Inspirational News, Views, and Scientific Facts about Health and Fitness
Body-for-LIFE author Bill Phillips has a New Online Program
There’s no place like home for getting healthy; that is, if it’s organized and filled with things that nourish your well-being. But far too often, the place where we live is part of the problem. When it’s a cluttered mess, with a kitchen filled with sugary, processed, high calorie foods, it interferes with our efforts to eat healthy.
That’s why one of the first things I do when I begin working with someone new is meet them at their home to do what I call a ‘Healthy Spaces Makeover.’ I start in the kitchen by opening up the cabinets and refrigerator and I take a photo of each. Then I get out a hefty trash bag and I go to work. Out goes the half-eaten box of sugary cereal, the leftover potato chips, cookies, Pop Tarts, sodas, ice cream and such. Everything that’s packed with empty calories and practically devoid of essential nutrients must go.
Then, it’s off to the grocery store to stock up on fresh fruits and vegetables, brown rice, oatmeal, lean sources of protein like salmon, chicken, eggs, protein powder, light yogurt and low-fat cottage cheese, as well as plenty of pure water.
Then it’s back to the kitchen where we put these new items in the cabinets and refrigerator. Then I take another photo and I paste it, as well as the photo taken before, on a sheet of paper. The before and after comparison is often very dramatic — like the difference between night and day. In just a matter of a few short hours, we change the kitchen from a health hazard to a vibrant source of nutritional energy. I tape the sheet of paper with both photos on a cabinet near the refrigerator so the person has a crystal-clear example of how I need that kitchen to look from this point forward. I suggest that you do this action step too — especially if you want to achieve your goals and be a winner in the Transformation Challenge! =)
Remember, it is hard to eat right in the wrong kitchen — it is much easier to do the right thing in the right environment. So, give your kitchen a Healthy Spaces Makeover this weekend — in doing so, you will be setting the table for your success!
Eating for Life is the scientifically sound, practical, safe, and sustainable nutrition plan for improved health, fitness and weight loss. Created by the author of Body-for-LIFE, the world’s bestselling fitness book, this eating plan does what typical diets can’t: it allows you to enjoy delicious food. and plenty of it, while at the same time losing fat and gaining energy for life. You’ll finally learn the facts about eating right. and also, in this guide, you’ll find 150 meal recipes which are easy to make and taste great!
—-This blog post is an interview I did for a mainstream magazine where the focus was how to achieve healthy weight loss; something millions of American’s are concerned with. If you are one of them, this blog is for You! ~Bill Phillips
Q: How do people get the willpower to lose weight?
A: Willpower and discipline, despite what people are often taught, are not the keys to making challenging changes in our lives. The real power comes from inspiration. When people are inspired, they can accomplish almost anything. And so what I teach people is how to connect with what inspires them. And I ask them to identify a purposeful reason for making the decision to make a change in their lives. And one of the reasons that often awakens peoples’ inner strength is becoming healthy so that they don’t pass on their deleterious lifestyle to their kids.
Most parents I know would move mountains to protect their kids and that’s the kind of strength it often takes to stop destructive habits and start living a healthy and mindful life. There are many powerful reasons and what’s important is for each person to find the one that inspires them. One great reason will override 100 excuses.
Q: What are some practical tips on becoming more focused on their weight loss efforts?
A: I believe it’s important for people to realize that losing weight is not enough. You can actually lose weight and become more unhealthy if you do it the wrong way. Many people also lose weight in a way that’s not sustainable. Merely changing the outside is not enough. When we change our perspective we can see that what we really want is not just to look better but to feel better; and not just to weigh less on the scale, but to become lighter. And to do that, we need to look at what’s weighing on us mentally and emotionally.
It’s vitally important to understand where we are at the beginning of the transformation process. I ask people to take a before photo of themselves, put it on a piece of paper, and around the photo write down a dozen words and/or phrases that describe what they’re thinking and what they’re feeling. I often see people describe that they have low energy, that they feel stuck, that they feel like they’re carrying the weight of the world, that they’re suffering from stress or anxiety, that they feel sad or depressed. We have to confront where we are to begin with — we have to know where we stand, in order to know where to go.
