Body for Life Program

Has anyone done or is currently doing the Body for Life program? I got the book way back when it first came out and tried it back then, but wasn't really dedicated to doing it, so I gave up. Now, I think I would be ready to try again and I'm curious about hearing feedback from those who have done it! Did you really get the results that the book claims to give?

Replies

  • MyTime1985
    MyTime1985 Posts: 456 Member
    Never heard of it. Care to explain?
  • MsTanya77
    MsTanya77 Posts: 357 Member
    I am doing it now and I love it. Great lifting regimen. I'm not doing the diet part of it, so my results are not as good, but the lifting part has shown great results. I lost 14 inches in a month.
  • lindalee0315
    lindalee0315 Posts: 527 Member
    I did it years ago and had fantastic results. I bought into the whole thing, though, the supplements and everything. I don't think you can get some of the supplements anymore. I lost about 30 lbs.
  • autumnk921
    autumnk921 Posts: 1,374 Member
    I just got the book from the library the other day but haven't started reading it yet...I would love to hear anyones thoughts on this as well....:)
  • RunnerBlonde808
    RunnerBlonde808 Posts: 257 Member
    My husband does this and loves it. I did it years ago and had some results but then got pregnant and didn't continue on it. I went with something else. It will work if you choose to adapt to it. My husband loves it and gets great results.
  • Zalovar
    Zalovar Posts: 92 Member
    From what I remember about it, it included using alot of meal replacement bars and shakes as part of the diet plan. At this point, I'd rather eat natural snacks like nuts etc for in between meals. Some good info in there though.
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,519 Member
    I don't agree with all of it, but it's a lot less stupid than most commercial programs
  • StaceyL76
    StaceyL76 Posts: 711 Member
    My husband and myself did the BFL program about 11 years ago. We did supplements and everything. We had GREAT results.. However, for us the diet part of the lifestyle was not sustainable for us at the time.. and we slipped back into old habits and gained all plus a lot of weight back.. It is a GREAT program.. just the eating part of it was too boring.. we waited and waited for the cookbook to come out and it did.. a long time after we stopped the program.. we bought it and started it again.. Just couldn't get with it the 2nd time.

    Another great program is Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto.. He helps you get GREAT results with out spending so much money on supplements.. just good food!

    BFL is a great program.. and I am doing a very similar diet to the one he suggests now.. but back then.. it was not sustainable and that is key.. Whatever program you do.. it needs to be sustainable if you want to keep the results.

    Good Luck!
  • smplycomplicated
    smplycomplicated Posts: 484 Member
    I have, and if you stick to the book you'll lose weight,inches, and tone up alot! I stopped because I couldn't afford the extra drinks and powders. after a while it starts to hit the ol bank account pretty hard. I pick a few recipes out of the book each week and stick to it as much as i can.
  • I did the program about five years ago with a friend and had great results. I dropped two whole sizes in the 12 weeks. I did not keep at it which is a problem like most and gained weight back.. My friend who was fairly heavy did it and lost 60 lbs in the 12 weeks !
  • prizmaa
    prizmaa Posts: 62 Member
    Thanks for your replies! Yes, I think if I did it, I would not be buying the supplements, as I can't afford that right now. I would just replace them with healthy snacks instead. I think I would definitely have to tweak the diet part a bit so that it is manageable for me, because if I follow something that is super restrictive, I just end up bingeing, of course, I guess you do get the "free day" once a week, huh? It's just if I start following it, I want it to be something that is do-able as a lifestyle.

    As far as the workouts go, was the 20 minutes of cardio 3 days a week really enough?
  • I've been doing just the lifting routines since January and I think it's done well.
  • My Sister in Law did this last year and lost over 30 pounds in about 4 months. It does work but it's all about discipline as with any weight loss/fitness program.
  • brandyk77
    brandyk77 Posts: 605 Member
    Good program in my opinion. I really like the eating for life recipe book that you can pick up. I still make those meals sometimes. YUM
  • MotorCityFemmeFatale
    MotorCityFemmeFatale Posts: 222 Member
    That's how it all started for me many years ago. It was easy to follow and really gets you in, weight lifitng and fitness as a life style.
  • hannahbanana0480
    hannahbanana0480 Posts: 46 Member
    I did it about 5 years ago and had fantastic results
  • pen2u
    pen2u Posts: 224 Member
    The exercise program is really good, I just couldn't get into the supplements/shakes/snacks. The diet seems restrictive, but you can vary your proteins, vegs & carbs to keep it interesting. My friends looked fantastic after 12 weeks; I felt much more fit but didn't have the sculpted-body result I was hoping for.

    The cardio is intense if you follow his steps. You work really hard for those 20 minutes!
  • TankGirl71
    TankGirl71 Posts: 241 Member
    I did a whole 12 week program after a car accident sidelined me for several months. It was crazy the results I got, because it was twice the food and half the exercise I was used to. Stick with it the whole 12 weeks, you'll be amazed.
  • _HeathBar_
    _HeathBar_ Posts: 902 Member
    I've never done the program but the recipes in the book are great. I still make them all the time.
  • Resalyn
    Resalyn Posts: 528 Member
    My husband and I did BFL about 8 years ago, had awesome results, but like many others, fell back into old habits and gained weight back.

