Challenge News and Transformation Tips

—-We have extended the date to begin your 12-week program by one week — participants in the Challenge now have until (but no later than) Monday, July 22, to get started.

The game is pretty simple — you start by taking a before photo of yourself from the front with shorts or a swimsuit on (no need to hold a newspaper like the old days). Then write down your starting scale weight and get a measurement of your waist line (around the widest point) and record that also. You do not need to turn this information in until you finish your 12 weeks. After you know where you’re staring from it’s time to set some challenging and specific goals for where you want to be. For example, “Within 12 weeks I will be at least 30 pounds lighter.”

Once you know where you are now and where you want to be in 12 weeks, it’s time to start eating right and working out consistently. You can follow the Body-for-LIFE workout which has worked well for literally hundreds of thousands of people, or you can Click Here to learn about my new 5/25 workout which is designed to help those of us over 40 to get better results faster.

Exercise alone is not enough though. We’ve got to have the “one-two punch” of smart exercise and the right nutrition. Click Here to read a blog I wrote recently which gives detailed information about what works for me (Eating for Life meals, Right Light nutrition shakes, STRONGEVITY Rx anti-aging and cellular energy boosting formula).

Before and After photos — It’s good to keep it basic and simple, just like these examples.

After 12 weeks, you take another photo from the front, record your new scale weight and waistline measurement. Send me that information, along with a 500-word letter telling me about your experience — how you’ve changed, what you’ve learned, and the difference it’s made in your life and the lives of those around you. Put your photos and letter in an envelope and mail them to me at the address provided in the Rules and Regulations.

(If you are signed up to follow this blog you are entered in the Challenge. You don’t have to participate — it’s completely FREE to join in though. Be sure to Click Here to re-read the Rules and Regulations to learn all the details.)

Fads Come and Go but the Facts Remain the Same

In this blog (below), I am also sharing with you a USA Today interview which was done with a reporter and medical expert for this national newspaper. The advice I give now is essentially the same as I did then (2002 — 11 years ago). Fads come and go but the facts on how to focus your mind, build strength, and lose bodyfat, stay the same. When you read the interview, you’ll see what I mean. The scientific facts show that this approach works and it is timeless. If you want to feel better, look better, have more confidence and energy, just put this knowledge to work — don’t just know it, do it!

If you’ve done it before, you can do it again! And if you are just getting started on your first 12-week health transformation, you will be pleasantly surprised by how well your body and mind respond to my simple (I didn’t say easy) transformation techniques. Always remember… You can do it. You can do it! YOU CAN DO IT! I promise. Just get started and don’t give up! ~Bill—-

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USA Today Interview with Bill Phillips

Best-selling author, Bill Phillips knows exactly how to rid you of fat and get you in shape.

But you’ll need to do more than read about it, says author of the best-selling Body for Life: 12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Strength.

“We’re inundated with more information about nutrition and exercise than ever,” says Phillips, creator of the wildly successful transformation challenge contests. “And yet as a nation we’re still fat.”

Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) bear this out. The 1999 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) reveals that more than six out of 10 U.S. adults are either overweight or obese.

It’s not for lack of trying that Americans stay overweight. According to 2000 CDC data, 45% of overweight people are attempting to lose weight. So are nearly two-thirds of those who are obese.

“Clearly, many people know they weigh more than is desirable and they are trying in some fashion to do something about it,” observes Phillips.

Why then, do so many fail? According to Phillips, it’s often because they do not have specific goals and reliable directions on how to get there.

In short, they lack a workable plan.

Location and destination

“Although saying you want to lose weight is a goal in some sense, it is not a specific goal,” says Phillips.

“As an analogy, you don’t think of getting in the car to drive without having a destination,” says Phillips.

“But countless people start on what they consider a fitness or diet regimen without having any idea of where they would like to be.”

Consequently, they never get “there.”

“For most people, where they want to go has something to do with bodyfat,” says Phillips. “It may be a body fat percentage, but it may be something a lot less complicated — like a specific weight or waist size.”

