Inspirational News, Views, and Scientific Facts about Health and Fitness
Body-for-LIFE author Bill Phillips has a New Online Program
Bill Phillips at 50!!
Took this quick pic with my cell phone camera yesterday — the day I officially became 50 years old. Honestly, I feel as good as I did at age 30 and even better than I did at age 40. I actually gained muscle this decade — I’m 195 lbs and 9% bodyfat. I had some ups and downs in my 40’s and a period of time where I got completely out of shape. But, I got back on track, started lifting weights, eating healthy meals, drinking my protein nutrition shakes and taking my vitamins and my body has just become healthier. I’m married to a beautiful woman, Maria, who makes every day feel special. Her and I work together helping other people get fit, lose weight and feel younger and more alive. If you are over 40, and not happy with the body you have, take it from me… You can get stronger and healthier as you go up in age. Fitness and a positive mindset can help us all enjoy a greater quantity and quality of life! ~Bill Phillips
Why Does High-Intensity-Interval-Training work so much better than old-fashioned cardio?
Forget about how many calories the cardio machines tell you that you are burning from your workout. The real measure of the exercise benefit is in how many calories your body burns AFTER the training is done!
In this chart, you see the results of a scientific study which measured the energy expenditure (calorie burning) during and after a HIIT workout vs. a regular effort workout (like jogging at a steady pace).
HIIT causes your body to burn more calories for 40 Hours After your workout. HIIT has been shown to help people lose twice as much bodyfat over 6 weeks of training (twice as much as people who did longer but average intensity workouts).
It was 15 years ago that I wrote Body-for-LIFE and taught people the ‘High-Point Training Method’ which is a form of HIIT. Today, more than a thousand scientific studies show it works best. Back then there were only a handful of studies and my suggestions of 20 to 30-minute workouts was criticized by the less informed ‘experts.’
HIIT is the BEST workout method for burning fat and also for improving heart health… and c’mon… EVERYONE can make time for 5-25 HIIT workouts!!
+++ See my specific High-Intensity-Interval Strength Training Workout video by clicking the link here: Bill Phillips 5-25 Upper Body Strength Training Workout
A Personal Father’s Day Message
From: Bill Phillips
June 15, 2014
I’m writing to wish all the Dads out there a Happy and Healthy Father’s Day and I also have a personal message to share with everyone who cares about and loves their family.
Unfortunately my Dad passed away 9 years ago—he was just over 60 and had so many more years of life ahead of him. My Dad was my business partner and my best friend. When I started the company MET-Rx, then EAS, Muscle Media, and Body-for-LIFE, my Dad was in my office every day telling jokes and giving me key insight, legal and business advice (he was a lawyer and had his MBA in his early 20’s even though he had three kids by the time he was just out of high school).
His name was also Bill Phillips—his friends called him “BP” and I called him Dad. He never got too caught up in work and never really stressed out about it. To him being successful just meant he had enough money to pay the bills and enough time to relax and go fly fishing or go hiking often in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Make no mistake; a great deal of the success I enjoyed in my previous companies was because of my Dad. He taught me how to work hard, work smart, how to push myself to reach meaningful goals… he taught me how to find the best rivers and streams to fly fish and how to appreciate and enjoy nature. He tried to help keep me humble and grounded during my most successful years at EAS but those lessons took me a little longer to learn and probably didn’t set in until after he was gone. My Dad was a great man who lived a simple, smart, unassuming life. I miss him very much, especially today. Yet I am very grateful for all the years we had and I know the best thing I can do to honor him is to move forward and live a good, productive, and balanced life.
