Anyone do or know about Body for Life?

[glo]

I was reading a bit about it, and noticed that some people have modified it so it can be used with Atkins. Anyone try it?

 

[bicker]

I hesitate to call anything "modified" by its original name.

Body for Life is real specific about dietary stuff, so it probably better to call such a modification a modification of a low-carb diet (the modification being adding on weight training, which, of course, isn't really a modification, but rather simply an augmentation. )

This bit of pedanticism brought to you by haven't-had-my-first-cup-of-coffee-today-yet.

To answer your question, I haven't tried it. My wife and I do something similar to Body for Life now. The main difference is that we don't do a splurge and rest day, and we don't worry about having too much fruit like our B4L friends do.

 

[anniet]

I actually took this book with me and read it in WDW in January, and actually purchased food and shakes to begin this program, bu it didn't last long for me. It has some good tips, but I think it's REAL hard to implement into everyday life, where we can't always control everything we eat. I also have a personal trainer who doesn't agree with the pyramid sets he recommends for weight lifting. My other question about this plan, was even if you can do it for twelve weeks, what then? IMHO, It's not a program that one can really do for LIFE.

I did take away a few tips though, like add a half hour of intense cardio at least 3 times a week. Eat four or five small meals and space them out every couple of hours, and eat a protein and a carb at each meal. (I actually LOVE mixing cottage cheese with yogurt and never would have thought of it!) I also drink some of the EAS shakes and they fit well into weight watchers at only 2 points each. Some are higher calorie but I stay away from those. I find that the things I have learned from this book have helped cut down on my binging habit considerably.

While I am following the WW plan, I do find when I eat more protein I do much better.

 

[wovenwonder]

You might want to check at lowcarbfriends.com -- they have an entire 'cheering section' that does the Body for Life plan. You could probably get some tips there.

 

[tiggerlover]

Glo, I do not have any personal experience with this program, however, I have a friend who followed the program, enjoyed it and lost 21 pounds.

 

[disneyfan551]

My brother did it and loved it. Just be aware, it's a very vigorous routine! (but, I think you've already got that! )

 

[nativetxn]

I've never even heard of this program. I should do some research.

 

[bicker]

Originally posted by anniet
I actually took this book with me and read it in WDW in January, and actually purchased food and shakes to begin this program, bu it didn't last long for me. It has some good tips, but I think it's REAL hard to implement into everyday life, where we can't always control everything we eat.

There is surely a significant commitment that needs to be made, but that's really true of any lifestyle change that will result in a permanent change in the status of your health. One of the things I've learned from the program I used (HMR) was that we almost always have control over everything we eat. It all depends on the priority you place on that control. Programs like Body For Life actually make such things easier, since they employ convenient meal replacements: Compare that to "raw food" diets or diets which otherwise force you to have easy access to perishables (that aren't perished!)

My other question about this plan, was even if you can do it for twelve weeks, what then? IMHO, It's not a program that one can really do for LIFE.

Each person needs to make that determination for themselves. The reality is that 95% of people can't seem to follow ANY program for LIFE. Programs like Body For Life actually appear to have slightly better numbers than the average.

As I mentioned before, my program is even more difficult to implement than Body For Life. (I feel that it is more effective, for me, though, which is why I follow it instead of Body For Life.) Yet, I have very little problem now -- very little problem. What I've realized is that, like anything else, with practice you get better. The longer you practice healthy lifestyles, regardless of what that entails, the better you'll get at them.

Don't get me wrong: If you can get to and maintain a healthy weight for life using an approach that isn't quite so invasive, then more power to you. I know I've tried those more casual approaches many times, and, for me, they just don't work.

I did take away a few tips though

Which is a success in itself!

 

[anniet]

Originally posted by bicker
There is surely a significant commitment that needs to be made, but that's really true of any lifestyle change that will result in a permanent change in the status of your health. One of the things I've learned from the program I used (HMR) was that we almost always have control over everything we eat. It all depends on the priority you place on that control. Programs like Body For Life actually make such things easier, since they employ convenient meal replacements: Compare that to "raw food" diets or diets which otherwise force you to have easy access to perishables (that aren't perished!)Each person needs to make that determination for themselves. The reality is that 95% of people can't seem to follow ANY program for LIFE. Programs like Body For Life actually appear to have slightly better numbers than the average.

