Step Two- The What and When: What do you want to achieve and when do you want to achieve it by?So we already figured out the obvious: you want to look better, be desirable and feel healthy! So, now we need to establish what objective goal(s) need to be accomplished in order to realize this personal dream.
Well, from a logistics standpoint and keeping things as cost effective as possible, there are three popular ways to track your “look better” progress, in order of importance from least to most important:
1.) Scale Weight: This is by far the least important goal, but it gives a number that’s worth tracking. Though body fat percentage would be a much better method of tracking progress, it is simply too inaccurate on a small scale and too costly on a large scale. The key is to taking your initial weight before you start and then not weighing more than every 2 weeks. I have found most people to do better with tracking their weight every month. There are simply too many variables for controlling your body weight and the natural fluctuations based on diet (and for women, their menstrual cycle), means the less frequently you do this the better. If the scale is just too de-motivating for you in general, then just skip this one altogether. The 3 little numbers on the scale are not that critical…the following two markers are far more important.
2.) Dress/Pant Size: This is probably the most simple and effective unused method of tracking whether or not you look better. I think it’s safe to say that if you are dropping dress and/or pant sizes that you will be looking better, right? Your best bet is to also select one dress or one pair of pants that you really want to get into since that is the true end goal in mind. I tell my clients to assess how they are fitting in their preferred dress/pant size tracker on a weekly or bi-weekly basis as clients follow our training program. Be sure to stick with this piece of clothing, so you are not confused by different manufacturers and their size variations. There’s nothing more empowering than to feel yourself fit better and better into your favorite clothing.
3.) Digital Pictures: Pictures don’t lie, that’s the bottom line. If you want the truth, what better way than pictures? This is of overriding importance. Taking a before picture is essentially you telling the whole world that you are ready to change and that you are ready to do whatever it takes to make those changes. The key is take pictures wearing exactly what you want to look your best in. Maybe the jeans you’re trying to fit into, maybe it’s a sleeveless shirt and tank top that you want to wear during the summer. And if you want to see your abs, then you best believe that you need to take pictures of your midsection to track how much more definition you get. Take a front, side, and rear view picture and be sure to note the exact conditions in which the picture was taken (lighting, distance from camera, time of day/week, etc.) to be as accurate as possible in your assessment. These “before” pictures will become your trophy shots of your past life and are an absolute must if you really are serious about getting results that count. We tell our clients to take new pictures either bi-weekly or monthly until they reach their goal(s).
Step Three- Plan and prepare for roadblocks: What are the big obstacles that will prevent you from having the success you desire? What has contributed most to past failures? Now that we know what you want to accomplish, it’s time to plan and prepare for any obstacles that might get in your way of getting the job done based on your own personal schedule.
In general, the number one thing I hear is that people are too busy and tired and don’t have enough time to get their workouts in or make healthy, nutrition friendly meals.
Well, I don’t care how busy you think you are, there is always hidden time throughout the day and week that can be freed up if your re-prioritize. Again, think back to why you wanted to do this in the first place and then examine what’s most important to you. Make your workouts and your meal times just like work appointments, non-negotiable deadlines. Either you make the appointment or you don’t. And if you want to keep your job (or get your dream body) then you better make that appointment. One more thing for you on being busy. You don’t need any special whiz-bang fitness gimmicks. You’ve got everything you need built right in…your bodyweight. There are amazingly effective bodyweight workouts that could take only a few minutes a day to complete. Problem solved.
Another big obstacle is alcohol. People like to drink and unfortunately alcohol is about as detrimental to burning fat as it gets. Again, what’s more important to you, looking sexy or getting hammered? The choice is yours. Remember, once you achieve your goal(s), alcohol can be added back in with moderation. But understand something, low to zero alcohol consumption is needed if you want to look your best year round and that’s a fact. Don’t give me that garbage about having just one-drink-a-day. Quit sabotaging yourself and grab your water bottle.
Lastly, many people deal with boredom eating or emotional eating. Boredom eating means just that, eating to fill up dead time when you have nothing better to do. The best way to deal with this is, you guessed it, to do something! Find an active hobby to keep your mind off of eating when boredom takes over and you can easily beat this trend. Emotional eating describes the use of food to cope with stress or to reward for accomplishment. Food is not unlike drugs or alcohol in this regard, it can be very addictive. There is no quick fix for emotional eating other than avoiding trigger situations (bars, parties, etc.) and trigger foods (starches, sugars, fast food, etc.) in the short term to break bad habits.
At the end of the day, whether your roadblocks are very unique to you or fall within the realms of what I see everyday with my training clients, the key is to be honest about them and to plan and prepare for them. And that’s where social support and accountability come into play. The clients who have had the most success with us have undergone their transformation with the support of other friends or family members. This is so critical, especially since most of the poor food and drinking choices that sabotage one’s progress occur on the weekend, when most people hang out with their loved ones. If they are committed with you and your goal to get fit and look better, you can put yourself in a much better position to realize the success you desire and deserve.
So what is your what/when/plan/prepare thoughts?
Post them here and let's help get you on track for 2009!
Keep healthy,
Curtis
Arizona Fitness Boot Camp