    It is a WONDERFUL program, and if you stick with it, you WILL see results. You don't have to do the supplements if you don't want to - or you can substitute your own home-made shake recipes instead. I just found it really difficult to stick with the eating plan for daily life - six meals a day is a lot of planning!

    Bill Phillips has written a new book - Transformation - that takes BFL and adds a component of self reflection and spirtuality that some have found to be even more inspiring. I also did that a few years ago, but didn't make it through all the steps due to some unforseen circumstances. Transformation (Google it - he has a website, but can't post it here due to MFP policies) is also a great program in which many people have seen great success.

    I was thinking about starting the Transformation program again....
  • majordlite
    majordlite Posts: 266 Member
    I've been doing it (at least the food list) for about three weeks and have been consistently losing 2 lbs a week. I've also been doing some cardio and strength stuff at the gym almost every day for about an hour, but not exactly what's in the BFL book. The main thing about the list of foods is that you don't eat white bread or rice, or sweets with sugar, or bacon, etc. www.bodyforlife.com/library/food-list. Also, you get one day a week to eat basically whatever and however much you want. I did this before and lost about 7 lbs the first week. I certainly didn't buy any supplements or meals, nor did I end up looking like some of those folks in the gallery. But that wasn't my objective. I think it's a very doable program that can give great results.
  • brendafnp
    brendafnp Posts: 71 Member
    Thanks for your replies! Yes, I think if I did it, I would not be buying the supplements, as I can't afford that right now. I would just replace them with healthy snacks instead. I think I would definitely have to tweak the diet part a bit so that it is manageable for me, because if I follow something that is super restrictive, I just end up bingeing, of course, I guess you do get the "free day" once a week, huh? It's just if I start following it, I want it to be something that is do-able as a lifestyle.

    As far as the workouts go, was the 20 minutes of cardio 3 days a week really enough?

    My husband and I did this program about 10 or 11 years ago and had incredible results. I lost 27 lbs in 12 weeks and he lost over 30. I was 39 and he was 44 at the time and that was truly the best shape we'd ever been in. After a while we lost interest and didn't continue the diet and exercise and gained the weight back over a long period of time.

    We only did 20 min of cardio as suggested, 3 days a week and resistance training with free weights at home 3 days a week. We took our free days and ate whatever we wanted once a week and it really worked. The key is sustainability! It didn't suit our lifestyle and we didn't stick with it.
  • r1ghtpath
    r1ghtpath Posts: 701 Member
    i did it back in 2001, and i lost 18 lbs in 6 weeks. went down a couple sizes. ended up preggo and so i stopped.

    i found it SOOOOO easy to do. the work outs are short and effective and the meal plan was super duper easy!!

    i finished p90x a couple weeks ago and i want to keep lifting, but i don't want to dedicate 1 hr to each work out right now. so, i started body for life on monday. i was hoping there was someone else here doing it too!!

    instead of doing the ab work out i start the new rules of lifting for abs last night. did the lower body work out in the morning and the abs in the evening. my gluts hurt today!!!

    for the cardio interval days i'm doing couch to 5K, it's about 20 min of walk/ run and i just push myself with each change :-)

    i'm glad to see there are others doing it too!
  • herwitsend
    herwitsend Posts: 29 Member
    I have been working the BFL program for 3 days now. Glad to see some folks here having success with it!
  • pammilou
    pammilou Posts: 96 Member
    I also did BFL 7 years ago and got great results. Then I got preggers :) I have just started it again 3 weeks ago because I concentrated on running for a while, did two half-marathons, but am in the 'off-season' and want to build muscle plus lose a little more. You don't have to do the supplements and such. I do protein shakes to make sure I get enough protein to build those muscles I want since I don't eat a lot of meat typically, but that's it and it's not even EAS brand. There are a lot of recipes on the website as well. What I like is that while some get bored with it, I like that it's simple with very few ingredients in most recipes. Plus the day off - awesome (although I try to just do a 'meal off' instead.) It's a nice change from the long runs/workouts I was doing for distance running.
  • pammilou
    pammilou Posts: 96 Member
    OH, make sure you stick with what they tell you to do - don't try to alter it because you think it's not enough or whatever. AND don't get upset if you don't see results right away, particularly on the scale. Most will tell you that it's at week 8 or so that you will see sudden and dramatic changes. Give it at least 8-9 weeks of doing it right.
  • BimBamBomBum
    BimBamBomBum Posts: 24 Member
    I'm actually 8 days into BFL right now. I couldn't resist weighing in on Sunday morning and discovered I had lost 4lbs and 2% body fat. I'm really enjoying it so far. I've not long been out of hospital with a serious illness, but this is helping me get my body back on track. Highly recommended.
  • MikeHankins
    MikeHankins Posts: 10 Member
    i was going to add photo of when I
    followed it. It worked well. I lost 30lbs in 10weeks. Great program. Back on it.