Customer Reviews

Body For Life Success Journal

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The recently published (November 2002) Success Journal is designed to help participants of the Body For Life Program complete their 12 week transformation. This thing costs $18.17 at Amazon.com.... If you want to buy this Amazon is the place to buy this!

The success journal is set up to help you (1) establish goals (2) follow the eating & fitness routines (3) provide inspiration during the 12 week challenge and (4) hopefully transform your life after completing a 12 week program.  

Having finished a 12 week program in 2001 and, having failed to finish 3 prior programs, I can say that this journal should help people start and complete a program. The journal would probably be of little value to those that haven't read the book but, if you are planning to buy the book and follow the plan you should pick up a copy of this Journal.

As part of the Journal you are forced to record your planned vs. actual results for fitness, food and daily goals each and EVERY day. This thing truly forces the program upon you, which is a good thing for many who feel they might lack the discipline to complete such a program.  The book truly enables people to measure their results on a daily basis and track their progress throughout the entire program.  

Body for Life, like any other fitness/health plan, will only allow you to get results based on your effort. If you gorge yourself with food or don't exercise like he says, don't expect to get the kind of results that people in his book have gotten.

Body For Life, while it is somewhat a promotional vehicle for EAS Myoplex, is a very sound book on nutrition and exercise. Most importantly, Mr. Phillips tries to get people to look within themselves and try to find out what they want out of a fitness program and goals in life. It is definitely a combination of self-help book meets exercise. Mr Phillips applies bodybuilding concepts (6 meals a day, weightlifting and cardio) and has tweaked them somewhat so that non-bodybuilders can get excellent results out of the program in a very short period of time.

Regarding nutrition - 6 meals a day - this is recommended to keep insulin levels more level throughout the day and to help shuttle nutrients to your cells. He also has a "free day" once a week where he tells people to eat whatever they want (pizza, cheeseburgers, whatever your weakness is :.)

His 20 minute cardio sessions, entitled HIIT (high intensity interval training), can really work a person hard and are great for those that have every excuse about not having enough time in the day.

His "high point" mentioned when lifting weights is what weightlifting is all about. It is why bodybuilders get phenomenal results and the average guy (who works out daily) may look the same year after year. Lifting weights is key to long-term metabolism - the avg. person loses 0.7 pounds of muscle after the age of 25, which contributes to why we gain weight. We lose muscle naturally and continue to eat (normally more) while exercising less as we get used to our jobs!

Bottom Line: If you are interested in your health you aren't going to go wrong following the plan. In 2001 I dropped 50 pounds from my peak weight before putting about 15 back on.  

This falls just short of the 5 stars I would have liked to give it. While I am a fan of BFL and the positive mindset towards eating right and exercising that it fosters, I have a few quibbles with this journal itself. First, there is no way you can make an entry for Sunday. I work on Sundays and would prefer to have my free day on one of my days off. Second: writing goals every day is too often. I ended up saying the same things over and over. Once a week would have been enough.
Third: I would have preferred a little more flexibility in the workouts also. What if I can't do my upper body on Monday, but have to do it on Tuesday instead? Messes up my journal. The pictures are inspirational, and I like that they have included men and women from all age groups in examples of success. I did it without the journal first time through and lost 47 lbs, went from 34% body fat to 24%, size 12 to a 6. I used BFL as my inspiration for working out, but I have to confess to dieting the South Beach way, which seemed to be more in keeping with my personal food philosophy of not leaning on "engineered" foods. Instead, I focus on healthy, whole, natural foods when at all possible.

I started my first Body-for-Life challenge on 1/6 and finished 3/29. This book was very important because I was able to keep track of my meals and workouts while reading the encouraging words of Bill Phillips as well as a successful transformation daily.

The daily progress reports are VERY important for your success. The meals help you keep track of what you have ate so far (as well as planning), and you can review your previous workouts to better plan your next workout. Not to mention you can look back at how far you've come! BFL provides these sheets in the original book and their website, but having this all organized in this journal right in front of you with inspirational words from Bill makes it easier than printing out the pages everyday.

I read half of the Transformations before I even started! They go into alot more detail than just looking around on the web...you can see how different beginning stats work for different people...and how many 12-week Challenges it may have taken *some* of them to get there.