Once we’ve achieved some clarity on that, we take a look at where we want to go and we develop an inspiring vision for our future carefully describing how we want to look, how we want to feel, and what we want our lives to be like. Once we establish a point A and a point B we develop specific goals that help us focus our attention on moving forward.
Q: How can people stay strong in the face of temptation?
A: When people are inspired by a powerful reason, managing temptation becomes a whole lot easier. Unfortunately most people don’t really feel a strong sense of purpose when they start out on a diet or weight-loss plan. That makes compliance extremely unlikely.
Another thing that strengthens resolve is to connect with other people who are dedicated to making healthy changes in their lives. In a recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine (February 2009) scientists discovered that people who are trying to lose weight and get healthy are 225% more likely to succeed if they participate in a weekly support group meeting. And this is because supportive friends can help keep us accountable, they can remind us of what we told them our important and inspiring reason is for changing our behavior from unhealthy to healthy, and they can give us support and encouragement which is pretty hard to be successful without. And in return, we can do the same for them which, according to research, also helps us by boosting our energy, confidence and self-esteem.
Q: How can people overcome making excuses when trying to transform their health?
A: Most every remarkable health transformation I’ve seen over the last 20 years was preceded by a dramatic increase in self-responsibility. As we mature we often discover that to a very significant extent, the condition of our bodies and lives is our responsibility and the longer we blame something outside of ourselves (an organization, another person, even genetics), the longer we disempower ourselves. The ability to change is harnessed when we accept the responsibility to change. And this essentially means becoming a ‘no-excuses person.’ When we give up excuses we can no longer say, “The dog ate my homework.” Instead we deal with the reality of the situation which might be, “My homework’s not done because I chose to watch TV instead of doing it.” Accepting responsibility makes us stronger, not weaker.
Q: How can people overcome falling back into old unhealthy patterns?
A: The only thing better than making a healthy change in your body and life is sustaining it. In my experience, the people who’ve succeeded over the long term do two things:
1) When they achieve a goal, they immediately set another, challenging goal. Goals keep the mind focused and help us decide on a daily basis how to invest our precious time, energy and attention. For example, if someone’s initial goal is to become 30 lbs lighter, once they achieve that, they might set their eye on another motivating objective which is to run a marathon or half marathon within the next few months.
2) People who successfully lose unhealthy body weight and keep it off are most often connected to a support group or community of like-minded folks. Being active within a healthy weight-loss group gives people the opportunity to help others which is very important. Recovery from an unhealthy lifestyle that causes overweight and obesity is similar to recovery from other addictive habits — there is always a risk for relapse. Our old habits will wait on us forever. What we do to get healthy, has to be what we continue doing to stay healthy. We need to look at it as a life-long recovery process. And probably nothing helps long-term recovery better than being active in a group of supportive peers.
Q: How can people change their habits?
A: The mind craves what it’s used to which is not always what it needs. And this is why the things we do habitually have a sort of gravitational force — they seem to pull us in their direction. And so the key to breaking free of unhealthy habits is to abstain from them while at the same time replacing them with new, positive patterns of action. Each day we adhere to the changes, the more the mind will crave the new pattern which will allow it to become more and more of a routine. People who can stick with a change like this for a month, usually find it gets a whole lot easier from there. Inspiration and support are essential to get through that first month because it can be a real tug of war between the old and new ways of thinking and behaving.
Q: What are your top tips to help someone say no to an unhealthy action or behavior?
A: Throughout each day, we have dozens of moments where we decide our future direction. When we ask ourselves, “Is this thought, action or behavior going to move me closer to or further away from the inspiring vision I have for my future?” we can make better choices pretty easily. We must relentlessly ask ourselves that question throughout each day and give ourselves honest answers. When we do, we can change the direction of our lives one moment, one decision at a time. Which is really the only way it can be done.
Q: How powerful is the mind in controlling our weight-loss success?
A: The body serves the mind. Anything that happens in our physical body is a result of what happens in our mind. The mind is primary, the body is a secondary phenomenon. And of course we experience life through our mind, our thoughts, our emotions. It’s always how we think and how we feel about how we look that determines our experience. And until you truly transform your mind, any other change is only going to be temporary, external, superficial. It will never last. However, when you heal and renew the mind, and get it set in the right direction, your life can become healthier, happier and more inspiring than most people could ever imagine.
