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I've lumped Fat Burning Furnace and Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle into one review because they are both very similar in concept. The differences lay in the varying detail provided in execution.

Whereas I feel that Fat Loss 4 Idiots (see my review here) is probably the best diet for most individuals, based on the factors I mention in the review, Fat Burning Furnace and Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle are the best programs for people like me. The strength of Fat Loss 4 Idiots is that you can get started with your weight loss program literally in minutes, and it's a very maintainable and effective diet, thanks to the cheat days. It is also focused solely on the dieting aspect.

Fat Burning Furnace and Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle are a bit different. Fat Burning Furnace is 140 pages, and Burn the Fat is 340 pages. The concepts are similar in each, but Fat Burning Furnace focuses 75 percent of it's pages on the workout routine, followed up with a sensible diet plan. Burn the Fat focuses on both diet and working out, but additionally provides all of the detailed supporting evidence to back its conclusions.

I purchased Burn the Fat about a year ago, and found it fantastic for fact-loving dieters like me. It really changed my outlook on dieting, and brought me back to old equations. You've simply got to burn more calories than you consume, and you've got to conserve your muscle mass while doing so. Fat Burning Furnace, even at 140 pages, is like a simplified version of Burn the Fat. Both enjoyable, both effective, but my preference is for the additional information in Burn the Fat.

If you're tired of the diet hype and just want to get started on something that just plain works, you can't go wrong with either of these books. Out of the two, I'd recommend Burn the Fat first. It's better. Fat Burning Furnace has some technical inaccuracies, but what it boils down to is that the overall approach works.

Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle official site

Fat Burning Furnace official site

There is a lot of hype surrounding Fat Loss 4 Idiots (much of it is substantiated), but reality is somewhat less favoring. The bottom line is that the greatest strengths of this program -- it's simplicity and cheat days -- are exactly what makes it both perfect and imperfect, depending on what kind of learner / dieter you are.

What I mean by that, as related to the program's key points:

Advantages of this Approach

This has to be the fastest, drop-dead-simple way to get started with a diet program. You can be ready to go in literally 30 minutes.
The diet is sustainable, as it allows you three off-diet days during every two-week period. This is huge in my opinion, as it makes the diet easy to follow for the long term

Disadvantages of this Approach

The "do what I say" style is not the best choice for information consumers who want to know *why* something works, not just how to do it. For those dieters, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle is a much better option.

Program Hype

Fat Loss 4 Idiots is the ONLY online weight loss solution that boldly claims you can lose up to 9 pounds every 11 days. That's not 9 pounds in the first 11 days, but 9 pounds during every 11 days on diet (the schedule is 11 days on followed by 3 days off).

Realistically, this results in a bit of a yo-yo effect, but with constant downward trending of weight. That is, drop 9 pounds, gain back 3, drop 9 pounds (for a total loss of 15), gain back 3. So at the end of every 30 days, you can expect to have lost 12 pounds.

This is a pretty high figure for ongoing dieting, so I'm skeptical that the average dieter can achieve these significant drops every month, but even half of that is appealing when you get 3 full cheat days every two weeks!

Other Program Benefits

The biggest benefit in my opinion is the three off days. Three days when you can eat the foods that you crave is enormous, and makes a diet much easier to follow for the long-term. Let's face it, the long-term is when it gets difficult. Those first few months are easy as the weight rolls off. Continued losses get harder and harder.

Another benefit is the simplicity. It's easy and fast to start, and it's a low-maintenance plan because Fat Loss 4 Idiots doesn't place much importance on calorie and carb counting or portion size - instead, the program constantly encourages you to "eat short of being full."

The major difference between the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet plan and other weight loss programs is that the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet formula is specifically designed to confuse your body so it never thinks it's starving.

Don't Forget to Exercise

Fat Loss 4 Idiots does not contain any kind of exercise plan, so make sure you add a sensible workout plan to your diet. A light strength-training routine for newcomers, or high-intensity intervals for folks with an athletic base is a good move.

Conclusion

Fat Loss 4 Idiots, like any other diet, works if you work it. But Fat Loss 4 Idiots is easier to work thanks to its low amount of required maintenance, regular cheat periods, and easy plans.

View More Information at the Official Site

Update: I've been using this diet for 8 full weeks as of today. As with many diets, the weight flew off at first, totaling 11 pounds in the first two weeks. This loss tapered down to roughly 2 pounds per week at the 4 week mark. After 8 weeks, my total loss is 22.5 pounds.

Yeah, I'm happy with that figure.

It's not the most effective diet I've ever been on, but it has been the easiest to maintain. Knowing that a cheat day is right around the corner makes the on-diet days much easier to get through.

Top Secret Fat Loss Secret is a relatively new weight loss product to enter the market, and it's quickly gained solid sales numbers in a short period of time, but I can't say that I'm convinced of its usefulness to the majority of people who purchase it.

Written by Dr. Suzanne Gudakunst, Top Secret Fat Loss Secret is a short read at 49 pages, and is focused around the concept of toxicity. The author's claim is that 'plaque' gradually builds up in our colon over the years, which is the result of harmful chemicals, pesticides, and preservatives found in large portions of the food we eat.

The toxins ultimately succeed in blocking off your body's ability to properly absorb vital nutrients, leading to 2 major reactions:

1) Your body starves no matter how much food you consume - so by not feeling full, you continue to eat, which only results in weight gain.

2) Your body thinks its starving, so your hypothalamus makes an effort to reduce your metabolism to burn food much slower in order to store fat.

The premise makes sense, and I can certainly see why it sells so well. It plays on people's fears that they have a parasite growing in their bodies, and in addition, it gives them a scapegoat. After all, according to the book, it's not your fault that you can't lose weight, it's the parasites' fault. Diet and exercise are factors, but the biggest factor is the plaque preventing you from losing weight.

It all seems too convenient to me.

How the Program Works

Because the toxins are preventing you from losing weight, the first step is to detoxify your colon. How do you do that? It ain't pretty . . . Ever heard of high colonics?

Once your colon is clear, you can begin to shed weight with dieting tips contained in this book. The tips are nothing new, but they contain solid advice on how to sensibly lose weight, but they certainly don't provide enough value to justify the price tag.

So if you subscribe to the toxicity belief, this could be a good program for you, as it describes the detoxification program along with some solid dieting advice. But if you're not interested in the detox angle, you'd be better off with a more comprehensive or easier to follow diet program.

View the Official Fat Loss Secret Web Site