Insanity or Junk Food?
Written: Mar 02 '02 (Updated Mar 03 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: You will see results!
Cons: Insanity strikes ~ when you least expect it!
The Bottom Line: You will look and feel better!!
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| Mer29's Full Review: Bill Phillips et al - Body for Life: 12 Weeks to M... |
I am very skeptical about fitness programs and diets. I am a Nutritionist (B.Sc. in Nutrition and Dietetics) and I studied alot about fad diets and how useless they are. You tend to lose weight incorrectly and then in the end, gain it all back...sometimes more!!
Well, some friends of ours introduced us to Body for Life. My hubby has always been somewhat curious about the program and had always wanted to try it. He is not a big person, but wanted to get alittle more defined and eat better. But...he did not want to do it alone.
Yes, he was eyeing me up to with him. I resisted immediately. I told him I was very content with my figure and I regularly go to the gym three times a week.
He begged...he pleated...and I caved. I decided that I would go on the twelve week program with him.
The first thing I needed to do was read through the book. It was written by Bill Phillips, who is also the founder of Muscle Media magazine and also the creator of EAS (Experimental and Applied Sciences). Ok, I knew right away that this Bill character was a fitness fanatic and by looking at him on the cover, he must be doing something right.
This book does a great job guiding a person through the program step by step. It tells you how to lose fat and increase your strength, eat better, and feel great about yourself. It provides facts and myths about fitness, weight training, cardio training, muscle growth, body fat, eating right, the importance of water amongst other things.
Bill lists the important authorized foods that should be included in the program and lists them in three distinct categories ~ proteins (chicken, fish, red meat, low~fat cottage cheese and egg whites), carbohydrates (potatoes, brown rice, barley, pasta, yams, no~fat yogurt, bread) and vegetables (broccoli, peas, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, cabbage, carrots, etc). There is the mention of fats in the program as well. We do need fat for absorption of nutrients so it can not be completely cut out. There are "good" fats such as safflower oil and sesame oil that can be used for cooking or a salad dressing.
He also provides an exercise guide near the end of the book with a detail of all the major muscle groups. This is very important as well and will give an individual different ways to work their muscles using dumbbells and various equipment in a fitness facility.
The daily progress reports following the exercises are also helpful and needed to assist you with the training. These reports are for eating, upper and lower body weight training and cardio training.
The Body For Life Program
The basic concept is ~ workout six days a week, eat according to the program for six days and then have one free day to eat whatever you want. You need to eat six times a day (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, supper and snack) and they need to be smaller meals overall.
My Schedule
Monday ~ 45 minutes of upper body weight training (back, chest, shoulders, triceps and biceps)
~ I do eat according to the program as well which involves a balance of protein and carbohydrates and I eat 6 times a day of smaller meals)
Tuesday ~ 20 minutes of hard cardio and eating accordingly
Wednesday ~ 45 minutes of lower body weight training (quads, hamstrings, calves and abdominals) and eat accordingly
Thursday ~ 20 minutes of hard cardio and eating accordingly
Friday ~ 45 minutes of upper body weight training and eat accordingly
Saturday ~ 20 minutes of hard cardio and eat ANYTHING!
Sunday ~ NO exercise, but must eat accordingly
The following week would be slightly different as I would start with my lower body weight workout as I did upper body on the Friday.
Pros and Cons
Pros
~ You will feel good about your body
~ You will develop stronger muscles
~ You will begin to tone
~ You will have more energy
Cons
~ You may get tired of the eating program. There is also an option to buy the Myoplex Shakes and Nutrition Bars and ingest them for the snacks during the day. We do buy them, but it does get very pricey in time. Most of them are good, but they do get extremely tiresome.
~ The fitness part of the program may be very difficult for someone that does not work out often. It is very intense and is not for everyone.
~ You may lose your mind.
Looking back at the 9 weeks I have been on Body For Life, I am glad that I started it. The waistband of my jeans is larger, my legs are stronger as the muscle tone is developing more and a "six-pack" is developing in my abs. Good thing that bikini season is just around the corner!!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Mer29
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Member: Meredith
Location: Alberta, Canada
Reviews written: 63
Trusted by: 47 members
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