Q: Is there anything else you think we should cover on this topic?
A: Weight loss is very misunderstood. Supposed solutions so often focus only on the body as if it exists independent of mind and emotions. The real solutions will be found by looking at the whole person—mind, body, heart and soul. The answers we’ll find aren’t new. In fact Plato’s philosophy described what may very well be the right approach over 2,000 years ago when he wrote:
“This is the great error of our day, that physicians separate the soul from the body. The cure should not be attempted without the treatment of the whole, and no attempt should be made to cure the body without the soul.”
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.
Right Light Nutrition Shakes make Eating Frequently a Whole Lot Easier — Click the Photo for this Pina Colada Recipe.
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.
Eating Right can be both Nutritious & Delicious — Click the Photo for this Protein and Carb Combo, Fish Tacos
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: 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.’
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!
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Here are some of my other blogs that can help you successfully transform:
Please make a few minutes today to watch this video — you will see the STUNNING body and life transformation of Valerie. She made the decision to make a change, set her mind in a new direction, and followed through with consistent exercise and healthy eating. As Valarie shows us in this story, where there’s a WILL, there’s a WAY!! Keep up the good work Valarie and for all of you participating in the Summer Transformation Challenge, please give it ALL you’ve got! You will get out of it what you put into it. ~Bill
—- Remember, if you are receiving this blog to your email that means you are automatically entered in the Summer Challenge and you are eligible to win the top prize of $10,000 for getting in the best shape of your life. Participation is completely FREE!
CLICK HERE to Sign Up (if you haven’t already) and Review the Rules & Regulations
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Here are some of my other blogs that can help you successfully transform:
—-Trying to lose weight and get in shape? Confused by all the different diets? If so, PLEASE read today’s blog (below) for a reminder of what’s merely MYTH and what’s solid FACT when it comes to eating right! ~Bill—-
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MYTH: If you exercise regularly, it doesn’t matter if you eat right.
FACT: If you exercise regularly, it matters even more that you eat right. Exercise increases your body’s need for nutrients. And exercising a nutrient-deficient body actually creates worse nutrient deficiencies. Make no mistake, for exercise to be effective and for it to help improve your health, you must feed your body plenty of protein, vitamins, minerals, essential fats, quality carbohydrates and drink ample amounts of water. Then you’ll be able to build a stronger, healthier, leaner, better and more energetic body with each workout!
MYTH: Once you reach a certain age, you can’t get in shape.
FACT: You can improve your health and energy, at any age. You can improve your physical fitness, boost your energy and even improve your mental performance at any age, when you start feeding your body the right way.
MYTH: To be healthy, you just stop eating bad foods.
Delicious, Nutritious, Fish Tacos
Read my book Eating for Life to view this, and over 100 more recipes!
FACT: Your health is enhanced by eating the right foods. There is so much emphasis in diet books on what not to eat and so much misinformation in the media about how “bad” food is for us that I’m increasingly concerned what’s being overlooked is the fact that health is enhanced and our energy enriched by eating the right foods. Your body needs essential nutrients every day and it’s vitally important to understand that food is the ally, not the enemy.
MYTH: It’s bad to eat for “emotional reasons.”
FACT: I wholeheartedly believe that you should enjoy food. There’s absolutely no reason you shouldn’t look forward to your meals and count on them to help you feel good. A delicious dinner can settle your nerves after a hectic day. A great breakfast can lift your mood and help you get ready to take on the day ahead. And a sweet, satisfying dessert can put a smile on your face. It does mine! There’s really no reason not to honor the tradition of making food a part of the process of celebrating holidays, birthdays and special occasions as well. I think it’s perfectly fine to reach for a bowl of chicken soup when your body aches or you feel under the weather. The key is making healthy versions of the foods you enjoy. You can eat to fuel your body, while also feeding positive emotions.
MYTH: To stabilize blood sugar, you have to stop eating carbohydrates.
