Body For Life Challenge

Today is the official start of my latest fitness drive. Not content with the results I'm getting from cycling, jogging and kick boxing, I am now about to embark on Bill Phillips "Body For Life" regime.

The BodyforLife program is a 12 week challenge, which you can complete either privately or take it as part of a competition, requiring before and after photos and measurements. Some of the results seen by earlier challengers are truly inspirational.

The program consists an intense exercise program and a strict nutritional component. The exercise involves alternating your days with weight training and 20 mins of intense interval aerobic exercise. You can find out more on the Body for Life website.

The nutritional component requires you to eat 6 meals per day (whoa!), although they are relatively small, comprising only 1 portion of protein and 1 portion of carbohydrate per meal. It's all about the portion control and for a self confessed carb addict, it is bloody hard to find enough protein to eat at every meal.

Given that there is only a 12 week slot to record my bodily transformation - enter the competition - and win loads of super prizes (PositiveMentalAttitude), I have taken a few weeks to prepare or to practice living with the regime. I have been trying out all of the weight training exercises and got myself sorted out with dumbells and a gym membership. I just didn't want to waste time when the program had actually started and find that I didn't know what weights I could shift to reach a maximum effort.

Also the food aspect is really novel to me, so it helped to practice here too. I've got a few recipes sorted out, things like protein smoothies for breakfast and tried out egg white omelletes. So today I can start out with a well stocked fridge and a clear idea of my weekly dietary routine. At least half of the key to success is ensuring that you plan well in advance.

Wish me luck!