More about Body For Life
Exercise
For most of the 12 weeks I did ~45 min of weight training MWF, ~30 minutes of running TuThSa and took my free day on Sunday. During the last ten days I did both (running and weightlifting) with only one day off.
Motivation
If you decide to do Body For Life, don’t skip the goal setting and motivational sections. The motivational part helped keep me going, so did entering the competiton and having a friend do the program with me. My goal was to lose 20lbs of fat and gain 10lbs muscle in 12 weeks.
Diet
I ate 6 small meals and drank about 90oz of water per day. Body for Life defines a meal as a portion (fist size) of carbohydrate and a portion (palm sized) of protein and as many vegetables as you want. There is a list of approved food, but I won’t go into that here. I tried to get at least 20g of protein in each meal … which sounds like a lot. In fact, my friend and I were concerned about the health risks of eating too much protein in the beginning. But if you crunch the numbers, the amount I was eating minus the recommended daily allowance times the amount of time I was doing the program it works out to 11.85 lbs of protein over 12 weeks. And since my body’s absorption rate is not 100% and I was planning on gaining 10lbs of muscle, that didn’t seem to me like too much.
((20g x 6meals) -56g) x 7days x 12weeks x 0.0022046lbs/g = 11.85lbs
Vitamins and Suppliments
Myoplex is the Body for Life recommended suppliment. I never used it, but I have heard good things about it. I just couldn’t afford it (then or now). So I took standard over-the-counter multivitamin. Occasionally I would chew them to try and get more out of them (yuck). I also used a standard protein powder, usually once a day - nothing expensive or special. I just found if I worked out a lot and was not getting enough protein I would end up feeling really tired during the day. Make sure, if you use a protein suppliment, that it is not loaded with cholesterol because some of the cheap ones are! I also found several brands of power bars (Zone Perfect, Balance, etc) that I liked. So I’d buy them at Costco or the dollar store and ate several them times a week.
Free day
On my free day (Sunday) I didn’t exercise, but still ate according to the program. Instead, I gave myself two “free meals” at some point in the week. That meant that two times during the week I could eat one thing that I wanted to eat. It worked out well for me that way.
Innovations?
During my program I read numerous articles in the news about health and fitness. All of them claimed to have “new information”. But everything in them was already in the Body for Life program. It is the most complete fitness programs I have ever researched.
For the ladies
My friend who did Body for Life with me is a woman. One of the biggest difficulties / fears for her was she thought she was going to look like a woman bodybuilder. From what I have seen it takes a whole lot beyond the standard Body for Life program to start looking like a female American Gladiator! So do the weight training at 100% and don’t worry about looking manish.
Results
In 12 weeks I lost 25lbs of fat and gained 10lbs. Mission accomplished!
And now …
There are a lot of programs out there. Body for Life is only a starting point. Since the finishing the program I have modified it slightly and added some of the exercises from other programs - most notably Crossfit. (Warning: Many of the Crossfit exercises involve complex motions and are significantly dangerous for the inexperienced. Personally I would recommend incorporating them only after you have a fair amount of weight training experience and at least a moderate level of cardiovascular fitness.)
29 Comments
andreacro
All i can say is that i know a guy who is a drunk, he is 86, and all doctors who said that alcohol will kill him are now dead. :) Fact is, life is not about who is going to live longer, but feel better living it.eric swenson
Congrats on you anniversary of your diet ;-)Demoness [22]
Is the competition finished yet? Seems you would have a good shot at winning judging from the winners previous years. That is, unless the After photo is fake. :) I'm wondering for each of those Body for Life champions, how many people put in the effort and don't end up looking very good... Where are the BfL failure stories? Not even of 43things, where people tend to be brutally honest about such things.postal
amy if that was aimed at me no...i honestly just eat everything in sight while in season trainingNospinplease
My health teacher actually influenced me to eat healther. I noticed that I do eat some healthy stuff, but also some really unhealthy stuff with the words healthy on the box. I need to work out more though, that if for sure.Amy
Did you keep a food journal too?postal
im college swimmer...so we train a lot as in 14,000 yards 4 days a week and 8,000 on the other days tuwedthsat, and mf, respectivly also with sunday off and we like to use a supplement called endurox. it has a mixture of protien and carbs balenced for recovery along with Glutamine, which really helps remove soreness from your muscles after a work outRabble of Redheads [22]
vegetable Brett...vegetable...not vegitable....but hey nice sinewsJay
Could you define "45 min of weight-training"? Is that like 45 min straight? Or do you take small breaks every now and then? What exactly did you do? Dumbells, resistance training, push-ups? I mean, I do 30 push-ups and pump some iron daily...I just don't know what techniques to do or how long or how many of certain exercises to do. No need to clarify the diet part, I've got that down. I eat 4 small meals throughout the day with plenty of fruit/veggies and a V8 about mid-day. I rarely ever eat fast-food and I'm a complete organic food ... more (170 words)ali-gator [22]
hey thanks a lot guys .... i was really looking forward to this ... I have just started body building program myself and was looking for some sort of a help... I will definitely check out the body for life program.JD
