I am now on day 3 of body for life, and have already lost 1% fat and 1 and a half kilo. So feel very motivated. I liked that the book was written specifically written for women, and that it I can do the whole program without joining a gym. I am also a big fan of the 80% of the time rule, no-one's perfect, and this will help me not giving up when having a bad day.

The thing that I loved so much about the original Body for Life by Bill Phillips, was his strong motivational voice. The program worked just fine on a female body (my body) except that it was too heavy on calories.This new women's version? It's lame. Apparently women need less science and diagrams.

If you know nothing about health and have never exercised and eat terribly, this book will be helpful
If you eat clean, exercise regularly this book is not for you, it’s a step backward, not forward. There better books available.

This book is okay, however it seems to misrepresent itself as it's almost a full departure from the actual Body-for-LIFE plan. I'd recommend Body-for-LIFE, Champions Body-for-LIFE, or Strength for Life over this book.

HOPE is what i'm learning from Body-For-Life For Women.

Good for beginners.

As a long-time health and fitness person, this book affirmed what I am already doing. The book is dated, it so much from a content view, but access. Apps and virtual programs have changed the scene.

You can read this review and others on my blog at http://awriterswife-bcray.blogspot.co...

I checked this book out from the library because I'd heard that the Body For Life books are really good, and I know that women have some fundamentally different obstacles when trying to loose weight and get in shape. I'm definitely not in as good of shape as I was in high school and college. Not that I want to get all the way back to that (or that I think I can even physically do that anymore), but I know my body could look a lot better. I've already been working out in a gym for several months and I see progress in my upper body (neck, shoulders, arms and pecs), but I definitely have some trouble spots that I'd really like to get rid of. So that is why I checked this out.

To be fair, I skimmed a lot of it. It's very wordy. I'm sure it helps sink some of the principles in, but I was mostly in it for the types of food to eat and the types of exercises that will help the most. She also breaks it down in to 4 stages of life. I'm kind of in the middle of Milestone 1 and 2 right now, so I'd read those and completely skip Milestones 3 and 4 because they don't apply to me right now. There is also some mental stuff in the book, but it didn't seem to have any specific ways to keep motivated...most of what you've already heard.

However, there are some nice tables that outline what foods fall into what categories and how much to eat of them. And then based on your activity level and body type how many servings of those you should eat. I think I'll have to write down some of this information before I give the book back because it will be great to reference.

The book also gives a table of how many calories are burned doing what types of cardio exercises based on your weight. What I liked is that it seems to be more specific to a woman, because at the gym, the elliptical told me I burned 180 calories in 20 minutes last week, but according to the book at my weight, I would have burned 220 calories in 20 minutes. I can only assume that is because the machine at the gym didn't take into account my gender and perhaps it didn't ask for my weight that day.

Also, I liked the Weight Removal Segment Checklist. I will have to create my own version of this to use. Because though I've been working in the gym for several months and dieting for about 4 weeks, I haven't seen any weight loss. I assume that it's based on my muscle mass gain, and of course muscle weighs more than fat. So this checklist is nice because it will measure more than just my scale weight so I can see other progress I'm making, so I don't get so discouraged when I step on a scale.

And of course, at the back of the book is an entire appendix of exercises and stretches. They all only use dumbells, but as long as I can find a machine at the gym that replicates the motion, then I'm good.

I'm going to read the regular Body for Life book as well, because I heard that the food plan is easier to follow that the one for Women. But overall I got a lot out of this book and hopefully it helps me get to my goal.

Great book - esp. for those of us dealing with changes on our bodies - unwelcome changes! Now if I could just progress from the reading to the DOING stage...

This book came out a decade ago, but the advice it contains is still on target. There's no question in my mind that it will work for anybody who follows it. I got it from the library to give me motivation to ramp up the intensity of my strength training and to stay away from wine and desserts. So far it's been helpful. There are useful charts and instructions and illustrations for various exercises with Dumbbells.

I like the concept of removing weight instead of losing it. It makes sense; when we lose something we usually try to find it again. I liked that this book talked about the way different life stages affect body weight. And I liked the way Peeke recognized that if you are not fit you need to start exercise gradually. I wish she saw the same thing with regards to poor eating habits. The diet seemed pretty strict, and too low calorie for an active overweight person like me.

I probably should stop reading diet books; they only motivate me while I'm actually reading them, and I never quite buy them once I put the book down.

The home exercises looked useful, except that many of them require an incline bench. I do believe that weight training is important for weight loss.

I do believe that this book would be useful for many people; it's just not for me.

I agree with all that Dr. Peeke suggests in this book and I am anxious to share this info with family. The one thing I had a hard time with was the flow and format of the text. She describes each hormonal milestone for each aspect of her formula "Mind, Mouth, Muscle" and so you go from one to the next and then back to the first again. I think I would have liked to have read one milestone in its entirety and then the next, instead of jumping back and forth (my brain has to work in simple orderly fashion). One of the things I took from this book is that I need to lift weights to build my muscle. I do a lot of cardio and I eat fairly well, but I need resistance training. The book offers meal plans with smart carbs and smart proteins in the back and it also outlines a daily exercise routine. With any challenge, I like to do them with other people. It keeps the motivation going and keeps me focused. So I suggest finding a group of women to set goals with and to do this 12 week Body for Life challenge if you are serious about weight loss and a healthy body! I really like that it is written for women with our hormonal milestones in mind. Great book, great resource.

More like 3.5 stars. The nutrition and exercise portions are nothing revolutionary. What I do like about this book:
1. It is written for women by a woman who has counseled numerous women through their journies.
2. It helps women find the true motivation behind the desire to get healthy. Not many other books really help you focus your mind to help you get through the challenges you will encounter.
3. There is a free website to help you complete your goal and give you motivation.
4. Photos and stories of successful completers are included.