Knowing what it’s like to lose my Dad unexpectedly, and long before his time, gives me extra passion and determination to help other Fathers transform their health so their family doesn’t have to go through the pain and grief that comes with losing a loved one to a preventable disease. It’s sad but true: more than 3,000 Dads have already died this weekend from heart disease alone. Most of those deaths were preventable by a few basic lifestyle changes. For over thirty years I’ve been teaching men and women from all walks of life how to incorporate an intelligent and practical exercise, nutrition, and fitness program into their way of living. It’s not a diet, a fad, a silly gimmick like so much of what is out there on TV commercials and internet marketing schemes today. My method is based on a bedrock of scientific truth, medical research, and thousands of hours of real-word experience and application. The most up to date version of the program I teach at my Transformation Fitness and Research Center in Golden, Colorado is called “Health for LIFE” (it’s also the name of a new book I’m working on… think of it as Body-for-LIFE 3.0). It has already helped countless numbers of people lose the unhealthy bodyfat (from 25 lbs up to 150 lbs.) while gaining energy and muscle strength. But it’s not just the outward appearance that dramatically changes in our clients and students… the main benefit of the Health for LIFE plan is that you will very likely live longer — you’ll enjoy greater quality and quantity of life! Physicians even follow my program to reduce their own risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and certain forms of cancer which are lifestyle related.
Now of course, none of us have a guarantee that we will live through our 80’s and even longer. In my Father’s case, he contracted an incurable and rare form of lung disease (which went undetected and dormant for decades) from environmental toxin (not too dissimilar from asbestos) that he was exposed to working in a factory as a teenager. The important thing to realize is that even though there are no absolute guarantees in life, far too many Fathers are dying of illnesses that could be prevented with exercise and healthy eating. Please, if you have loved ones that depend on you, don’t wait until it’s too late to change your body and life. The best time to get well is before you get sick and that is the message I’ve dedicated my life to sharing. If you’re overweight, have unhealthy habits, if you’ve been procrastinating and putting off your efforts to get back on track with your health and fitness, please don’t wait any longer! Set a goal to lose 25 to 35 lbs. this summer while strengthening your muscles, improving your heart health, and cutting your risk of dying of a preventable illness in half.
A half hour of exercise 5 days a week – a combination of strength training and aerobics – will produce excellent results if you stick with it. And the key to eating right, as I explained in my book Body-for-LIFE, is to eat a balance of quality protein foods, healthy carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables. Eat smaller meals more frequently and drink plenty of water throughout the day. Take your vitamins, Creatine, Omega-3’s and a quality protein supplement to help you get better health improvements faster. Connect with others who are making healthy changes in their lives and most of all, please realize that other people need you and love you and your family is counting on you to be there. You have to take care of yourself – it’s one of the most important things you can do for others (it’s not selfish but rather self-less!). If you’re a parent, you have a tremendous responsibility to live a healthy lifestyle. We want you around for many, many years… far into the future! It does take some work to be healthy but the rewards are more than worth it.
Last but not least, I just want to say to my Dad: Thank You, I Love You, I miss you and I know that someday (not real soon, but someday) I’ll see you again.
Very Sincerely,
Bill Phillips
P.S. And by the way, if your Father is still here be sure to contact him right away and let him know how much he is loved and appreciated today. Don’t let the important things go unsaid. You never know for sure if you’ll get a second chance.
Hi this is Bill Phillips and I’m just sending you this quick message to let you know that if you need to stock up on Right Light Nutrition Shakes and/or STRONGEVITY Rx today is a good time to do so! I’m always trying to give our customers the best deal possible and so today I’ve got a $20 sale discount for you!
Visit my nutrition store at: www.EatingRight.com and you’ll see that you can get 2 free boxes of right light (when you place an order of 4) or you can get 4 FREE BOXES OF RIGHT LIGHT (when you place an order for 8). In addition to those super saving specials, enter the discount code SAVE20 at the ‘checkout’ page on the store and you’ll get an additional $20 off!
With STRONGEVITY Rx, our popular new supplement that helps you get better muscle building and fat loss results from your workouts, you already save $50 when you order 6 bottles. Today, by using the discount code ‘SAVE20‘ you will save an additional $20 (that’s $70 that you save during this sale today!).