I do agree, that significant commitment needs to be made to change your behaviour if you want to change your weight, but there is also a degree of discipline and while I can be disciplined, I need flexibility too. Being limited to a list of less than 60 foods or high priced meal replacements was something I couldn't see myself doing for a lifetime.

I work in Sales, so I carry a cooler in my car for easy access to perishables which works fine. I just prefer the flexibility that WW gives me day to day. If I end up at my sisters house and she orders pizza for dinner I can stay, tell her to order a salad too and have one slice rather than have to go home and miss out on spending more time with my precious niece.

I wish I could be as disciplined as you and others who can follow these plans to a T. I just know for me, while I might get through a short time period and initially reach my goals, I couldn't envision myself maintaining that lifestyle.

 

[TigH]

Hi, Glo!

Some friends of mine tried this about 3 years ago. It was too much of a drastic eating change for them and they didn't last more than 2 or 3 weeks on the program. They also lived about 15 minutes from WDW and had annual passes and I think all the junk food at Disney was too much of a temptation.

You might want to check out the library to see if there is a copy of the BFL book that you can borrow to read before you invest any money in it.

Brian's response is worth it's weight in gold.

Are you asking about BFL for you or for someone else? Are you just getting frustrated with Atkins and the seemingly slower results you have been having lately? You know, you have lost alot of inches and you have lost alot weight, although it's not coming off quite as fast now. Don't be discouraged! All the exercise you are doing is GREAT!!!! You will continue to see changes. Give yourself 3 months from the time you started exercising again to really see a difference in your body. I know you are building that sexy muscle tone! Hang in there!!!!!!!!!!

 

[bicker]

Originally posted by anniet
Being limited to a list of less than 60 foods or high priced meal replacements was something I couldn't see myself doing for a lifetime.

My understanding is that folks on Body For Life aren't limited to those lists "for a lifetime" but rather just for the startup. I started out in my program using higher priced meal replacement shakes, and have since switched to using the ones that Body For Life recommends, since they're much more affordable (much less than a comparable meal), but I believe the point (in the long-run) is to get enough protein, and to have some highly-nutritious alternatives to higher calorie meals, to be used as a tool for lifetime meal planning. Folks can never have enough tools, and indeed, folks are going to have to eat anyway for the rest of their lives.

I work in Sales, so I carry a cooler in my car for easy access to perishables which works fine.

That's great. I have a refrigerator at work, so I rarely if ever face a storage problem either. Of course, a lot of good that does me when I'm coming up on a product release, and I barely have enough energy to shower, much less prepare food!

I just prefer the flexibility that WW gives me day to day. If I end up at my sisters house and she orders pizza for dinner I can stay, tell her to order a salad too and have one slice rather than have to go home and miss out on spending more time with my precious niece.

Hmmm.... I hadn't gotten the impression that that was really a problem with Body For Life. Indeed, one of the problems I do see in the program is that you CAN take a FULL DAY off from the program and eat whatever you want.

I know in my case, I don't make any of my life-activities contingent on food. So my lifestyle doesn't interfere with visiting with my niece and nephew. If I care to eat what they're eating, then I do. If I don't care to eat that, I either have my own fruit, or meal replacement bars, or shakes with me, or I can hold off until I can pull something together for myself (though that's rarely needed, as I've become very skilled at providing healthy alternatives for myself in all circumstances -- I can tell you though that it wasn't easy at the first. Only practicing and practicing these behaviors made them so completely second-nature now that I don't have think about them, or expend a lot of effort to maintain them now.)

I wish I could be as disciplined as you and others who can follow these plans to a T. I just know for me, while I might get through a short time period and initially reach my goals, I couldn't envision myself maintaining that lifestyle.

It surely does take a lot of discipline, but I don't know anyone in my program who started out with the discipline. Everyone who has been successful had to go through a significant amount of time working at these new behaviors, just like anything else in life.

And the real point is, "What is it that YOU need in order to be able to make changes for life?" For SOME people, a healthy lifestyle is practically impossible to maintain without useful tools like meal replacements, or calorie countring, or working out every day, etc. For folks who need the added boost from such disciplines, the only way to succeed is to work hard at making these behaviors second-nature. I surely wish I wasn't one of those people: That I didn't have to worry about calories or getting out to exercise today. But I do. That's life!