough,” “revolutionary,” or “original” information, then you won’t find it the BURN THE FAT program...or anywhere else for that matter. Ask any world-class coach: Fundamentals are fundamentals – they form the foundation of every legitimate program and they will never change.

What Burn The Fatdoes differently - and superbly well - is to address the 2 major drawbacks of BFL, which are the same problems of most other mainstream diet programs including The Zone, The Atkins Diet, The Ketogenic Diet, the High carb Diet and many others. These drawbacks are: (1) lack of individualization, and (2) way too much push for supplements and other products that are completely unnecessary.
First, BFL and all these other diets have their positive points (and BFL has more positive points than most). The problem is; none of them are 100% applicable to all people all the time. Genetics and metabolic individuality explain why some people thrive on high carbs, while others get fat on high carbs. It explains why some people do extremely well on Atkin’s and Ketogenic diets, while others only lose muscle and feel lousy on these programs.

Burn the Fat is the first program to take the best of all the programs, compile the information into one exhaustively detailed resource, and throw away the junk and the hype - leaving a solid backbone of universal principles which apply to everyone. Then, instead of prescribing one generic program for everyone, this “baseline” program has room to be personalized – which is an absolute necessity for long-term success.
You should question any program that prescribes the same diet and exercise routine for everyone. There are 6.2 billion people on our planet today and no two bodies and metabolisms are exactly the same. Don't you know someone who eats anything they want, yet they have six pack abs and never gain an ounce of fat? And don't you know someone who is the opposite – If they eat one cheat meal, it goes straight to their waistline or thighs? It’s true! The need for customization is undeniable. Doesn’t that make complete sense?

Burn the Fat, is quite simply, incredibly flexible. Once you have your fundamentals mastered (it’s entirely possible you already do if you’re well-read and you’ve been working out for a long time), the question remains; do you know how to “tweak” and fine tune your diet and training to fit your body type? If not, you could be like the fly trying to get outside by flying straight through a glass windowpane. It’s going to die trying right there on the windowsill. With equal or even less effort, the fly could simply change direction and zoom right outside through the open door ten feet away. That’s exactly what happens if you’re eating wrong for your body type and then you switch to the right way for you.

You won’t find one single nutrition program in Burn the Fat – you will find THREE different nutrition programs, starting with the basic fundamentals (which you have to master first). Then you simply adjust your nutrition based on the information you’ll learn in chapter 5 on body types and nutritional individuality (yes, there’s a whole chapter on this subject where you can learn the real reason why some people can eat whatever they want and stay skinny).
And what about training? How could one workout work for everyone? Do you give the same weight training program to a competitive bodybuilder that you do to a complete novice? It’s ridiculous to even consider. Burn the fat has not one, but FOUR training programs. And within each of these four training programs are TWO schedules, one more conservative for time-scrunched people, and one more aggressive for people who really want to go for it (that’s eight routines all together).

Ditto for cardio: How can you recommend one cardio program for everyone? I teach you how to systematically manipulate cardio frequency, duration, intensity, timing and type to accommodate your goals and get the results you want. One cardio workout just doesn’t cut it for everyone. Even if you use a scientifically proven technique like high intensity interval training, how long do you think you could do this before your body adapts to it? The need for variation and individualization is completely obvious.
Okay, second drawback… let’s face it. Who can deny the fact that although BFL has a lot of solid information, it’s also an advertisement for a supplement company? No one can deny that, because it’s true. The author of BFL, Bill Phillips, while he has now sold the company and “retired” to Hawaii, was the founder and CEO of EAS supplement company and publisher of Muscle Media 2000 Magazine (which was also a promotional tool for nutritional supplements, as are almost all bodybuilding and fitness magazines).

I’m not “picking on” BFL specifically – but ask yourself, isn’t this the case with almost every diet program? You buy the book/program and then you’re told that you have to buy all this other stuff to make the program work; pills, bars, powders, drinks, etc, etc. Is all this stuff really necessary? I say it most certainly is not!
Contrary to what some people believe, I AM NOT “anti-supplements.” It’s more correct to say that I am “pro-whole foods” (although I am certainly against unproven, rip off supplements). I believe in proven supplements for “insurance” purposes, such as a daily multi vitamin and essential fatty acids, (2) for convenience purposes (meal replacements and protein powder), and (3) on rare occasion, a legitimate natural product emerges which really does enhance performance (such as creatine). I’ve used these products myself and recommend them to my clients on occasion.

I have nothing against even the most aggressive promotion of legitimate products and services as long as they help enhance the lives of other people. The world does not beat a path to your door just because you've discovered a better mousetrap. You have to toot your horn and let everyone know about the solution you have to their problem or no one will ever benefit from it.
What irks me is NOT the selling of supplements and weight loss products, it's the selling of unproven, bogus products to make a profit, and also the dishonest way legitimate products are often misrepresented and marketed.
Supplements are NOT required to lose fat – they’re not even a major factor!