This sale is good for the next 24 hours and the $20 discount is applicable for orders of $100 or more (before discount). You can place your order at our simple and easy to use online store and choose to have it sent by FedEx Overnight, 2-Day, or FedEx Ground Delivery .
Thank you for your support and I hope you’re having a healthy and satisfying week!
Diets don’t work. Not in the long run that is. Restrictive diets are not typically sustainable or even healthy. Yet it’s vitally important that we keep our calorie intake within a healthy range. If you’re trying to lose bodyfat you’ll need to consume less total calories than your body burns each day; that requires your body to tap into stored fat to meet its daily energy needs. If you’re already in good condition, or when you reach your goal weight, you can eat a little more but still it’s important to consume only the amount of calories that your body needs; otherwise you’ll start putting the bodyfat back on.
Something I’ve certainly learned through personal experience is that I need to work with my body, not against it, when it comes to controlling calories. We’ve got to keep ourselves satiated (satisfied, not starving). And one of the best ways to keep cravings at bay is to eat more often throughout the day, up to six times. When we do this, the body is energized, nourished and satisfied. We also feel lighter, more aware and more energetic as opposed to being weighed down by big meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
A scientific study reported in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition cites that people who ate six times a day had a faster resting metabolic rate than those who ate just three meals daily. Your metabolic rate is the pace at which your body burns calories all day and night. This study showed eating smaller meals frequently throughout the day allows people to burn fat more efficiently. Researchers at Georgia State University arrived at the same conclusion. They found that folks who ate just three meals a day had, on average, a higher percentage of bodyfat than those who ate six times per day.
Another study published recently in The New England Journal of Medicine showed that in as little as two weeks, people who ate frequent, portion-controlled meals as opposed to three large meals (containing the same total amount of food) reduced their ‘bad’ cholesterol levels by nearly 15%, lowered their cortisol (the stress hormone that contributes to belly fat and premature aging) levels by more than 17% and diminished insulin levels by almost 28%. Another study, this one published in the International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders, found that when people eat frequent meals throughout the day it helps control their appetite. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that people are most successful at losing fat and keeping it off when they eat numerous meals throughout the day.
Another way eating six small, nutritious meals a day helps you reduce bodyfat is by allowing you to maintain muscle mass. Remember, muscle not only helps the body look good but also makes it more metabolically active. Muscle burns calories even when it’s just sitting there. Fat does not. In fact, for every pound of muscle you gain you’ll burn another 50 calories a day. People who put on 10 pounds of muscle will therefore burn 500 calories more per day. This equals an additional 4-5 pounds of fat burned off every 30 days.
Now that we’ve talked about the benefits of eating more frequently, it’s important to understand how to put the right combinations of food together. What I recommend is that every time you eat, you combine protein and carbs. Again, this is backed up by solid science.
Scientists have also shown that people who eat a balance of protein and carbs have more stable blood glucose and energy levels, better digestion and absorption of nutrients as well as an increased “thermic effect” (fat-burning effect) from each meal. On top of all that, studies show that meals balanced in protein, carbs, and essential fats provide a safe and healthy way to manage the appetite. I’ve discovered the same thing which is why I eat meals that contain a balance of protein and carbs and I suggest that you do too.
Breakfast — 8:00 am: Vanilla Right Light Nutrition Shake blended with STRONGEVITY Rx (my new cellular energy supplement)
Mid-meal — 10:30 am: Low-fat cottage cheese mixed with light yogurt; 16 oz. water
Lunch — 1:00 pm: Turkey Sandwich with lettuce, tomato, mustard; 16 oz. water
Workout — 3:15 pm to 3:40 pm (super high-intensity 5-25 spin bike workout)
Mid-meal — 4:00 pm: Vanilla Right Light Shake (blended with 6oz. water, a fresh peach, STRONGEVITY Rx and 4 ice cubes)
Dinner — 7:00 pm: Fish Tacos; 16 oz. water
Dessert — 10:00 pm: Chocolate Right Light Nutrition Shake made as ‘double-chocolate pudding mix recipe.’
