Customer Reviews
Excellent book if it is for you! - By: TSReviews, 16 May 2008 
I have just finished the 12 weeks program & I have to say it did change my life. I did not want to write a review until I finished the 12 weeks because I wanted to see for myself if this book was enough on its own to carry you through the entire 12 week program
Let me try to explain the confusion with the reviews about this book because I think I understand it now. If you are a couch potato & don't do any exercise, or if you are a reasonably active person & do a lot of cardio work(running, tennis, squash, etc) yet you are not seeing any results, then this book is for you. I was actually watching my fat content go up & up even though I was doing 5k runs every morning. I never had a structured approach to weight/resistance training, & I always considered free weights especially as a bodybuilder's thing. I was wrong, & this book has great details for starting with weights for getting leaner (and not bulking up). I would say this program would work for women as well. If you are an intermediate to advanced weight lifter/body builder then this book is not for you because you will already know everything already, because Bill advocates a standard split body training program & a slightly below maintenance calorie diet. This is standard stuff that body builders have been using that for ages. For a beginner though, or for someone who has been mainly doing a cardio based sport, & as your metabolism changes with ages, I think this book will get you started on the right track. Saying that though it will not give you everything you need to know! It is a very easy ready & if you are eager to get started, then you can read the entire bookin two/three days & end upin the gym with a working plan. I personally started seeing results from about week 3. I was never hungry & I could tell I was getting much stronger & much better balanced playing my sport (squash), which is excellent. I did Plateau however around week7,8,9! And I was getting very frustrated. I was still losing dimensions, clothes felt bigger & I could tell I was getting leaner, but the scale, & fat monitor didn't show it. I also came across Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle eBook which offered much more detail but took a long time to read. I highly recommend Venuto's eBook as a follow up to the BFL book, program because it will help you through the plateau which I'm sure you will get. It will offer you plenty of options to work on. I think I passed my plateau now, & I'm seeing weight, & body fat drop again very consistently. I'm still using the BFL training program though, the only think I changed after 12 weeks was to extend my cardio to 30 mins from 20 & keep the interval training except stay at about 80% for the last 10 min, then do the 100% & warm down. That gave me better results. With regard to the supplement issue, it is not a secret the Bill owns (or part owns) the EAS (The company that sells Myoplex) I tried it & I like some flavours, & I didn't like others. I also tried products from other companies & liked/disliked them. I would say try as much as possible to see what you like & don't like & keep a diary with the ones you like because there will be few. Recently I started adding Milk & Fruit to protein shakes to get better taste & better calorie balance. This morning I could see the top of my abs!!! Not bad with starting with 30% Body fat twelve weeks ago.
To conclude, to lose body fat you need to consider motivation, diet, & workout plan. If you already have a program that is keeping you lean then this book is not for you. On the other hand if you are not seeing the fat come down even with good cardio work then I think you need to consider this book as well as Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto.
Good luck
Really Works - By: Steven R. McEvoy, 02 Apr 2008 
This book & program are both great. I used it back a few years ago & went from a 42 inch waist to 34in 13 weeks from 29% body fat to 13%. It is not easy & requires much discipline. But this book gives you the tools you need to make it happen. It also requires a lifestyle change for you, you drift off from the program it is easy to slide backwards from the progress you have made.
This book will help you change your mindset. You will examine patters, give yourself rewards & see the changes take place. Phillips states: "It's Very Important to understand the difference between dreams & goals. Dreams are things we wish for--things you enjoy thinking about but don't really know when they'll happen. Goals, on the other hand, are specific things you have decided you need to accomplish within a clearly defined period of time." p.27 This book will help you make that leap from dreams to goals & from goals to results.
One of the greatest strengths of the book is the section that outlines the exercises for each body part. No only do they include pictures of the different exercises & movements, they also have a tip box of the most common errors, & how to avoid them. The book is also peppered with testimonies of people who have done the program with their before & after pictures.
