A few years ago, there came onto the scene, a diet and exercise program called "Body for Life". 

I had been running and doing yoga occasionally, but the diet that I engaged in was, shall we say - um..."of limited nutritional value"!  (Unless you consider Burger King fish sandwiches nutrional...).

So, even though my cardiovascular system was doing pretty well, I still was managing to gain weight, and had developed this protuberance called a gut.  It wasn't bad yet - but of course, to my eyes, considering all my life before 30 I spent very skinny and under 145 - I couldn't believe it.

As well, I felt lethargic quite a lot. 

At the time, I lived with roommate who were also looking to get on a diet-exercise program, and to make a long story short, we began the Body for Life program.

This particular program is like a lot of other programs - lots of hype - but we decided to stick to it, and see what would happen.

The basic program was like a lot of the various diets centered around Atkin's-like activity - namely, lots of protein, less carbs, and eating more meals throughout the day, but smaller meals.  In addition to this is the exercise part.  3 days of cardio, and 3 days of weight training. 

I was lucky in the sense that one of my roommates is an amazing cook (thanks Marisa!) so over the next three months, she did a lot of the cooking, and then the housemates exercised together. 

Over the course of three months, I lost 15 pounds, and felt great.  There are definitely some important principles that worked well for Body for Life. 

1.  Smaller meals - increases metabolism, keeps spirit up.
2.  Less carbs, causes the body to draw energy from fat stores.
3.  Balanced diet. No sweets, etc - avoiding foods that lessen energy over the long-term..
4.  A "day off" - so you don't become a "masochistic grouch" in your diet!
5.  A good balance is recommend between weight training and cardio.  For myself, I would add some form of stretching is very important, which BFL also mentions.

Okay, those are the positives.  Lost weight, more energy, added weight training to the cardio and flexibility routines that I was already doing. 

Now, the negatives that must be watched out for.

a.  After ANY of the high protein diets, it is very easy to gain the weight back, and gain the weight back quickly.  I've seen cases made that recommended against the protein diets specifically because of this.  For myself, as I "left" the diet, and started eating more sweets, going to a regular 3 meal a day, gig, I noticed that I could easily put on weight.  My two roommates (who stopped exercising entirely) gained back all they had lost.  It took them about 6 months, but it happened. 

I have gained up to five pounds of the fifteen myself, but, I also then do "halfways" in terms of the dieting, and so seem to yoyo back and forth in a 5 pound weight range.

b.  Narcissistic - I don't know how often you have been to the gym, but everyone is into their own exercise routine.  People exercise, work out, primp themselves in the mirror to see if their arms are getting bigger, or their thighs are getting smaller, and then leave. 

It's quite the shallow culture, yes?  And I'm definitely not excusing myself - I end up doing it too! (But am I better for laughing at myself for it?  Or not really?)

This is my Body for Life experience, and my only "dieting" experience.  Hopefully, we can add others. I'd love to hear other people's experiences.