Dr. Jeffry Life

How I won the Body
(08/26/2009) Dr. Jeffry Life
How I Won the Body-for-LIFE Challenge at age 60 (the oldest person to win the Seniors Category to date) - my secrets
Early in 1998 I came to the frightening realization that I looked and felt old, had aches and pains in my joints and muscles, and was short of breath just climbing one flight of stairs. My clothes were too tight and my stomach was huge. My bad cholesterol level (LDL) was sky high and my good cholesterol level (HDL) was rock bottom and I was a borderline diabetic. My life was in turmoil, out of control, and depressing. I followed no nutritional or exercise program. I was a poor role model for my patients and my family. I was a disgrace to myself. My self-esteem was at an all time low. I desperately needed to make a major change in my life. So, I entered the Body-for-LIFE Contest and, to my surprise, I won. I not only won the contest, but more importantly, I won a new and better life!

I have been asked many times just how I accomplished my transformation from a fat, unfit senior citizen to the 1998 winner of EAS's Senior Category of the Body-for-LIFE Challenge. Bill Phillips' book wasn't released until the year after I won, so I didn't have his help in preparing for the contest. This would have made my journey much easier. The following is an outline of the approach I used in 1998 and continue to use today. I think these strategies will help you achieve the same results I have in your transformation journey from being overweight, weak and unhealthy to that of ultimate leanness, muscularity, and excellent health.

Setting Goals

This is absolutely the critical first step in achieving success. I can't emphasize how important this is. Without exception, all motivational experts stress just how important this process is in getting people to really change their habits and behavior. It's necessary to write all of your strategies and goals down on paper and refer to them often. Post them where you will see them every day. This is what I did and continue to do as I set new goals. In 1998 my strategies and goals for transforming my body and my life were the following:

  • Make a commitment.
  • Make my new lifestyle a ritual.
  • Don't allow anybody or anything to discourage me from achieving my goals
  • Thoroughly and objectively evaluate where I am starting from and why I need to change.
  • Determine where I want to go.
    • Reduce my body fat from 25+ % to less than 10 %.
    • Gain 8 to 10 lbs of muscle.
    • Reduce my waist size from 38 inches to 32 inches.
    • Improve my cardiac risk factors
  • Use dreams and visualizations to picture myself there.
  • Develop new behaviors to get myself there.
    • Follow my nutrition plan to the letter.
    • Work with my trainer and never miss a workout.
    • Drink more water.

Exercise Program (Resistance Training)

I thought that this aspect of my transformation program was going to be the most important and would also be the hardest. Since I was an inexperienced exerciser, I decided to hire a trainer that would get me started on the right path and teach me the proper way to do the exercises in order to achieve maximum results and avoid injuries. I now know that this decision played a key role in my success and I would strongly advise anybody that is a novice at exercise to do the same thing. A good trainer designs exercise programs in accordance to your fitness and strength levels and then adjusts the exercises as progress is achieved.

My resistance training consisted of the following 5-day a week work outs (and still does for that matter):
  • Monday-Chest and triceps. Typically I would do 3 to 4 chest exercises consisting of 4 sets each with 10 to 12 reps and 60 seconds of rest between each set. Occasionally, the sets would be super-sets (two exercises back to back) or giant-sets (three exercises back to back). The triceps exercises would also consist of three to four exercises each consisting of 3 to 4 sets of 10 reps.
  • Tuesday-Back and Biceps. Again, three to four exercises for each body part consisting of 10 to 12 reps each set with 60 seconds of rest between sets. Periodically we would throw in some super-sets and giant-sets.
  • Wednesday-Legs. Usually six exercises with three to four sets of 10 to 12 reps. Ninety seconds of rest between sets of heavy exercises like squats or dead lifts.
  • Thursday-Shoulders. Usually four or five exercises, 4 sets with 10 reps per set and 60 seconds of rest between sets.
  • Friday-Chest and Back. On Fridays we would hit chest again with a different routine than Monday's. Usually three exercises, four sets each and 10 reps per set. Each chest exercise would be followed by a back exercise (4 sets with 10 reps).

I never did or do the same routine twice-every workout is different. The human body adapts to exercise stress rapidly and doesn't change much after it has adapted. In order to keep building muscle and strength you must continually change the stresses you are subjecting your muscles to by changing your workouts. The key to continued muscle growth is to never get into a rut. Always keep your muscles guessing by constantly changing your workouts by varying the types of exercises, amount of weight, number of reps, number of sets, kinds of sets (single-sets, super-sets, giant-sets), rep tempos (speed at which you move the weights), and rest period intervals. This will help keep your workouts energized and enable you to maximize your results while preventing boredom and burnout.Exercise Program (Aerobic)

Aerobic exercise has proven to be the key to my success in achieving leanness and cardiovascular fitness along with helping me stay on my nutrition program. I typically perform the aerobic portion of my exercise program when I get home from the office although lately, I have been doing it after I lift weights in the morning. For the BFL Contest I rode a stationary exercise bike (Life Cycle) for 24 or 48 minutes, four to five times a week. I mixed low-intensity exercise with very high-intensity exercise in each workout, while listening to music with headphones or watching TV. I especially like listening to music when I work out. It has enabled me to maintain a high level of motivation and consistency with my cardio training.

Lately, I have been running on a treadmill on some days and riding my bike on other days. This has added new interests to my aerobic program and has really been a "shot in the arm" for me in terms of keeping my motivation levels high. When it comes to nutrition and exercise, variety is essential if one wants to achieve maximum results and stay highly motivated and focused for a lifetime.

Nutrition Program

The nutritional portion of my program has proven to be the toughest aspect of my transformation program. I believe that this is truly the most vulnerable area in just about everybody's efforts to change their bodies and their lives. If you can win the eating battle, you can successfully transform your body and life!

