But the truth is Dr. Life is the real deal. At age 75, he has a chiseled body and rippling six-pack abs that would be the envy of any 30-year old. So what's his secret? In his new book — "The Life Plan Diet" — he details how he transformed himself from an overweight 59-year-old borderline diabetic with high cholesterol levels and a low sex drive into the picture-perfect image of health.

 

In an interview with Newsmax Health, he says his experience provides a prescription for getting fit at any age and turning back the clock – beginning with getting rid of life-threatening belly fat.

 
"It's the most important to get rid of and it’s the hardest to get rid of," he says of abdominal fat. "And it's important because it's really the root cause of all these bad diseases we are experiencing – heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, Type 2 diabetes. All the bad things that kill Americans."

 

 

 

Dr. Life notes there are no exercises that specifically eliminate belly fat; sit-ups and crunches will do little to melt away that flabby spare tire. But daily exercises – including fat-burning cardio workouts and strength training – combined with a healthy diet will lead to an overall loss of weight, which in turn will melt away abdominal fat.

 

"You can't actually target belly fat, but you need to start on clean eating and exercising right and then as you start losing body fat, your abdominal fat or visceral fat or belly fat – it's all the same thing – is the last to go," he says. "[So] ultimately, as you continue to drop weight – body fat – you will get rid of your gut. And that's what my book's all about – that's what my life has been about for the last 15 years."

 

Dr. Life's book outlines four specific diet plans that are safe and effective for shedding pounds at any age. The first is what he describes as a "jump-start" diet that primes the body for weight loss, involving 36 hours of fasting "to really get things moving." Then, individuals who follow his plan chose one of the three other diets he prescribes:

Dr. Life also prescribes testosterone therapy for many of his male patients as a way to maintain health and a healthy weight. Although recent studies have raised questions about potential links between low-T therapy and heart disease, he argues hormone therapy is safe and effective, when prescribed and monitored by an experienced doctor.

 

"Men should not be worried about [low-T therapy risks]," he says. "Fifty to 100 studies …have shown men at lowest levels of testosterone are at risk for heart disease, and prostate cancer … If you're followed carefully by a doctor that knows how to do this, testosterone replacement therapy is not only safe, but it's the right thing to do."

 

Dr. Life explains that hormone levels declines very slowly in men as they age, which can lead to weight gain and a host of other problems.

 

"It creeps into a man's life. He doesn't even know five, six, seven, eight years into it," he says. "And he knows he doesn't feel like he used to, he's having trouble getting rid of belly fat, he's losing muscle mass even though he's going to gym, and he lacks energy, and he's losing his edge. He's losing his mojo and he doesn't know why."

 

But within weeks of taking testosterone supplements, he says most of his patients experience a dramatic turn around. He also believes low-T injections are better than creams, gels, patches, or deodorants, which are less controlled and can lead to complications.

 

"I'm a big believer in the injectable form," he says. "That can be done once a week and that results in a much better steady state levels of hormones – of testosterone – in your body without the rise in falls and it just does a much better job."