FACT: Eating protein and carbohydrates balances blood sugar. Today’s carbohydrate confusion began years ago when we fell for the low-fat fad. When food manufacturers began removing fat from foods and replacing it with highly processed carbohydrates, our collective blood sugar went through the roof, and the problems began. As it turns out, dietary fat wasn’t really the problem after all. However, in somewhat of a knee-jerk reaction, now the food fad is to cut carbs in an effort to bring blood sugar levels back into balance. Ten years from now, I guarantee we’ll be looking back at this current craze and seeing some very serious side effects. The fact is, cutting carbs is not the healthiest way to stabilize blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates are essential to eating right. The solution is to eat meals balanced with protein, quality carbohydrates and the essential fats your body needs.
MYTH: In order to be satisfied, you need to eat large portions.
Delicious, Nutritious, Balsamic Salmon Salad
Read my book Eating for Life for this and 100 more, delicious and nutritious recipes!
FACT: Quality, not just quantity, produces healthy satisfaction. Our bodies crave quality nutrition, not merely massive quantities of food. So many people in America today have it completely backwards, though. They believe the more they eat, the better they’ll feel. Supersized portions at restaurants, fast-food chains and packaged goods at the grocery stores are obviously all playing into the myth that more is better. Yet so many people are stuffed but still “starving” for nutrition. The fact is, our bodies are satisfied by high-quality meals, not just big quantities of junk food.
MYTH: To make a change, you need to wait until you’re all ready.
FACT: Don’t wait until you’re “ready.” Please, start eating right, right now! Don’t fool yourself into believing now is just “too soon.” If you wait until everything is perfect in your life before you make a change for the better, you’ll be waiting forever! Things are never going to be “perfect.” Fact is, the time to change is now. The longer you wait before you take control of your nutrition and eating habits, the more you delay the rich rewards that are rightfully yours. Energy, strength, renewed health and decreased bodyfat… please begin feeding these benefits today! =)
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Here are some of my other blogs that can help you successfully transform:
—-Today’s blog is a look back to an interview I did, some years ago, with fitness icon Jack LaLanne for USA Today’s weekend paper. Jack LaLanne practiced what he preached and lived 96 energetic years and inspired millions of people to start working out and eating healthy. In the personal time I spent with Jack over the years, I learned a lot about his mindset and what kept him young at heart throughout his life. Two key things he said to me I keep, always, in the front of my mind:
LaLanne’s Lesson #1) Keep Moving! Jack was never inactive — he was strong as an ox the last time we worked out together and he was in his 80’s at the time!
LaLanne’s Lesson #2) Keep Challenging Yourself! Jack set goals with deadlines and used positive pressure to keep him motivated. For example, on his 70th birthday, he achieved a strength and endurance goal of swimming a mile and a half while shackled as he towed 70 boats in Long Beach Harbor (seriously, he actually did this!).
Jack LaLanne (1947)
I’ll also never forget his philosophy on ‘warming up’ before a workout and ‘cooling down’ afterwards: “Bill, does a lion warm up before he bursts into action and runs full speed to get his dinner? No! Does he cool down afterwards? No!”
Jack taught us that eating healthy and exercising are the best medicine we’ll ever get. He was scoffed at for years as a ‘health-nut’ but five decades later, science proved him to be exactly right. He (and Arnold) inspired me to start lifting weights in my early teens and he has motivated me to keep working out right up to and through the final chapter.
I am very grateful to Mr. LaLanne and it was always an honor to do interviews with him, like the one reprinted in this blog. The USA Today journalist asked the questions and gave the introduction. ~Bill—-
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Jack LaLanne and Bill Phillips
On an impossibly perfect California afternoon recently, two generations of fitness gurus met for lunch at the Four Seasons Hotel in Santa Barbara to discuss health and fitness. The old guard was represented by the “Godfather of Fitness,” Jack La Lanne. Representing another generation was Bill Phillips, the Colorado native who penned the mega-successful fitness book, Body-for-LIFE. As the two shared breakfast (eggs and fresh fruit) La Lanne, a quick-witted testament to the benefits of nutrition and exercise, summed up his perspective: “You don’t get old from calendar years,” he said, removing the yolk from one of his four hard-boiled eggs. “You get old from inactivity.”
USA WEEKEND: What would you tell a 50-year-old who is thinking of starting a regular exercise regimen?
LA LANNE: Get a physical. Then just start walking around the house. You can join a gym. There are a lot of good books and tapes, too.