Plus, if you actually read his words, he offers you a little deal if you're unhappy ;)

There will ALWAYS be anti-BFL people out there. All you have to do is look for the personal pages on the internet. Everyone knows the secret to losing weight: Exercise & Eating Right. Bill Phillips did not invent anything new, nor does he try to fool you into thinking so. He offers a structured program and mental encouragement towards realistic goals. If you actually read his book, follow his program, and track your hard work (like in this journal), you will look great in 12 weeks. I did, and I'm now in Challenge 2.

The Journal will keep you on tract and show yourself your progress with easy and simple comments. It is easy to use and helps you focus on your main goals-droping weight or putting on size, the journal will help anyone regardless of thier fitness levels.Also recommend "body for life for women" and "the backsmart fitness plan" by Dr.Adam Weiss( great abs and core exercises over 30 movements- all three books are execellent source of exercises and food recommendation to help the reader reach thier goals.

Personally, I really like it. It has helped to keep me motivated and I like going back and reading my goals. I know a lot of people are giving it poor reviews saying that it's just like the BFL book but it's really not. Every day you write your goals and ways to achieve them for the next day. You plan out all of your meals and workouts all in this one journal. I like having my own personal journal where I can record everything rather than printing off a bunch of the sheets from my computer. This book is your "binder" in which you track it all - workouts, daily food intake, thoughts, etc. On most of the pages it's got a bunch of pictures of success stories and tips from Bill. I LIKE THAT! For me, every little bit helps. If I don't have to print off the daily sheets and can have it all in a book with tips, motivation from Bill and lots of pictures of past BFL success stories, then it's well worth the 25 bucks.
And as for the guy who gave the bad review who complained about the color of Bill Phillips' hair, OH PLEASE! I'm sure that the #1 concern of everyone trying to complete the BFL program is the current color of Bill's hair... AND just think, what if Bill actually did lighten his hair...horrors! I mean, it's not like he's human or anything.

This journal is concise, exacting and full of testimonials that are inspiring.

The workouts are short, 20 minutes for cardio every second day interspersed with Lower
Body weights: 35 minutes.. and Upper Body Weights: 46 minutes. Every seventh day is a rest day.
I personally take 2-3 rest days a week with my schedule and I have time for that.. and the results are
extremely effective - even if I dont' follow it exactly.

I reuse the journal over and over.. and buy new ones when I'm done. I never tire
of it. Its truly a wonderful thing Bill has created. Not only that but Bill has on-line support
and diet/recipe ideas too.

I recommend the journal to many of my clients seeking health, it an easy way to start
exercising your body and the results is you feel stronger physically, mentally and emotionally.

Or excellent as a stand alone book on fitness and nutrition. A must read for all the couch potatoes.

Perfect for the BFL beginner. I REALLY wish this was a spiral book. It is just to bulky to drag around.
Please Bill, Make a spiral book with only the food and workout parts.

Body for Life, like any other fitness/health plan, will only allow you to get results based on your effort. If you gorge yourself with food or don't exercise like he says, don't expect to get the kind of results that people in his book have gotten.

Body For Life, while it is somewhat a promotional vehicle for EAS Myoplex, is a very sound book on nutrition and exercise. Most importantly, Mr. Phillips tries to get people to look within themselves and try to find out what they want out of a fitness program and goals in life. It is definitely a combination of self-help book meets exercise. Mr Phillips applies bodybuilding concepts (6 meals a day, weightlifting and cardio) and has tweaked them somewhat so that non-bodybuilders can get excellent results out of the program in a very short period of time. I just wanted to say that I also finished reading the book "HE NEVER CALLED AGAIN", that also mentions the book "Body for Life." I forgot the page , but it mentions about one of the characters redaing the book.

The BFL Success Journal is exactly that - it's a journal in which you chart your progress whilst following the Body for Life Programme detailed in the book of the same name.

The Body for Life book is a fantastic programme that changed my life (24 pounds fat lost and 13 pounds muscle gained in 11 weeks). I did not have the journal when I completed it. The Success Journal would have been handy (and saved me hours of xeroxing the sheets from the book!) but if you have limited $$ spend them on the book first. It is the true key.