When I entered the BFL contest in 1998 I used (and still use) the following nutritional program: After I first get up in the morning I drink 16 to 20 ounces of water and eat a bowl of grains cooked with 3 to 4 egg whites or protein powder. I add essential fats (Omega 3, 6, 9 and medium chain triglycerides) after cooking. This really helps kick my metabolism into high gear before I get to the gym. Three hours later I have a Myoplex shake and a piece of fruit. At noon I have a can of Health Valley soup with a serving or two of canned chicken or salmon and salsa or I will order steamed shrimp or chicken and vegetables from our local Chinese restaurant-no sauce, no rice, and no fortune cookies. At 3 PM I will have another shake and around 6 PM I will have a chicken breast, baked yam, vegetables, fruit and essential fats or some variation on this theme. At 9 PM I will eat a protein bar or another low-carb, 200-calorie snack. I try not to eat after that time and I limit my carb intake after the 6 PM meal. I drink water throughout the day (around 100 to 120 ounces).

Supplementation was and continues to be an important part of my nutritional program for achieving leanness, building muscle, and maintaining good health. The key supplements I take include 5-10 grams of creatine a day along with HMB, essential fatty acids, protein shakes, multivitamins and minerals, vitamin E, vitamin C, selenium, and extra folic acid (to correct my high homocystine level). I have taken these supplements for almost 5 years and really believe they have played a significant role in helping me get and stay lean, increasing my muscle mass and keeping me healthy. I am always looking for and trying new supplements that have the science to back them up, and I make it a point to discuss these in my Muscle Media columns. As you know, the field of performance-enhancing substances is really booming. Nutritional supplements are becoming more and more important in the fields of nutrition, exercise science, and preventive medicine. The department of nutrition at my university has just added a new graduate level course on performance-enhancing supplements to their curriculum. I think in the months and years to come we will be seeing many new supplements enter the marketplace, and several of these will make it even easier to achieve our goals of great health, leanness and muscularity.

This is how I ate for the Body-for-LIFE Contest in 1998 and this is how I continue to eat most days with only an occasional mishap. It has taken me a long time to get my eating under control. Eating control has truly been one of my greatest challenges, if not the greatest. It's a battle I will always have to fight-but one I can now win. Here are the rules I follow to keep on the winning side of this battle:
  • Make a list of the reasons I want to lose weight and keep it off and refer to it frequently.
  • Always eat five to six meals a day.
  • Prepare most of my meals myself and minimize eating out.
  • Avoid buffets.
  • Know in advance what I am going to eat at every meal and have it readily available.
  • Learn to say "no thanks."
  • No finger foods-ever!
  • Don't eat unless I am sitting at a table.
  • Avoid eating fast. Savor every bite. Try to spend 15 to 20 minutes eating each and every meal.
  • Avoid sugar and sweets like the plague!
  • Avoid all processed carbohydrates (white bread, white rice, most pastas).
  • Balance each meal with complex (low-glycemic index) carbohydrates and high-quality, low-fat protein.
  • Eat more fiber.
  • Eat healthy fats every day.
  • Eat plenty of vegetables and two servings of fruit every day.
  • Avoid saturated and trans-fats.
  • Drink at least 120 ounces of water every day.
  • Don't eat for at least two hours before I go to bed.
  • If I get a craving, avoid eating for at least 15 minutes-the craving invariably disappears by that time.

These are my basic rules that have really helped me get and stay lean. Give them a try and let me know if they work for you and be sure to let me know if you can think of any more.

Since 1998

Since 1998, I have made exercise and nutrition my passion. For me, getting to the gym early five mornings a week and combining weight lifting with high intensity aerobics has been the key for my continued success. And I love it! I have not only been able to maintain a good level of fitness with this program, but have actually continued to improve my strength and muscularity over the last five years-a feat I used to think was impossible after the age of 50, let alone 60.

I continue to do my aerobic exercise when I get home from the office (stationary exercise bike) for 24 or 48 minutes or I run on a treadmill, 4 to 5 times a week and always mix low-intensity exercise with very high-intensity exercise in each workout, while listening to music with headphones. Believe it or not, I actually look forward to my cardio workouts. Intense aerobic exercise continues to be one of my secrets for following a successful nutrition program. When I skip aerobics, my control over eating takes a big hit and my nutrition goes down the tubes. Twice a week I also meet with my karate instructor for one hour grueling sessions of kicking, punching and sparing-truly an aerobic experience! Martial arts put all my strength and endurance to the test and force me to work on my flexibility, balance, and coordination. My goal is to become a black belt at age 66.

The combination of the right exercise and the right nutrition has given me the energy, desire and motivation to aggressively pursue goals in my life today that I would never have dreamed possible 5 years ago. The incredible changes I experienced back in 1998 and continue to experience every day in both my body and mind have given me the motivation and incentive to refocus my life and my career. I have become passionate about the role nutrition and exercise play in preventive medicine, wellness, anti-aging, and quality of life. I continue to pursue every avenue available to me to learn more about all of this. Clearly, none of this would have happened if I hadn't decided to change my life, enter the BFL contest, and transform my body (and mind) five years ago.

If I can do this in my sixties, I truly believe anybody can do it! All it takes is making up your mind to do it, starting the program, not missing any workouts, and following your nutrition plan exactly, and sticking with it. Once you have completed 12 weeks you will find yourself at a new level of fitness and well being that you never knew existed-an amazing state very few people ever experience. This will be the starting point that you will use to launch yourself into a lifetime of healthy eating and exercising that will become an essential part of your life every day-a part that you will really look forward to. All you have to do is, get started!
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