PHILLIPS: Before even considering an exercise and nutrition program, I recommend that the person put on some swim trunks and have somebody take a photo of them. Then take a good look and ask yourself: Is this who I really am? If you don’t see yourself as that, you have the opportunity to change it. But you need to change your mindset.
LA LANNE: I tell people that the scales lie. You may have played basketball and weighed 175 pounds, with a 30-inch waist, back when you were in college. And you may still weigh 175 at 55. But you probably have a 35-inch waist and you’ve probably lost 30 or 40 pounds of muscle — and gained 30 or 40 pounds of fat. The tape measure doesn’t lie. Get that tape measure out and put it on your hips and your waist. Keep checking it. And keep exercising and cutting those calories down until that tape measure gets close to where you were in your prime.
PHILLIPS: Progress is made where progress is measured. People will set a New Year’s resolution: “I’m gonna get in shape this year.” But they don’t set a parameter for how they’re gonna measure it. Or if they do measure it, they wait until the first day of the next year. You’d never run a business that way. Document your progress.
USA WEEKEND: Should people who are 50 and over dive into the sort of workout program someone much younger would do?
PHILLIPS: Tufts is a leading university in research on strength training and muscle metabolism in people over 50, and they’ve shown that muscle cells strengthen in response to intense exercise — whether you’re 18 or 88. But the intensity is what’s lacking in most people’s workouts. And there are doctors who’ll give you the advice, “Well, don’t push it.”
LA LANNE: That’s ridiculous. What the hell do doctors know about exercise? Most of them know zero. You gotta push elderly people to failure like anybody else. Then the body responds.
USA WEEKEND: Lots of people start fitness routines. But how do you sustain it over a period of months, even years?
Bill Phillips (age 17) inspired by Jack LaLanne to start working out and lifting weights early in life.
PHILLIPS: I’m a believer in routine. I like to see people work out at the same time each day.
LA LANNE: And make it quick. One of the reasons so many people fail is they get on this treadmill for an hour or an hour and a half. That’s totally unnecessary. If it’s cardiovascular, you don’t need more than 15 to 17 or 18 minutes if it’s vigorous.
PHILLIPS: We also talk about progress — not perfection — as one of the things that helps change the mindset. People feel so guilty about not exercising. Especially people over 50, who feel like they’ve gone a lifetime without taking care of themselves. Instead of aiming for perfection, you should try to celebrate the progress you’re making.
USA WEEKEND: What’s the biggest mistake people make when they decide to get into shape?
LA LANNE: Their goals are too high. You start out with an hour on the treadmill, then another hour of lifting — hell, in two weeks you’re not doing anything anymore. You gotta be reasonable.
PHILLIPS: Sometimes people — especially people over 40 — underestimate what they really are capable of. They believe they’re not capable of doing something great. I tell people who are over 40, “I don’t want your best. I want better than that. I want better than what you perceive your best is.”
USA WEEKEND: How do you guys feel about nutritional supplements?
LA LANNE: I was the first one to come out with a protein supplement, so I think they’re useful. I was also the first one to come out with the nutrition bars.
PHILLIPS: Some supplements work; some don’t. It can be faddish like diets. What about these people who say you should eliminate carbohydrates from your diet?
LA LANNE: No!
PHILLIPS: I agree. The brain’s preferred source of fuel is glucose/carbohydrates. And when you go on a low-carb/high-protein diet, your brain is using low-octane fuel. You’ll be a little groggy, a little grumpy.
USA WEEKEND: If somebody was gonna do only one exercise …
LA LANNE: Swimming. No doubt about it.
PHILLIPS: I’m always asking people to do something in their mind [first]. So if they’re gonna do one exercise, it would be to ask themselves what they want to change about themselves in the next 12 weeks. Once they solve that, the body will follow.
LA LANNE: You can’t separate the mind and body. It’s impossible.
USA WEEKEND: What should people do first thing in the morning?
LA LANNE: Count your blessings.
PHILLIPS: Plan what you’re gonna do that day and commit to it.
—-In today’s blog I’m sharing the story of my beautiful wife, Maria. Her transformation started with a decision — a downright-determined, fully-committed decision that she made at a turning point in her life. This is something Maria has in common with many other people who have successfully made a healthy change from before to after. It’s the same conscious decision you have to make to experience breakthrough success.