A GREAT BODY DOESN’T COME IN A PILL!!!!!!

What’s unique about Burn The Fat is that it’s NOT a promotional vehicle for product sales. It’s an information resource and a complete fat loss program that really is for life - not for just 12 weeks. I know people who have spent $3000 to $5000 per year on supplements - and I’m not kidding – that’s not an exaggeration! Think about that for a minute! What’s really ironic is that many of these people – even after spending all that money, haven’t gotten any results!

Look, I think Body For Life is a very solid program. It’s got nutrition, weight training, cardio and motivational aspects all rolled into one, which is a winning combination in my book. I also think Bill Phillips has done a commendable thing by getting weight training and bodybuilding style nutrition out to the general public. Phillips is a damn good motivator too, by the way – I read Muscle Media for years and enjoyed many of his editorials. If I didn’t have my own Program, Body For Life is one of the programs I would recommend (with the previous warnings about supplements and personalization).

If you’re a B.F.L.B (“Body For Life Burnout”) and you want to take it to the next level with a program that that’s individualized and customized to your personal needs, (and you don’t want to miss your car payment because you bought so many supplements), then get a copy of Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle!
People tell me all the time how "refreshing" it is to finally see an unbiased opinion on the subject and what a "breath of fresh air" it is to hear honest information on fat loss from the viewpoint of someone who doesn't sell supplements! Even if you’ve read BFL, all the magazines and a dozen other bodybuilding-based nutrition books, you’ll still benefit from this rare, fresh, new, and honest perspective.

Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, personal trainer, gym owner, freelance writer and author of the bestselling fat loss book Burn The Fat, located at: Burn The Fat

I'm dying to read it, but I haven't talked myself into spending $39.00 for an ebook. I have a lot of respect for Venuto and I'd love to see what he has to say but I'd like to hear from someone who has applied his advice and had good results before I spend that much for an ebook.

Radar

I've been doing it for the last two weeks. The WOE is great, but it's not low carb. I'm eating about 60-80 net carbs a day, virtually all in complex carbs and fibrous veggies. It's very strict--lots of protein, 6 small meals a day, relatively low fat, lots of veggies. The workout is a lot like BFL, but you tailor it to your body type and goals. And if you need to do more cardio to lose fat, that's encouraged. There is no room for slacking off in this program--he recommends lifting heavy 3 times a week and doing cardio even twice a day if necessary. IMHO, it's a very common-sense plan. I've lost 3 pounds so far, and hopefully it's all been in body fat.

You can pm me if you'd like more info.

I think an important point is made that not one workout/eating plan works for everyone, and you have to investigate until you find one that works for you.

The BFL book does not in anyway say you HAVE to buy x,y,z supplements to make it happen. Bill himself in the book says (page 121) he only uses myoplex (Meal Replacement shakes) and Betagen (creatine) and that is it, nothing else. Bill is doing exactly what was highlighted in points 2 and 3 above. What I don't like about articles like this is that they have to disrepect others to get their point across, products should stand on their own merits and not just take a dig at others. I consider some of the stuff in the article to be misinformation and unless you investigate for yourself you may just end up believing it.

Just in defense of the ebook, Venuto really doesn't criticize BFL very much. His only major critique is that BFL is a "one-size-fits-all" program that can be usefully tailored to one's own needs. He doesn't add all that much to BFL, nor does he try to alter it in many significant ways. I'd describe it as building off of BFL's foundation.

I think it's great to start with BFL but once you grow out of a two day split you can go to a nice three day split from 'Burn the fat.' I plan to stay on this split for a year (been on it since Feb of this year).

I have learned so much from the book. He doesn't like MR bars so EAS bars are not recommended. Where he's head and shoulders above the others is that he says there is no magic pill and that mastering the fundementals is more important than anything else. His fundementals are eating whole unprocessed food and simply doing your workouts.

I'm really an anal type so all the calculations for food intake and nutrient ratios really appealed to me. I also like the adjustments made weekly depending on your results.

The only exception I have to the plan is that I feel so much better when I don't limit my fat intake. So I eat way on the high side of the recommended fat intake which means I have to eat way lower carbs than he says to.

I think the newsletter archive on his website (fitren.com) is a goldmine.

Well, I bought the book so I'll have a good read and see how it compares with BFL.

I had to give up on the WOE Venuto prescribes because it was making me ill (in several ways, the most important part of which was that I lost my appetite completely and couldn't eat the bare minimum of calories).

But I still love the exercise plan, and think he has a very common sense approach to fat loss.