Have you wondered why so many people give up so easily when it comes to keeping fit and eating right? After all, there is no lack of diet and fitness programs out there. But maybe they focus too much on food lists and workout regimes.

Bill Phillips, the creator of Body For Life, recognises the true importance of changing your mindset first, before attempting to change your diet or start working out. He believes that transformation starts with honest reflection first, and not with the latest fitness fad or gadget. In his book about the Body For Life program, he challenges you to change the way you think first, before changing your nutrition or exercise habits.

Initially, Bill sits you down for a 'heart to heart talk'. He asks you, 'Have you made the decision to change?' If you truly have made the decision, he then asks you what your reasons are for deciding to change. Do you want to live long enough to see your grandchildren running around the park? Do you want to climb a set of stairs without running out of breath? Or do you want to fit into that sexy bikini for your holiday in three months' time? Once you've got in touch with your reasons, you're much more likely to be successful.

Once you've written down your reasons for wanting to change your life, you need to ask yourself specifically what five things you want to see happen over the next 12 weeks. You need to be more precise than 'lose weight'. You should specify exactly how many pounds of fat you want to lose or what dress size you want to be. Writing them down serves to reinforce them in your mind. Don't shove your list into the back of a drawer, go over it again every morning and night to remind yourself what you're working towards.

It's also important to identify negative habits that will hold you back. For example, if you're used to eating fast food instead of cooking for yourself, you're going to need to replace that habit with another one - such as preparing your own meals.

Once you've written down your reasons why, established your goals and reviewed your habits, then you're ready to go onto the exercise and nutrition part of the book.

Body For Life Makes Your Metabolism Faster

The key to a fast metabolism is increasing your muscle tone. Muscle burns calories even at rest. Increased lean body mass is only achieved through weight-training, so don't just concentrate on cardio exercise in your fat loss efforts.

The Body For Life Fitness Program advocates 6 workouts per week with one day off. It's not about spending hours in the gym doing long, boring, low intensity workouts. With each workout you're challenging yourself and making the most of your time.

The weight-lifting workouts are recommended to last 45 minutes, and the cardio sessions are kept to 20 minutes. You're only doing 20 minutes of cardio because you're working at high intensity, using the intervals training method. This is where you push yourself to work your heart at a certain level for a short period of time, then you ease off, before repeating this cycle for the 20 minutes.

The Body For Life Nutrition Plan

Rather than three square meals a day, on Body For Life you have 5 - 6 small meals a day. This means that you never go for longer than 3 hours without eating. Your metabolism is boosted because your body is kept busy processing all this regular food. At every meal you have protein and carbohydrates, and make sure that your portions aren't too big.

To keep your body functioning optimally, you need to drink at least 2 litres of water a day.

You're even permitted to eat whatever you want one day of the week. Chocolate, pizza, ice-cream are no longer off-limits! As long as you stick to the eating plan for the rest of the week, your metabolism will benefit from this weekly shock.

If you're looking for much more than a simple diet and exercise plan, then Bill Phillips certainly comes up with the goods. The program is easy enough to follow, and some have found it life-changing.