Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Turning Resolutions into Results Continued...

Step Two - The What and When: What do you want to accomplish and when do you want to accomplish it by?

Last day we figured out the "Why": you want to look better and maximize your sexy! (that's motivating isn't it?) Now from this we need to establish what objective goal(s) need to be met so this resolution goes from fantasy to real world results.

There are three major ways you can track “look better” progress and these are ones I use with my clients, in order of importance from least to most important:

1.) Scale Weight: Although the least important of the three, albeit it does give us a number that’s worth tracking. Though body fat percentage through skinfold measurements (what I use with my clients) would be a much better method of tracking progress, it is not possible to do it by yourself and other forms of body fat measuring such as DEXA scans, althought not expensive, do have a cost associated with them. The key is to taking your initial weight before you start and then not weighing more than every 2 weeks. However you may find it better with tracking your 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 if you must, because the next two markers are far more important.

2.) Dress/Pant Size: Simple but profound. Would it be safe to say that if you are dropping dress and/or pant sizes that you will be looking better, right? Want to know a good motivator? Select one dress or one pair of pants that you really want to get and keep it out in view and once a week or once every two weeks try it on, as this is the goal in mind. I encourage my clients to assess how they are fitting in their clothes and whether they are feeling looser and their bodies are feeling tighter. If you are following the right program it is not atypical to lose a dress and/or pant size every month (until you get to your ideal dimensions). Check out what results others are getting at http://www.makersbody.citymax.com/testimonials.html. It's powerful to literally be able to feel yourself comfortably get into clothes that use almost rip when you put on!

3.) Digital Pictures: As much as people don't like this, pictures don’t lie, that’s the bottom line. If you want to look better, what better way is there to assess this than pictures? I cannot begin to tell you how important this is. 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. What you may want to do is take pictures wearing exactly what you want to look your best in. What a powerful motivator! Maybe it’s taking pictures of you in the dress or pair of pants that you are using to track your dress or pant size. Or 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 and a flat stomach, then you best believe that you need to take pictures of your stomach 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. I assuming most clients don't like the picture part (from their slight complaining) however once their body transforms into what they desire, they'll be sure glad those pictures were taken. Your before pictures will become your trophy and they are an absolute must if you really are serious about getting results that count. You may want to take new pictures either bi-weekly or monthly until you reach your goal(s).

Step Three - Planning and Preparing for Roadblocks: What are the big obstacles that will prevent you from having the success you desire? What’s contributed most to past failures?

We've discovered what you want to accomplish and why, now 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 that most people will say is, "I'm just too busy and tired and don’t have enough time to workout or make meals." Does that sound like you? If you're honest with yourself you'll agree that there is always hidden time throughout the day and week that can be freed up if you 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. What I like to tell clients is make your workouts and your meal times just like work appointments. 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.

Another big obstacle is alcohol. Sorry it had to be brought up. 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 your best or having that extra beer or glass of wine? The choice is yours. Of course I'm not saying you have to avoid alcohol altogether but it would be a good idea until you achieve your goal(s). Remember, once you achieve your goal(s), alcohol can be added back in with moderation. Low to zero alcohol consumption is needed if you want to look your best year round and that’s a fact.

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 strikes and you can 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 individual or if they fall in line with the general roadblocks clients encounter on a regular basis, 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. Clients that have the most success have undergone their transformation with the support of other friends or family members. Support is so crucial, as it's too easy to rationalize a food or drink to yourself. Also, most of the poor food and drinking choices that sabotage one’s progress occur on the weekend, when most people hang out with their friend and family. If they (your support team) 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. The last thing anybody needs is sabotage or peer pressure from those closest to you, so get them on board and get them on board early.

Resurrect your body back to life!

Tyron

PPS- Grab a FREE 1-week trial to Resurrect Your Body Boot Camp and turn those resolutions into real world results...that last!

http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com
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