Life - The life plan diet: how losing belly fat is the key to gaining a stronger, sexier, healthier body

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To my wife, Annie, who was the first to motivate me to start this journey, and believed that I could win the Body- for - LIFE contest in 1998. She has supported me and my mission ever since.

B y all accounts, Im an incredibly lucky man. At 75 years old Im in better health and in better physical shape compared to any other point of my life, and frankly, to most men my age and younger. I lead a vibrant, exciting life that includes travel and spending lots of time with my family, as well as continually challenging myself professionally and personally. While other men my age are set in their retirement, I cant stop thinking about the future: what else is in store for me and how I can continue to effect change. There is no secret that everyone, and everything, is going to age. My important message that I want to get out to men is that we dont have to get old as we age.

Im also keenly aware that the last 16 years have been a gift, because if you knew me back then, you would have thought that by now I wouldnt even be here to write this book. And thats why my story is so important for every man to hear, because I was you . I know how to change the way you age because I have done it and am continuing to do the work today.

In early 1998, I was 59 years old, and I was honestly ready to throw in the towel. I had reached an all-time low in terms of my self-esteem, mood, level of fitness, and appearance. I had spent my entire career as a family medical practitioner in private practice in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Even though my business was thriving, I had really lost enthusiasm for my work. Worse, I looked and felt like an old man. My joints and muscles ached, I had shortness of breath whenever I climbed just one flight of stairs, my clothes were tight, and my stomach was huge. My LDL (bad cholesterol) scores were sky high, my HDL (good cholesterol) numbers were rock bottom, I was well on my way to becoming a full-blown type 2 diabetic, and I had just learned that I had advanced heart disease. On top of all this, my interest in sex was almost nonexistent. I suffered from erectile dysfunction, and I fought a daily battle with anxiety and depression.

The irony, of course, was that I was a physician certified in family medicine who should have known about staying fit and eating right. But thats exactly what the issue was: I didnt know. Like most in my profession, I had no nutritional or exercise training, and I knew nothing about the importance of hormone therapies and their relationship to healthy aging. As a result, I had become just another middle-aged doctor who was trained to disconnect the image in the mirror from the fact that my overall health was in massive decline.

Then, one day, I found a copy of Muscle Media magazine lying in my exam room. I took it home that night and read it cover to cover. I couldnt believe how physically fit these men and women were, and for the first time in my life, I was jealous enough to do something about the way I looked. I signed up that night for a lifetime subscription. Soon after, I started working with my first personal trainer, Ernie Baul. When I walked into his gym I was met by a 50-year-old former Navy SEAL who took one look at me and said, I dont know, old man. You look like quite a challenge. That was exactly what I needed to hear: His challenge would become my challenge.

One month into his balls-to-the-wall program I read about the first winners of the 1997 Body- for -LIFE contest. I looked at the before-and-after pictures of the participants and thought to myself, These people cant be for real . I was amazed at the way so many people were able to transform themselves in such a short period of time, from being fat and out of shape to being fit and lean. I showed it to Annie, my girlfriend (and now my wife), and she said, If those contestants could transform their bodies so can you. You need to do this, Jeff... start now! I didnt realize it at the time, but what she said would become the pivotal moment that has truly saved my life.

I raced to have my before pictures taken, then I told Ernie what I wanted to do. I had just 19 weeks to make a significant change in every aspect of my life. I gave up all of my old habitsincluding drinking and eating way too muchand put myself on a low-glycemic/low-fat diet that Ive been following ever since, and that diet is what forms the basis of the program outlined in this book. I started taking supplements and plunged into an exercise program that I was really not prepared for. Quite honestly, the first few weeks were pretty rough: I felt exhausted, sore, and beat up most of the time. Five mornings a week I would get up at 4:00 a.m. and drive to Ernies gym. I had to train very early in the morning so I could get my hospital rounds in and make it to my office by 9:00 a.m. Ernie taught me how to lift weights, how to build muscle and strength, how to eat clean, and how to lose body fat. He showed me how taking small steps consistently can turn into huge strides. Most important, he helped me reach down deep inside myself and maximize every last bit of my potential. He gave me the desire to set goals as high as possible and gave me the tools to reach those goals in small, yet precise, steps. He taught me the importance of working outside my comfort zone in order to achieve the changes I needed.

Nineteen weeks is not a long time to make a complete transformation, and there were many, many days when I thought I just wasnt going to be able to make it. Yet gradually I began to see real results. My LDL (bad cholesterol) went from 164 down to 80, and I started feeling better and stronger. But the mirror told the story: I could see significant changes in my physique every time I took out my before photos and compared them to the new me. I was beginning to like the way I looked for the first time since I graduated from medical school in 1975.

I also became obsessed with the connection between what I ate and how I felt. I read everything I could about improving nutrition, and I began a masters degree program in sports nutrition and exercise science at Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania. I was taking classes with a highly motivated group of 20-year-olds while continuing to practice family medicine full-time and preparing for the Body- for -LIFE challenge. Yet for the first time in years I had all the energy I needed to make it through those grueling months. Looking back, I loved every one of those days.

By the end of 1998 I was just about to turn 60, and I had completed the Body- for -LIFE competition. Id submitted my before and after pictures four months earlier. A few weeks before my birthday, Bill Phillipss mother called and told me I was one of the finalists in my age category. Then, on Monday, December 7, I got a call from Porter Freeman, the 1997 winner in my age category, who was then and continues to be my role model. Porter immediately asked, What would you do, Dr. Life, if you were the winner? I thought he was just jerking me around until he told me the real news: I was the winner. In just 19 weeks I went from being a dumpy old man to becoming a Grand Champion body builder who had just won a brand-new Corvette and $10,000 and transformed not only my physique but also my health.