Don’t ever think you don’t have time to eat right frequently throughout the day. The list of my meals from yesterday which you just reviewed takes me less than an hour to prepare and eat. Of course my Nutrition Shakes I can blend up and chug down in just a couple minutes. Lunch takes me about 10 minutes. And dinner is 30-40 minutes. When you plan ahead of time and you prepare in advance, you’ll find you save time and money with the Eating for Life style. And best of all, when you eat this way your body will get stronger, leaner, healthier, more energetic and you’ll feel good!
++ Get the NEW Eating for Life App on iTunes/ the App Store for just $2.99. Click the link that follows to download: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/eating-for-life/id799635980?mt=8
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This is an Embarrassing Story to Tell, But if it Helps Someone Else get Back on Track with their Health, it will be Worth it to me. So here goes…
Okay… let’s see. There are two photos of me posted along with my words. The photo on the right is me today, age 49. On the Left is ME in pretty bad condition, 2 years ago. In the summer of 2011 I had brutal accident which required emergency surgery and which put me in the hospital, then a wheelchair, then in a hospital bed at home for months. Just like everybody else, with inactivity and too much comfort food (ice cream is an incredible pain killer), I lost so much of my muscle and I gained fat… and I aged fast. I was so embarrassed and just literally in tears (inactivity and depression go hand in hand). But I knew what to do to pull out of the tailspin. Two years ago this month (in the Autumn of 2011 at age 47), I decided to completely change and rebuild my body and life.
I developed an new, inspiring vision for my future and transformed it into steps and stages… monthly, weekly, and daily goals were set and met. I created a new, positive environment and got support from true friends. Of course I had to completely change my eating and work hard in the weight room to rebuild my strength. I put my heart and soul into it and applied the key knowledge I have learned over the years… I put it to work very enthusiastically in my own life. I will tell the complete story and give my exact workout and nutrition and supplement program in an upcoming blog on my site BillPhillipsNews.com — watch for the whole story a week from today.
For now I can tell you this: I am more grateful for a healthy and strong body now than I EVER was before! I am grateful to be pain free and alive. My life has changed even more than my body since the devastating accident I had back in 2011. I wouldn’t go back and change any of it if I could because it has all been an edifying, humbling (although very embarrassing) and transformative experience. I have a new life today… a beautiful and smart and incredible wife now and a new fitness business which allows me to put my passion for fitness to work everyday!
I tell my students and clients today what I learned painfully and personally… we all respond the same way to inactivity and over eating… I am just like you. And you are just like me in that when you start working out and eating right and you follow a smart plan, your body will reward you with incredible changes and renewed health!
I’ve been there… I know what it is like to be stuck in a body that is in pain and not doing what you want it to. It nearly broke my spirit and I nearly threw in the towel and blamed it all on aging and being over the hill. But I snapped out of it one day and said ‘F+#@ This! I am not settling for this! I AM GOING TO GET MY BODY AND LIFE BACK ON TRACK!’ And that is what I did and what I am doing… I will continue to get leaner and stronger and healthier each month… I will never have a final ‘After photo’… I will have a lot of Progress Photos which show the steady results of hard and humble work aimed at helping me improve my body and mind more each day. And finally, let me tell you this…
Don’t be surprised if what feels like your greatest adversity today becomes your biggest blessing two years from now… that is what happened for me and I thank God each day for helping me wake up to LIFE again!!
(If you want my help rebuilding your own body for life, come work with me personally at my fitness center in Colorado… we have an incredible 3-day Transformation Camp each month where I share what I know and help you get motivated to transform like I have done myself. Camp is the best investment you will ever make in your health. If you might want my help, email me at Bill@Transformation.com and we’ll send you details.)