Before and After Maria is very beautiful. I have loved her all along and I will continue to adore her no matter what. The reason I am so happy about her transformation is that it has not only improved her health but it’s helped her discover her true self — beautiful, intelligent, inspiring and self-confident. I love being married to her and yes, I realize everyday, I’m a very lucky guy!
The letter below was written by Maria and shared with her community and friends. As you read about her personal experience and positive results I think you’ll learn some key insights that will help you make exciting changes too. I’ve included some before and after pictures of Maria as well as a couple of her and I from our dream wedding last year in Maui. Hope you’re having a great day and that you enjoy Maria’s message! ~Bill—-
I’m Maria and this is a look at what worked for me… finally, after years of trying! My before and now pictures above show how much I have changed on the outside. I am 64 pounds lighter than I was before (180 lbs to 116 lbs). What you can’t see is how much I have grown and learned and healed on the inside (and I still have more to do).
I remember that it didn’t matter what anyone else told me, it didn’t click until I made the decision to change and do it for my own personal reasons; it wasn’t because my friends or family told me too. My doctor had mentioned that it would be good for me to lose weight and so I would try diets but I never got anywhere. I was beginning to accept that being overweight was destiny for me. That way of thinking changed in a big way one day though.
I was looking at a friends photo of a weekend party we were at. I pointed to an overweight woman in one of the photos who I didn’t recognize at all and I asked “Who is that?” My friend quickly replied, “Don’t be silly Maria, that’s YOU!” I said to my friend “Seriously though… who is that?!” My friend held the picture closer to my eyes “Maria, I’m not kidding… this is you!” I looked at the overweight woman I didn’t recognize again… and under all that weight… it was me after all.
I was speechless and it felt like my heart hit the floor. I burst out into tears. I was completely shocked. Then I became mad and sad both at the same time. I was mad for letting myself get this far off track. I was scared, too. I will never forget that day; looking back I can see it was maybe the most important awakening of my life. I had the will at that point and I found a way to do it.
What worked? It is simple. I started doing interval exercise 5 days a week for 25 minutes. I worked out with weights and did aerobics. But more important than the workouts for me was the nutrition. I had to go against my own thinking at first and that meant eating throughout the day and not skipping meals. I started planning what I was going to eat and when the night before and I started eating before I got hungry. These were all new habits for me and not easy the first month. With time though, this healthy way of eating became my new routine and today it still feels very good and isn’t complicated.
What makes the eating plan work for me is that I don’t have to cook meals 6 times a day. Bill and I eat a combination of protein and carbohydrate balanced whole food meals and Right Light Nutrition Shakes. For example, on a typical day I’ll have 3 shakes and 2 meals. Bill aims for 3 meals and 3 shakes. One of the things that really helped me make progress is when the days got really busy and didn’t go according to schedule, I wouldn’t skip meals or grab something unhealthy — I’d just have a nutrition shake or a Right Nutrition Bar which I kept with my in my purse. When Bill and I are travelling and are just too busy to get to a kitchen or café we’ll put our backup plan into action… it’s a really simple backup plan… more shakes. Sometimes Bill will have 5 shakes and then dinner; I’ll have 4 then a meal. Our favorite meal is salmon, yam and steamed broccoli or spinach.
We follow the Eating for Life plan most days but occasionally we will have a ‘Free Day’ where we eat whatever we want. For example, we go to our favorite pizza place and order a large pizza — I have 2 slices and Bill eats the other 10 (he says it goes straight to his muscles!).
I think what is most important is that you are truly ready to change your eating and exercise habits. I know I was, and I continue to live this way today. Nothing worked for me until I was downright determined to changing. Once you make that shift in your mind, the body will follow. This is how it worked for me and I believe this is how it can work for you too.
Thank you for reading my story and allowing me to share my experiences. I hope it helps at least one person out there who is stuck in a body they don’t like and a life they don’t love. -Maria Phillips
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Here are some other blogs that can help you succeed:
Most everyone knows that exercise can help us burn bodyfat, build muscle, and improve our fitness. But now, as science moves forward and unveils more of the incredible benefits of exercise, we’re learning that it can be utilized as a medicine to both prevent and treat conditions ranging from the common cold to cancer. And it can also be utilized as a potent mood brightener (as or more effective than prescription anti-depressants) and cognitive performance enhancer. Exercise is the best medicine I know of and all of us should be participating in it now, and for life!
