In this Bill Phillips Eating for Life Diet Review we take a look at the follow up to the successful “Body for Life”…does Bill Phillips deliver the goods?
Bill Phillips is one of the foremost diet and fitness experts. His Body for Life book was in the New York Times bestseller list for over four years and sold over four million copies.
Now, Phillips states very clearly that Eating for Life is not a diet, it’s a healthy eating plan that if followed will help you to lose weight and improve your health and fitness.
Whatsmore, Phillips claims that diets don’t work and to lose weight and keep it off you need to make some pretty fundamental changes to your lifestyle.
Anyone who’s read and followed Body for Life will already be familiar with this philosophy, which I have to say we largely agree with.
So, let’s take a look at Eating for Life.
Bill Phillips Eating for Life Diet Review – How Does it Work…?
Now, Bill Phillips is a bodybuilder and a testament to the principles he espouses in his books. He’s in fantastic shape!
Eating for Life follows on from Body for Life’s weight training plus healthy nutrition approach to weight loss and body shaping.
It’s difficult in this Bill Phillips Eating for Life diet review to discuss Eating for Life without referring to Body for Life as the two are inextricably linked.
Whilst the focus of Body for Life was more on exercise, Eating for Life concentrates more on the food side of the equation.
However, they’re two sides of the same coin and Phillips’ philosophy is very evident from the first page of Eating for Life.
As a bodybuilder, Eating for Life is about discipline. Planning meals and their ingredients in advance, a strict daily weight training regime, eating lean protein, taking supplements…
Our Bill Phillips Eating for Life diet review would suggest that if you’re looking for an easy weight loss plan then this is not it. But then again, weight loss is not easy!
As with Body for Life, the plan lasts for 12 weeks, after which you set yourself a new goal and start a new 12 week cycle.
As a motivational guru, goal setting is a big part of Phillips’ philosophy.
You eat six smallish meals a day and choose from 82 ‘approved’ food options drawn from five categories: protein, vegetable protein, carbs, veg and fats.
Eating for Life contains 150 recipes, which actually look pretty tasty. These make it easier to make your food choices each day.
Phillips’ approach to portion control is a good one and one that we’ve used extensively with clients – you use your hand!
Protein servings like meat and fish are palm sized. For carbs, use your fist to assess a serving size.
This is a low fat diet, so you’re allowed only one tablespoon of unsaturated oil a day.
You follow the strict eating plan for six days a week and then have a seventh ‘free’ day where you can eat what you want.
Exercise is a combination of weight training to build muscle and aerobics to burn fat.
The emphasis is very much on resistance training to increase muscle mass so as to raise your metabolic rate. The more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns each day at rest and the easier it becomes to lose weight and to keep it off.
Phillips also advocates the use of supplements. He has a close association with the nutritional supplement manufacturer EAS.
Bill Phillips Eating for Life Diet Review – Does it Work…?
Let’s make no bones about it, this is a rigid diet that will require quite a bit of discipline to stick to.
As the title suggests, Eating for Life is just that. If you want to reap the maximum benefits that the plan can offer, you need to stick to it rigidly – for life!
If you do, Phillips claims that you can lose 25lbs in 12 weeks, which at around 2lbs a week is we would suggest, a realistic goal to aspire to.
Follow the eating plan, do the exercises as and when prescribed and the conclusion of our Bill Phillips Eating for Life diet review is that you will be a very different shape in 12 weeks time.
But you will need to develop a whole new mindset to do so and that perhaps is where many people will struggle. You’ve really got to want to do it, as it will be hard work!
We like the idea of small, frequent meals – a proven weight loss strategy, although the Eating for Life protein content is on the high side at between 40-50%.
Whether your body will actually use all that protein is debatable. However, you’ll need more than the 20-25% normally recommended in food guidelines to support the weight training regime.
Phillips is no low-carber and he recommends around 40-50% of calories should come from carbs. With the amount of exercise you’ll be doing that’s no bad thing!
Fat intake is very low at around 10% and makes following the diet quite difficult, especially when eating out.
The supplements that Phillips advocates could get quite expensive and whether you actually need them is debatable. Phillips makes a good case for them though!
You’re also going to need to join a gym. Some of the exercises can be done at home, but to get the best out of the program you’ll need access to free weights and machines.
If you don’t like going to the gym, can’t afford it or don’t have the time this plan is probably not going to be a viable option.
Bill Phillips Eating for Life Diet Review – The Bottom Line…
I liked Body for Life and I like Eating for Life. As a lifelong weight trainer and aerobic exerciser, I would though, wouldn’t I!
If you are or have been a bodybuilder or serious exerciser of any sort, then our Bill Phillips Eating for Life diet review would suggest that this plan is right up your street.
If a strict, rigid eating and exercise plan appeals to you then this is it. The one free day a week gives you a break, but that’s about all the flexibilty there is.
The recipes are appealing and fairly straightforward to buy for and prepare, but you do need to plan ahead.
Overall, this diet is probably not going to suit everyone. It’s just too strict and whilst its rigid, prescriptive approach will help to ensure success for some, it will spell failure for others.
If you’re from the ‘anything worthwhile requires some effort and sacrifice’ school then you’ll thrive on this plan.
If you’re looking for a gentler, more flexible approach you probably won’t.
Our Bill Phillips Eating for Life diet review verdict? Brilliant if you’re really serious about getting in shape!
Check out the Bill Phillips Eating for Life Plan at eDiets