—-In this blog I am going to show you how a healthy day of eating looks for me. But first, let me remind you of the key principles behind the nutrition method I originally introduced in my Body-for-LIFE book 14 years ago — it’s called Eating for Life. Upwards of a million people have used this method along with exercise and, based on the mountains of before to after success stories that have come into my offices over the years, it’s easy to say… this works! I mean it really works.
Eating for Life is not a diet. It’s not one of those super-low carb approaches. It’s not an ultra-high protein plan either. We don’t eliminate any particular kinds of food (even pizza, ice cream, cookies and french-fries you can have once a week on a ‘Free Day’!) The Eating for Life style is built on a bedrock of common sense, supported by science, and proven effective by real-world results. The key ingredients in the Eating for Life recipe are what I call the ‘Right FACTs.’ Let’s take a look…
My wife Maria and I eat off of side plates instead of the big dinner plates — this helps with portion control and I really suggest you give it a try. In my previous blog called ‘It’s Hard to Eat Right in the Wrong Kitchen’ I ask people to do a ‘Healthy Spaces Makeover’. That means going through the refrigerator, pantry, cupboards and getting rid of any high-sugar, high-fat junk food that may tempt us into slipping up. I know this is especially important for me — I can be super disciplined 23 hours and 50 minutes a day and in just a 10 minute lapse, I can scarf down over 500 calories of low nutrient, high calorie crap. So if I don’t want to wear it (as fat around my belly) I don’t keep it in the house. Once you’ve cleaned out the unhealthy food in your kitchen head for the grocery store and stock up on the Right Foods: fruits, vegetables, healthy carbs, lean protein sources, nutrition shakes, and water.
My guide to cooking nutritious, delicious food that never leaves the kitchen is my book Eating for Life. I’ve been cooking from the recipes in this book for about a decade now — with over 100 fantastic meals to choose from it never gets old. You don’t have to be a chef (I’m sure as heck not) to be able to cook up great tasting, healthy food for yourself and your family — just follow the recipes in this book.
One of the true secrets to success when it comes to consistently following the Eating for Life style is developing the habit of planning your meals in advance. When we make smart decisions ahead of time and write them down (we plan what time we’re going to eat and which foods/meals we’re going to fuel up on) we are taking control of something that for most folks, is as out of control as a bucking bronco in a rodeo. I mean most people don’t plan what they’re going to eat during the day at all.
The main problem with the way we eat in America today is that we just don’t think it through. We wait until noon before we even begin to consider what we’re having for lunch. Dinner is whatever we can pick up on the way home from work and breakfast, who has got time for breakfast!? Basically, we’re eating unintentionally and without much awareness of what we’re doing. That’s a problem. We get out of shape by accident — no one does it intentionally. We have to wake up and really start looking at what we’re eating and how it’s affecting our mind, mood, body and life. We have to consciously and purposely plan and prepare to eat right — that’s what works in the long run!
We’ll continue to talk a lot about nutrition and eating right here in ‘Bill Phillips Fitness News’ because it’s a very, very important part of transforming our health and staying on the right path. For now though, let me finish up this blog by giving you a look at this exciting list of ‘WHAT BILL HAD TO EAT YESTERDAY!’ (Maybe I’m over hyping that… I mean how exciting can it be to take a look at what my 6 meals were? Maybe I should just say it’s important to learn and if you consistently eat like this, the results… now those will be exciting!)
Breakfast — 8:00 am: Vanilla Right Light Nutrition Shake blended with Strongevity Rx (my new cellular energy supplement)
Mid-meal — 10:30 am: Low-fat cottage cheese mixed with light yogurt; 16 oz. water
Lunch — 1:00 pm: Turkey Sandwich with lettuce, tomato, mustard; 16 oz. water
Workout — 3:15 pm to 3:40 pm (super high-intensity 5-25 spin bike workout)
Mid-meal — 4:00 pm: Vanilla Right Light Shake (blended with 6oz. water, a fresh peach, Strongevity Rx and 4 ice cubes)
Dinner — 7:00 pm: Asian Beef Stir-Fry (delicious, nutritious, fun and easy to make!); 16 oz. water
Dessert — 10:00 pm: Chocolate Right Light Nutrition Shake made as ‘double-chocolate pudding mix recipe.’
