by John Grant

Body for Life is a more realistic approach to fitness and dieting. we cover all angles from exercises to a healthy fat burning diet. Body for Life, as a result, has many satisfied patrons.

There are lots of different both good and bad diet programs around that promise quick and easy weight reduction. But often such programs are bound to make us gain more weight in the long run than we lose on it. Here’s a fitness program that more realistically keeps us fit: Body for Life.

Calorie and fat intake reduction schemes for losing weight often boomerang and produce an unwanted yoyo effect. This means losing weight now may mean gaining weight later, and maybe even double than what we lost. With Body for Life fat burning through exercises is the main thrust, supplemented with a balanced diet.

The balanced diet with body for life programs means something like 50 percent lean meat, fish, and chicken and 50 percent veggies and fruits. We eat six times a day, starting with a heavy breakfast to fuel up for the day (that’s when we take more carbohydrates) and several small and quick bites later in the day. There’s no fasting or starving ourselves here. According to Body for Life theory, starving the body makes it store fats and burn muscles—which is bad. The body needs the right sources of carbohydrates for this diet to enable it to burn fats through exercise.

So we eat several times a day, not just 2 or 3. But with discipline. For instance, meat per meal should not be bigger and thicker than the palm of our hand. Calorie foods should not be bigger than the size of our fist each meal. Carbohydrates from junk foods are of course a definite no-no. And we have to drink lots of water. Then, we have to religiously follow the Body for Life exercise program.

The exercise regimen consists of weight training and aerobics. The two should be alternated during the program and the scheduled exercises are done 6 days a week with a rest day. Body for Life has a specific program for training the upper and lower portions of the body, the aim of which is develop muscles and burn fat on your body.

Practitioners find the Body for Life program effective and more lasting. In fact, each year there’s a US $1 million award for the best Body for Life practitioner. Just present a video of a clear physique change from before to after doing the Body for Life program. The best video testimony wins.

The Body for Life program takes 12 weeks to do, while applying both exercises and dieting. After the program period there are instructions on fitness and weight maintenance to make the gains permanent. There are no strict specified daily menus and exercise sets and repetitions. We do the program at our own pace and preference. Then we attain the fit body we have always wanted, and we attain it for life.

About the Author:

John Grant is a the author for a diet fads site where he is writing articles about body for life diets.

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How can you live green but stay within your means? Here are some ways to make your organic food dollars stretch farther:

Buy Smart: Between 2000 and 2004, the USDA and FDA did some 43,000 tests for pesticides in fresh produce. When the Environmental Working Group analyzed the results it found that you could reduce your pesticide intake by 90 percent if you ate only organic versions of twelve of them: peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, imported grapes, spinach, lettuce, and potatoes. If all you did was buy these foods organically, you'd be making a huge contribution to your family's health.

Shop Around: Pricing for organic foods is sometimes ... well, let's just call it whimsical. So many different retail outlets are selling organic products these days that there are bargains available if you just take the time to look for them. You comparison shop for everything else, right? Why not for organic food? And when you do find a deal, buy lots if it isn't perishable.

Buy Local: Buying locally grown vegetables, fruit, and meat is easier than ever. Many supermarkets feature them in season and there are more and more farmers' markets every year. Foods in season tend to be cheaper, because they're abundant then. And for that matter, consider shopping at the end of the day; you can often drive a better bargain then and you don't even have to feel guilty: it makes the farmer's life easier not having to pack up the excess or discard it. Most locally sourced foods are organic - but you should always ask what fertilizers and pesticides (and for meats, what antibiotics and hormones) were used to produce them. Also, one of the big benefits of buying local is what you save environmentally: the fuel costs (part of what's called your "carbon footprint") for a local tomato are way lower than for one grown in a hothouse somewhere else in the world and air shipped to your supermarket. Not to mention that the local one will actually taste like a tomato!

Buy in Bulk – Shop with Friends: Farmers are smart folks. If you walk up to a stand at the farmers' market, or even one on the farm, and say you want to buy crates of produce, not just a bag, they'll cut you a deal. So either shop with your friends or make an arrangement to shop for them. If you've got a freezer, you can do the same thing with a side of organic beef. By the way, if your market or natural foods shop has bulk bins, that's another way to get organic on the cheap. It's this simple: Buying big saves big.

Buy Store-Brand Organic Products: The major supermarket chains have caught on. So now, if you're looking for a can of tomatoes, there's a pretty good chance that the store's own house brand will offer you an organic choice that is cheaper than the big-name organic brands. Choose it.

[The above excerpt is reprinted with permission from Green Goes With Everything: Simple Steps to a Healthier Life and a Cleaner Planet by Sloan Barnett (Atria Books, September 2008)]

About the Author:

Sloan Barnett is a regular contributor to NBC's Today Show and the Green Editor for KNTV, the NBC affiliate in San Francisco. She has been a television and print journalist for more than 10 years, and wrote a popular consumer advice column for New York's Daily News for nearly a decade. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and three children. FMI, please visit: Green Goes With Everything.

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