How Body for Life Changed Me

You've been to the website. You've read the testimonials. You may have even bought the book. But you still might be asking yourself, what's the big deal about Body for Life? Why are people such raving fans of this weight loss plan? What do people mean when they say, "Body for Life has changed my life forever!" Here is how it changed mine.

Before doing an unofficial Body for Life challenge, I was not a person who was enthusiastic about exercising. Nor did I pay much attention to what I ate, when I ate, or how much of it I ate. That is, until I turned 29 and the bottom dropped out of my previously high-running metabolism. Seemingly overnight, I gained weight. Lots of it. Like 30 pounds in less than a year. I spent a year mourning the loss of my metabolism and vowing I'd do something about it, but then I'd find myself reaching for an apple turnover for breakfast, still putting full cream in my coffee, spooning seconds onto my dinner plate and letting that expensive gym membership go to waste. I felt guilty for the choices I was making, which in turn made me depressed, which made me want to eat more. It was an ugly cycle.

Like many before me, I was already familiar with Body for Life, having stumbled across it in my attempts to research the best way to lose weight and eat healthy. I tried for a year to follow the eating plan that Body for Life plainly described, but still the weight did not budge. Finally, something happened, a brain zap or something, but I woke up one day and vowed to follow Body for Life to the letter for exactly 12 weeks. If still nothing changed, I would go see my doctor to rule out any unknown medical conditions. I got fed up with feeling fat and flabby and feeling depressed about my weight.

I took a weekend to plan out my meals and write out in detail, my exercise plan. I wrote out the speed and intensity levels for each minute on the treadmill, following the outline provided in the Body for Life book. I did the same for the weight lifting portion. I created a menu and wrote out all the meals I was going to eat for the first week, and created a grocery list using the recipes in the Eating for Life cookbook. It was time to do it right!

In so doing, I inadvertently changed my life forever and completely. I had no idea that writing out my exercise plan in detail would make me want to exercise, to actually look forward to getting up an hour earlier and seeing if I could push myself further than the day before. I had no clue that I loved to cook, using the recipes in Eating for Life. Never have I gotten such satisfaction out of planning and preparing a meal. Yet, here I was, buying the ingredients and combining them into a healthy, balanced, nutritious meal specifically made to nourish my body. I was amazed at how tasty each dish was. I have tried every single recipe in the entire book and I love all but one or two. I felt a sense of pride when I pull my homemade lunch out of the refrigerator at work.

I began to feel like my body was my child, and I suddenly wanted to give it the very best of me. I felt like finally I was taking care of myself and listening to what my body needed and it responded quickly and favorably. My body actually felt appreciative of what I was doing for it.

After a couple of weeks on Body for Life, I could feel a physical change happening within. I woke up more easily and with more energy. The afternoon sleepy slump I always suffered through vanished completely. My energy level remained high and constant throughout the entire day. When I went to bed, I felt deserving of the sleep I was going to get. I strived to make sure I got as close to 8 hours of sleep as I could, so my body could properly rejuvenate and repair and grow stronger.

Planning meals and exercise for a week at a time provided a sense of schedule. It was like taking charge of the ship when the fog rolled in. I couldn't see too far ahead, so I did only as far as I could see. But I had a destination, and that was to complete a week of proper eating and exercise. Once that was accomplished, I would plan out the next week. I had no idea how exhausting it was to go about life without a plan. Simple things, such as "what's for dinner tonight?" are amazingly draining. Every day, I knew exactly what was going to be served for dinner. No more rushing to the store because I wanted to make something I didn't have the ingredients for. No more cruising the frozen food aisle to see what grabbed my eye. No more impulse food purchases or visits to fast food chains. It was now so simple and straight forward; I have no idea how I ever managed before.

An amazing thing happened when I bought groceries following a list. I saved a ton of money. Not only did I stop buying food that went to waste, I began to gain better control over my finances. I made a goal to keep the grocery bill under a specific dollar amount. I started thinking about how I could come up with a spending and savings plan. I began looking at my finances and cutting out unnecessary spending. I began to plan how much I would spend and on what. I stopped shopping without a list.

I had no idea that I lacked awareness in my life until I put into action this plan. A plan not only provides direction; it provides accountability. Body for Life is, quite simply, a plan. Yet, there is nothing simple about it. It is as complicated as it comes, because it becomes so much more than a plan for losing weight and getting into shape. I often wonder if Bill Philips had any idea of the other side effects Body for Life has. I wonder because as simple yet simultaneously complicated the plan is, everything fits together so perfectly. The simple principles have a way of spreading into other areas of your life. They cut through the fog and provide stability in an ever-changing world. Whenever I experience the natural ups and downs of life, whenever I get off track and start feeling depressed, I turn immediately to Body for Life. It's like going back to the basics. I crave the stability it provides. It lifts my eyes back up off the ground and gets me going in the right direction again. It reminds me that if something in my life is not going right, I have the power to make changes for myself.