Selecting a specific time period in which to achieve your goals in also essential. Phillips likes a 12-week period and based his initial transformation contest on that time window.

For a 25-pound weight loss that works out to a little more than 2 pounds per week, well within conservative weight loss guidelines.

Direction

Phillips emphasizes that creating specific directions to the weight loss goal involves both proper nutrition and exercise.

Phillips says his eating plan is simple. “For a plan to be successful, you have to be able to follow it easily,” he says. Its components:

Small meals six times a day, eaten every 2-3 hours — Each meal consists of portions that can be held in the palm of your hand. This keeps blood sugar levels more constant, deters hunger and binge eating, and “helps convince the body and mind that famine and the need to store calories is not right around the corner.”

A protein and carbohydrate source in every meal — Phillips’ preferred proteins are lean meats and fish. Carbohydrates include starchy vegetables like yams, steamed brown rice, or low-fat yogurt. He avoids processed sugars.

Other vegetables twice a day — He suggests at least two servings of predominantly leafy or green vegetables a day as well. “It’s roughly a 40/40/20 proportion of calories from protein, carbohydrates, and fats,” notes Phillips, who adds that you must never cook or cover your vegetables in butter or fats.

Unsaturated oils — Either a tablespoon of unsaturated oil a day (i.e. flaxseed oil) or three portions of salmon per week.

Water — At least 10 cups of water a day.

Performance-nutrition shakes — Realizing that many do not have the time to prepare 6 meals a day, Phillips suggests nutrition shakes as meal replacements 2 or 3 times a day.

Phillips notes that three other factors are essential to making this work: “You have to plan your meals and grocery shopping in advance so you don’t get stuck or have to guess,” he says. It’s also essential to record everything you eat.

But the third piece of advice is the most unusual. “Once a week you can eat anything you want,” says Phillips. This helps prevent the body from adapting to lower calorie levels and slowing stored fat burn-off.

“It’s also good psychology,” says Phillips. “Looking at three months without pizza or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich can be daunting.”

Phillips’ exercise program is also simple. “It has to be, or people wouldn’t do it,” he observes. It’s a blend of aerobic exercise to burn fat and intense anaerobic exercise that builds muscle — and has also been shown to accelerate fat loss as well.

You need to walk, bike, run, or swim for at least  20 minutes three times a week, advises Phillips. He suggests that varying the intensity from moderate to very challenging in each session four different times also helps.

On three other days Phillips mandates that we lift weights intensely, to keep the metabolism up.

“You don’t have to join a gym,” he says. “Many people don’t have that much time away from home. Just buy a bench and some dumbbells and work out at home as I do, making sure to record everything you do so you have an accurate record of what you are actually doing.”

Sticking points and signposts

Phillips notes that everyone hits sticking points, even with the best plans and directions. Four practices can help you through them.

Focus on progress — “It’s vitally important to realize that none of us are perfect,” says Phillips. “We are all going to make mistakes, so what we need to do is focus on progress rather than perfection.”

Don’t look for the change — “Even a fast transformation is not visible on a daily basis,” says Phillips. “Weekly check-ins can also destroy morale because you’re giving an honest effort, eating right and avoiding French fries and candy bars, and some weeks the scale reads the same.”

That’s a familiar scenario for those who are growing muscle and losing fat stores at the same time — smaller amounts of shapely muscle weigh more than larger globs of accumulated fat.

Find new markers — For more immediate positive feedback, Phillips suggests reviewing your daily activities. “Success may be a day when you ate and exercised right,” says Phillips. “Those are the quiet signals before noticeable visible change and it’s essential to recognize and honor them. But you can’t remember all these small successes if you don’t write them down.”

Be patient — At least for 12 weeks. “Other people are going to notice the changes in you and your body before you do,” says Phillips.

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Here are some of my other blogs that can help you successfully transform:

• Did You Read the Exciting News About STRONGEVITY Rx
• Workout Tips and a Video Demonstration
• Eating Right Tips and Examples
• What’s Your Monkey Trap
• Overview of Challenge Rules