Time for a ground up restoration?

Most of us start out life with a showroom perfect body...no dings, no rust...zero miles on the odometer. We are brought into the shop for frequent check-ups and our owner (parents) make sure we are fed the proper fuels, kept on the road at proper speeds and put away clean each night.

As adults we may become too busy to give ourselves the care our first owners gave us.
As the years pass and our perfect bodies begins to take on miles, the maintenance may slide and we begin to run down.
It must be the fuel! We think.
We start seeking out new fuels to keep our sporty little cars moving thru the hazards that present themselves along the road of life.
Beer, Chips, Ben and Jerrys, pizza, Reeses pieces, (put your trigger food here.)
Soon our sleek little cars begin to adjust...by adding weight.

Before we know it our original frames are supporting the bodies of a Hummer. Performance slows and we figure we need more fuel to keep moving. Ultimately things begin to break down. We run to our favorite repairman for diagnosis. The news isn't good; obesity, diabetes, heart disease, bad knees, bad hips.......unless we mount a ground up restoration a tow to the local junkyard may be our last ride.

Don't end up in the junkyard! First, if you want to be a Hummer then you have to reinforce your frame and fuel your body with premium gas. Work your muscles, build your bones....!

If you want to reclaim that sleek sports car body (I like to think of mine as a pink T-Bird convertible) you will have to do the same. The best "ground up restoration" I have found is the Body for Life program.

No bondo here.... the new paint job looks good...and I can still preform when those hazards present themselves.

Body For Life For Women.

Dr. Pamela Peeke's much anticipated book Body For Life For Women has finally arrived in the bookstores. It's been less than a week since its official release and already the book is sparking a lot of discussion in the close knit BFL community.

As you may know reviews are popping up on the Body For Life Guestbook.

Some longtime BFL'ers argue the Doctor's book strays to much from Bill Phillip's original message. One mentions the simplicity of the first book and discribes Peeke's efforts as much too complicated. Another notes most of the success stories featured in Dr. Peeke's book transformed their bodies using Bill's program. They fear readers of this new book might get the impression these women owe their success to Dr. Peeke's "For Women" program.

These discussions are part of what I love about the BFL program. Anyone who has found success using Bill's program feels as if they have a personal stake in keeping it clean. We have done it by the book (the original book) and we have bought copies for friends and family and watched in awe as they have undegone their own transformations. It's not surprising that we are eager and willing to defend Bill's way against any other way.

But looking at the big picture...I can't help but wonder if there are many, many women out there who have picked up Bill's book and felt intimidated by his muscles and the discipline required to mount a "clean and perfect" 12 weeks.

Maybe, just maybe.... Dr. Peeke's book will seem a bit more "user friendly" for these women. Maybe they will buy the book and TRY the program...instead of searching for yet another cure to their obesity related problems.

For those who do buy Dr. Peeke's book and go on to master their first challenge...its quite possible they will want to "raise the bar" and decide to reach a little higher.

The way I see it....EAS has lots of great products that have various purposes.
Reading the labels you can see that Body For Life Ready to Drinks are different from AdvantEdge Ready to Drinks, AdvantEdge R.T.D.'s are different from Myoplex Carb Sense...from Myoplex Orginal and so on and so on.

Each product acts as a "conduit" moving us into a healthier lifestyle. As we progress we may choose to raise the bar and select a different product that better suits our needs.

For the sake of argument...how about we view Dr. Peeke's new book a "conduit" to a healthier lifestyle for women with unique needs.
As its readers progress into their healthier lifestyle they may well choose to raise the bar and move to a different product (Bill's Originial Book.)

The bottom Line...In order to solve this Nation's Obesity Epidemic we have to get people into the tent. Once they get inside...we BFL oldtimers will be there to greet them and provide the knowledge they need....and a hand so they can reach even higher!

Lets do the mindset shift....

We have to learn how to think differently about this process...
--It's not about diet. It's about fitness.
--It's not about losing fat. It's about gaining muscle and building our bones.
How many of these shifts can you think of?
Have a great BODY FOR LIFE day. Don't waste a minute of it.
Your Bud,
Michelle

Can't or Won't?

Today I had the opportunity to share my BFL transformation story with a group of people ages 50 to 75 as part of National Public Health Week. I got to try out a new "fAT TO FIT" Powerpoint presentation...which tells of my BFL transformation and the need to make healthy lifestyle changes for heart health.

It went well, all the slides came up when they were supposed to...I didn't drone on too much and I got some very good feedback I can use to make my next healthy lifestyles presentation even better.

Afterwords a woman just a few years older than me came up to me and said: "Oh, what you've done is great....but I could never do it! Way too much work!
I encouraged her to begin by taking baby steps. She just shook her head and smiled.
"No..I think its too late."

I often wonder why some people say ..."they can't..when they mean they won't even try."
I often wonder why others say "show me how and I'll do what ever it takes!"

I always find a lot of inspiration for the second group of folks. The first group causes great personal frustation.
My question is--what can we as successful BFL'ers do to convince them that their health is worth fighting for?






Let me say right here...it is never, ever too late! Just do it!

What is it about Mondays?

Mondays have always, always been the day I start a diet....at least that was the way things were some two years ago.

Monday would arrive filled with the promise of a new, sleek body. I would steer clear of all the bad foods and pray that Tuesday would result in a second day of dieting and one more step toward my goal.

Most times I could last a second day on my new diet. Sometimes a third day....but ultimately the fourth day would bring my new eating habits to a crashing hault.
Looking back now I realize that none of the diets I tried were sustainable. At least for me.
The symptoms of these crazy eating patterns would drive me crazy...cause headaches...depression. The list goes on and on.

Diets for me don't work. I had nearly 50 years of practice...but they still don't work!
What does work is Body For Life. A balanced nutrition program, regular exercise and the support system it provides.

Its Monday. No...I am not starting a new diet. Today I start another BFL challenge. My goals have been revised a bit since my very first challenge. The mindset remains.
Fail to plan...plan to fail.

A mental exercise....

I remember the first time I picked up and opened a Body For Life Book at Barnes and Noble. The thing that really struck me was the color before and after photos inside the cover. Having already seen someone's real life transformation thanks to the program... I didn't doubt the photos were real.

While studying those photos I was struck with how much the people featured in the book had changed in as little as 12 weeks. All had dropped deadly fat and gained muscle to create their own hard, healthy bodies.
As impressive as their physical transformations were.... the biggest transformation I noticed was in their faces.

Today---when you have some quiet time...I'd like you to complete this little mental exercise.
#1)Take out your BFL book, your BFL Success Journal or go to the Success Stories on this website.
#2)Take a piece of paper. Place the paper over the peoples bodies.....so that only their faces appear.
#3)Now study their faces and compare the changes in the before and after photos.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.
#4) Write down just five that discribe the changes you see in the faces of these champions.

Now If you have already completed your own 12 week challenge find your pictures. Repeat the exercise above.
Compare the smiles, the spark in the eyes...the confidence in they way you hold your head.

If you are just starting your challenge, remember this exercise. I know you will be amazed as I was at the what your own photos tells you.