Achieving a Successful Body Transformation: Part 2

In the first article of this series, I talked about taking responsibility, the power of choice and how you need to stop over-thinking if you want to be truly successful with your fat loss. Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop there. There are a few more important strategies and tips that you’ll need to incorporate into your life as well.

In this article I’m going to get you all set up for success. These points are just as crucial as the points in Part 1, in my opinion. So if you haven’t read Part 1 of this series yet, I highly recommend you do so before reading this article.

Set Your Goals

I think having goals are important, but just writing a bunch of goals down on a piece of paper isn’t going to make them happen. The first thing you have to do is be specific. Set a specific date that you want to reach your goals by. This is the time of year my phone is ringing off the hook for phone consultations because the snow is starting to melt and people realize summer is just around the corner. Your goal could be to lose 15 pounds of fat by May 10, 2008. Like I said, be specific.

You must be able to answer the question of why these are your goals and why they are important for you to complete. The more significant your ‘why’ the better chance you have of sticking to those goals and getting the results you are looking for. For example, your reason to lose 15 pounds of fat might be because your friend is starting a program. That’s not going to be as powerful to you as wanting to lose the 15 pounds of fat for a vacation or to decrease your risk of diabetes.

If your ‘why’ is about you, there is a greater urgency and focus to get the results you want. You won’t let minor temptations affect your progress. Everybody’s reasons will be different, and they will all have different levels of importance. That was just one example. I know people who have an amazingly high motivation because their goal is to fit into a lower size pair of jeans they just bought.

Don’t Forget to Set Boundaries Too

Now that you have a set of goals, you have to realistically sit down and figure out what choices you are currently making in your life that are going to hold you back from reaching your goals. This is another reason my phone is off the hook. To help people set their boundaries or rules. You are going to have to make a few different types of lists, too.

Usually it’s a work list, a home list and a social list. Maybe your work list will say to only drink one cup of coffee a day. You might write on your home list to only watch one hour of television a night. Your social list might say to only have one drink when you go out to dinner with your friends.

Every choice you make should bring you closer to reaching your goals. That’s why you set them in the first place. It doesn’t really make a lot of sense to set a bunch of goals and then do things that won’t help you reach them. So set some solid boundaries for yourself.

Keep Them Fresh

After you have all your goals and your boundaries written down you have to keep them fresh in your mind. If you just write your goals out and then put them in a folder where you won’t see them, your focus won’t be where it needs to be. Keep a list of your goals in your wallet, on your fridge or taped above your bed. Read your goals every morning when you wake up and every night before you go to bed. Make sure they are always fresh in your mind, so when you’re making decisions, you’ll know how those decisions will affect your goals.

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one day at a time

Turn yourself into a new person each day. Say to yourself that for 24 hours all of the choices you make will bring you closer to your goals. After you’re successful for a day, then choose to spend the next 24 hours making the same choices. If you falter, then let it go immediately and get back on track. I’ve found this method to work extremely well with clients and it very well could bring you to your goals faster than you think.