I can't believe their was a half-naked man on this episode. Thought it was supposed to be G rated! Oh! That picture is not you.xigging
thanks for the reply. it was one of those things I wasn't sure about. sounds like you know enough about what you are doing to stay safe with it. I was concerned because I've seen a few people become really unhealthy trying to attain their concept of the 'perfect' body, such as eating only an apple for food all day. especially since you are giving out advice to so many viewers, I wanted to make sure they knew about some of the dangers of trying to look like you did. great message overall tho.The Brothers Winn
@xigging The Body for Life program doesn't recommend any specific body fat percentage. When I took my pictures I was at right around 5%. You are right most pros float between 6%-9% and then cut down to 3% or so for short periods like shows. As far as athletes go, distance runners have a much different body composition than football players, etc. Here is a quote from a fitness article on body composition. "Numerous athletes, some of the healthiest people around, have five per cent fat and are extremely healthy. But the important aspect is what you do to achieve a low body fat percentage. Lowering your levels by starving, dehydrating yourself or using laxatives can be very dangerous." Right now I am at about 8%. The truth is how healthy you are depends an a lot of factor not just fat %. When I eat using the Body for Life system my cholesterol and blood pressure are lower (but not unhealthy) and I just feel better. Getting down to a low percentage doesn't cause lipodystrophy-like symptoms. My biggest problems were #1 I had to eat often to keep up my ... lots more (247 words)steph
awesome results. i just do around an hour of physical activity a day and its pretty easy. i also just try to eat healthy foods (love fruit =]), eat as little junk food as possible, and watch how many calories i eat a day. all thanks to my health teacher. your body and your health should really be the most important thing. plus if your healthy you wont have to pay to go to the doctor as often =].thorondor
I Hate Ray: Watch the "How To Stalk WYOTK" vid (July 24th)Rebecca
hey my library even has several copies of the book. How cool is that???Meandering
Brave, in front of the camera guy, I would not have shown the entire world (or all 22 of us, not that I'm in the 22, my application must still be in review) my body like that. Congrats though on a healthy lifestyle. I tried teh Body for Life and it does work, though I have given it up a while ago I know if I want to slim down this program works the best for me. I'm surprised no one is looking at old episodes. I have and I think they are great. EVERYONE, CHECK OUT ... more (112 words)Singlemom
KD is my sister and she was right... great episode... I'll be honest... I am going to buy the book and get started soon. I have already lost 24lbs just by not drinking pop, eating "better for me" food, and working out... so if I add more disciple to my routine and apparently more food... maybe I could have a body cut like that too... well not entirely like that!!!kd
when my sister sees this episode she will be wiping the drool off of her face! : )Ingrid [22]
I knew eating 6 times a day helps. I've been trying to loose some weight a few months back and that really worked. My only problem was that at a certain point I wasn't commited anymore, so I stopped... Anyway, if you start doing this and you think it's hard to really eat 6 times a day, try making a scedule or menu or whatever you'd like to call it. Write down what you are going to eat exactly every meal, if you have it on paper, it really is easier to stick by it. I might look into this book ... more (162 words)Drorharush [22]
I wish we had a library around here in this town. Is there an age limit or can the program be ajusted for your age (either "too old" or "too yong")?The Brothers Winn
Sorry I Hate Ray but we don't take bribes, just good/funny ideas.Glenn
P.S. In response to I hate Ray's comment. One of them you can buy off with ice cream and high tech toys. The other is a sucker for good music and workout equipment. To be fair, I won't tell you which is which. ;)Glenn
Well, I've never used / read Body for Life, but I certainly can attest to the assertion made by the guy in front of the camera. Being healthier does offer you a lot of freedom, and you feel so much better when you're in shape. Take me for example. All through high school the most physically challenging thing I did was marching band (not exactly taxing). Then I went to the Dominican Republic for a while and lost 113 lbs (just north of 51Kg for all you international viewers) and there is a palpable difference. Now ... more (145 words)I hate Ray…
Firstly...if thats a word...Ray damn you for being first...Secondly Xigging, I think your focusing to much on some "ideal", of being "most in shape." Sure his body fat percentage is low, and yes some athlete's have some extra body fat. Sumo westlers tend to have a little in the bank, where as or marathon runners not so much. Basically I think what the yououghttoknow guy (also what is that guys name anyways) is saying is being "in shape" feels pretty good and if you'd like to get there this is a good way to go about. Body for Life is ... more (186 words)Curtis
I've got to get that book.....and photoshop, just in case.Joe
Wow those are serious results. I guess now would be as good of a time as any to get into shape. To the library!xigging
did you Body for Life book recommend that you shoot for such a low body fat percentage? judging by the after picture, you seem to have been under 7% to have your muscles that defined and have veins showing that strongly. body builders will aim for extremely low percentages for photo shoots and competitions, but other than that, from what I've read on the subject, going so low isn't the healthiest or most 'in shape' you can be. just look at any pro athlete. they all have at least some extra body fat on reserve. curious if you still look ... more (114 words)Ray
Ha! I'm first!