Experience with "Body for Life"

Does anyone have any experience with this program? Did it work for you? Did it require modifications of any sort?

Thanks in advance for any answers the community can provide. I hope this is the right forum.

-VS

I love it. It's a great comprehensive program, and it really DOES work. The only knock on it, is that after a few weeks, the Myoplex starts to taste like azz, but other than that, it's great.

I also think that it is a great plan, but I would just do away with the advice on nutrition altogether. It is largely an advertisment for EAS, Bill's supplement company. Get your nutrition from food, not powders and pills, follow the program in the book, and you'll see results.

Cameron

I agree with Cameron.

CameronMartz:

I also think that it is a great plan, but I would just do away with the advice on nutrition altogether. It is largely an advertisment for EAS, Bill's supplement company. Get your nutrition from food, not powders and pills, follow the program in the book, and you'll see results.

Cameron

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Cameron,

As another person interested in this program, is there any downside to using the bars/shakes? In other words, if I actually like the taste of them, is there a reason (apart from the advertising) that I should not be using them?

When you say "do away with the advice on nutrition altogether", are you just talking about the bars/shakes, or are you referring to the entire nutrition program/eating 6 times a day, small portions, etc.

Thanks.

-Matt

p.s. - Ordered your book from GUE on Friday. Hope to have it soon.

The nutrition advice is sound enough. Eating six times a day will ramp your metabolism into overdrive, while keeping the muscle supplied with protein and keeping your blood sugar from nosediving. The main problem with the Myoplex stuff is that it's damn expensive. You can do the program with food, but it takes a lot more planning and is quite a bit less convenient.

My two psi worth....

King Kong Matt:

Cameron,

As another person interested in this program, is there any downside to using the bars/shakes? In other words, if I actually like the taste of them, is there a reason (apart from the advertising) that I should not be using them?

When you say "do away with the advice on nutrition altogether", are you just talking about the bars/shakes, or are you referring to the entire nutrition program/eating 6 times a day, small portions, etc.

Thanks.

-Matt

p.s. - Ordered your book from GUE on Friday. Hope to have it soon.

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Matt,

Thanks, and I hope you enjoy the book!

The reason bars and shakes taste so good is that they are either loaded with sugar, loaded with artificial sweeteners (some have multiple kinds), or even loaded with both. You must read the label carefully and know what you're putting into your body.

Bars are especially notorious for having more sugar and less protein than is claimed on the label when independently tested, with shakes less so. In any case, many of the ingredients designed for palitability are also appetite triggers, so keep that in mind.

As far as eating multiple times a day, it works for some people and doesn't for others. Many people have trouble reducing their meal size enough and end up getting too many calories in a day. Also, some people get dependent upon food for elevating their blood sugar, meaning that they can't go for more than a few hours without eating without getting irritable, distracted, generally suffering from hypoglycemia.

Now, one thing to keep in mind is that the whole amped metabolism thing is blown out of proportion by many fitness professionals. Really, an increase in your resting metabolism of 10-15% (improbably high percentages) would easily be outweighed by an additional 10 minutes of activity each day. Most research finds that weight loss comes directly from either a reduction in intake or an increase in actual activity. Changes in resting metabolism have little effect on what's known as "daily energy expenditure," or DEE. This gets pretty complicated fast, but suffice it to say, it is best to shape your eating habits around whatever makes it easiest for you to eat good, nutritious food in quantities appropriate for your activity level. If that means 6x a day, great. If it means less, equally great.

Cameron

P.S. I personally eat 4-5x/day, though my breakfast is at 4:30am, making it hard to wait until noon for lunch. <g>

What I liked most about the Body for life plan was how it guided me to a new way to live. I think I needed a rigid plan to follow as I learned new ways and broke old habits. If I were to mix old with new I don't think I would have done as well. It's too easy to go back to your old bad ways.

My recommendation with any of these 12 week or x week plans is to be militant about it. Stick to the format then work your way out of it with all natural foods. It might be just what you need. I didn't use the mixes and bars for much other than the snacks and post workout meals. There are some decent recipes in the eating for life book. I'm going to check out the diet book by Chris Carmichael next.

If what you have been doing up to this point hasn't worked then why go back to it? It's time to change and learn how to do it better.

B