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Scientific studies show that people who connect with others for support, encouragement, and accountability get better results in the short and long run compared with those who try to go it alone. And this is something that I recommend that everyone take advantage of. Whenever possible, work out with a friend or as part of a group. Meeting a personal trainer at the gym or walking with co-workers at lunchtime will give you a tremendous advantage in consistency. If for now you’re flying solo with your workouts, at least join an online accountability group where you can share your workout plan with others each week, and then report back to them to let them know how you’ve done. And in return, offer to help support, encourage, and keep others accountable. Whenever we team up like this, we always have an extra advantage that can help keep us going strong!
Far too often people get so busy trying to keep up with the seemingly urgent things in their life, they forget perhaps the most important thing, which is to take care of themselves. When we’re run down and not feeling good, our ability to help others, even our own families, will be compromised as a result. Knowing that, what I teach others and what I want you to consider is to plan your workouts in advance and write them into your schedule. I want you to see showing up for your workout is as important as showing up for a doctor’s appointment. Because as I shared in the introduction, exercise is very much akin to the best medicine there is. You can simply write down what time you’re going to exercise in the day ahead, where you’re going to do it, and what form of exercise or routine you’re going to complete. Just adding this one element of planning can make all the difference when it comes to sticking with a workout routine and enjoying the results it produces.
By far and away the most important factor with getting wonderful results from exercise is consistency. Whether it’s walking, jogging, weight lifting, or following a home exercise video, you have to do it consistently to get results. And when you are consistent, any and all of those forms of exercise will help you become healthier and enjoy your life more. What I want you to know is if you’re not used to exercising regularly—whether it’s been a while since you were in the groove with it, or if it’s something you’ve never clicked with, you have every single bit as much potential to get the hang of it as me and everyone else. The breakthrough comes when you make it a habit—a pattern of action. Our patterns are the things we do without having to even think about it—we’ve got patterns and habits for how we work, how we relate to others, how we take care of ourselves and so on. And with exercise, we want to make it one of those automatic patterns so that it feels more natural to do it than not. This is best accomplished by making a commitment to show up, no matter what, for at least a month. If you don’t feel like working out or you don’t feel like you’ve got the energy to work out, go to the gym or go stand on the treadmill in your garage or basement for five minutes. Just show up. And don’t break this routine for anything. Of course, more than 9 times out of 10, when I do this myself, I get to the gym, I stand on the treadmill and I think, “What the heck… I’m already here, I might as well start walking and jogging…” Promise me you’ll keep showing up and I promise you it will get easier and easier. to stick with this good habit.
So many times people make the mistake of having an all-or-none attitude about exercise. That is, if they can’t make it to the gym for their planned exercise session, they do nothing at all. What I want you to do is have a back-up plan for those times when things don’t go as scheduled. This could be a basic routine of push ups, sit-ups, and other exercises you can do any time, anywhere, without exercise equipment. So many times, when I’m traveling and staying at different hotels, I’ll fall back on a plan like this, just to make sure I’m doing something to keep the habit of my routine going. Taking an evening walk is a good back-up plan for when you can’t get to the gym during your work day. Walking the stairs in a hotel, or your apartment or office building is also a good back-up plan. Having a basic set of free weights at home that you can work out with when you don’t have time to get to the gym will help you avoid missing work outs too. Remember, we’ve got to keep our momentum going once we get started — putting this tip into action is a surefire way to do that.
For each of us, there’s a purposeful reason for making the healthy changes that we’re deciding to make in our lives. It can take some soul searching to find it in some instances, and in others, we simply need to open our eyes and see. Why is it important for you to exercise and be healthy? Do you want to set a positive example for your children, and also be around for them as they grow up and someday have children of their own? Again I ask, what are the inspiring reasons behind your decision to transform your body and life? Give it some consideration and you will be able to identify one or more things that motivate you from within. Then I want you to remind yourself of that every single time you’re choosing whether to work out that day or not. What many people have discovered is that one inspiring reason will override a hundred excuses. So please, know yours and think of it often — allow it to strengthen your determination and commitment to follow through each and every day. The better your reasons…the better your results!
Bill Phillips Fitness News 