++ Including the water I get with my nutrition shakes, I have about 10 – 12 cups of H2O each day.
++ I always have a back-up plan in case my day doesn’t go according to schedule. I carry a couple nutrition bars with me throughout the day and if I run out of time for lunch or one of my mid-meals, I have a bar instead.
++ Sometimes it’s hard at first for people to get use to eating frequently throughout the day. That’s because what we end up doing is eating when we’re not hungry, and that’s good! It seems counterintuitive, especially for people who are trying to lose weight, to eat when you’re not hungry but honestly, this is a very important key to long-term success. If you wait until your hungry to eat, it’s like you’re the tail and the cravings are the dog. They control you, you don’t control them. So be sure to schedule your meals ahead of time and follow that schedule.
++ I follow the Right FACTs and eat clean 6 days a week. But I try to take one day each week for what I call a ‘Free Day’ where we forget all the rules and just eat for fun. Sometimes on a Free Day, Maria and I go over to my Mom’s house for ‘very un-portioned controlled dinners!’ We also have a favorite pizza place (Front Room Pizza) in Lakewood, about 20 minutes from our house. Thanksgiving, birthdays, special nights out… these are all good times for my Free Days.
Don’t ever think you don’t have time to eat right frequently throughout the day. The list of my meals from yesterday which you just reviewed takes me less than an hour to prepare and eat. Of course my Nutrition Shakes I can blend up and chug down in just a couple minutes. Lunch takes me about 10 minutes. And dinner is 30-40 minutes. When you plan ahead of time and you prepare in advance, you’ll find you save time and money with the Eating for Life style. And best of all, when you eat this way your body will get stronger, leaner, healthier, more energetic and you’ll feel good! Now give it a try and let me know what you think! =)
Success Tip from Bill Phillips
Keep the momentum going and the energy flowing!
Let’s talk a little basic physics — getting an object at rest to begin moving requires far more energy than it does to keep it moving. Think of a rocket: 90% of the energy is spent on the initial thrust — on getting the blasted thing into the air. The remaining 10% is all that’s needed to keep it going. In a way, the same applies to transforming our bodies — it’s the act of getting started that is, by far, the most challenging stage of the process.
If you are moving ahead right now and have that advantage of MOMENTUM, please keep it going! You are in a position to make an extraordinary transformation. But, if you were to stop now, you would lose all that momentum and you would have to start all over again. I don’t want you to have to go through that, and I know you don’t either. So please, hang in there! Keep the momentum going and the energy flowing!
Q: Bill, can I still enter your new Back-on-Track Challenge?
A: Yes! The rule is that you can enter my Back-on-Track Challenge between September 30 and October 28. That means you can enter NOW! The absolute deadline to begin is just 10 days from now! Click Here to sign up and you’ll receive the Rules and Regulations right away by email.
Q: I’m just starting the Challenge and I’m really excited to connect with other participants for support, accountability, and encouragement. Can we have a Facebook group set up just for us?
A: Absolutely! We have set up a Facebook group just for people in the Back-on-Track Challenge. Click Here to request to be added to the group. Once we verify you are signed up for the Challenge you will be added to the group. It is a great place to give and receive support, encouragement, and daily accountability.
Q: What resources and supplements do you recommend for the Challenge?
A: If you’ve done Body-for-LIFE before and had great success with it, get out your book and do it again. My Eating for Life book is also a very helpful resource I highly recommend. Also, you can learn more by reading and following my FREE blog: http://www.BillPhillipsNews.com
Click Here to read my blog about the breakthrough new supplement, STRONGEVITY Rx. I also now recommend Right Light protein shakes over Myoplex. You don’t have to use any supplements to participate in this challenge though — it is FREE to enter!
Bill Phillips Fitness News 