Phillips states: "Your body is the epicenter of your universe. You go nowhere without it. It is truly the temple of your mind & your soul" p.2 this program will help you find a level of health that you may have given up on. One of the former champions of the challenge says: "Beyond information, I was being taught a frame of mind, which inspired me more than all the preachers, teachers, doctors, & counselors who had tried to get through to me before." p.9in reflection on this program & his recovery from a bullet wound from his youth.
This book will help you change the patternsin your life, "Remember that everything you doin the real world is merely an external manifestation of what has already happenedin your mind." p. 29 This book has a balanced approach, you balance exercise with nutrition. You balance carbs with proteinin each meal, & you balance cardio with strength training. Page 83 has an Eating-for-Life Authorized food guide, it lists the Proteins, Carbohydrates & Vegetables that are recommended & list's themin the order if quality for this program.
There is a world of difference between knowing what to do & actually doing it. This book will definitely give you the knowledge & challenge you to put it into practice. "Remember that everything you doin the real world is merely an external manifestation of what has already happenedin your mind." p.29
Great Guidance! - By: Kendra, 01 Jan 2008 I don't think I will be able to conveyin this review just how wonderful I think this book is.
Two years ago, I was the fittest & thinnest I ever had been. And, then, lo & behold, I discovered that we were going to be welcoming baby number three into the world! Completely unexpected, & a little older than before, I was terrified I would gain a lot of weight. I managed to keep the weightgain down, but still, after the birth of my happy little surprise, I had 25 pounds to lose & was anxious to get it off.
The truth was I didn't know the truth about eating & the truth about exercising. I had never lifted weights & was no longer as physically active as I once was. I bought the Firm & the stick thing that went with it, but the information that program came with didn't go into the whys & the ways. So, even though there was some instruction, & a calendar, I didn't understand about the physiology of eating properly & often & how one must let their muscles rest after exercising.
Bill Phillips' book was the perfect introduction for me. In twelve weeks, just as promised, I was back to my smaller size. And, I learned so much about weight loss & proper nutrition & working out with weights & how to improve my aerobic/cardio routine, as well. His book completely whet my appetite for more knowledge regarding proper eating/dieting/nutrition/etc., & because of Body for Life, I have read so much more about nutrition & exercise & this is now a full-fledged interest of mine.
The only criticism I have now, two years after I have read it & several years after publication, is that it really needs to be updated. The current thought is that one must eat immediately after working out. Body for Life states you should wait an hour. Also, the Body for Life website, which he refers to & recommends throughout his book, is now owned & operated by EAS, a food supplement company, not Bill Phillips, as it used to be.
I'd really like to see something new by Bill Phillips. He's an inspiration.
Not Essential - By: Chris, 24 Jun 2006 Last week I completed the 12 week Body For Life challenge & I was mega pleased with the results. The program itself is sound & to get maximum results, total commitment is required.
The book itself,in my opinion, is not essential to those thinking of taken the challenge. I found it to be an excellent motivational tool, for example, reading the sucess stories. I read the book cover to cover the first day it arrived. On my second week of the challenge I loaned it out to a guy from my gym & have yet to get it back - thus it was not essential for me to throughout the 12 weeks.
Excellent book though!
12 weeks that have changed my life - By: , 09 Jan 2006 I have read some of the other reviews on here & felt it only fare I share mine. I bought this book after hearing about it form a collegue. I read it & felt empowered & after a few weeks decided to give it a go. I was sceptical about the photos & even more sceptical about the plugs for eas products. Anyway I followed the book to the letter. It lays it outin such a way that it easy to eat correctly & train right. I started off at 14st 2 pounds with 26% body fat. I followed the regime stricklty & am now 12st 5 pounds with 8.5% body fat. I nolonger suffer with indegestion & have taught my mind & body to eat correctly. This book has changed my life & I would &in fact do recommend it to everyone.
