How serious are you about improving your health and ultimately making a lasting lifestyle change? I would like you to think carefully about your answer and to write down what your ultimate goal is for yourself. Break that ultimate goal into smaller goals. A timeline should be included in this process. It is clear that we all want to bring about changes in our life to lose weight. But when it comes down to it, it is easy to crumble when things start becoming difficult. Our excuses can easily overpower our quest. I am a personal trainer, and my clients evaluate their answers the following questions, in order to judge how ready they are to make their weight-loss changes:

What are you looking to achieve?

This might seem like a silly question to ask someone. Obviously you are looking to get into better shape. However, this is actually too vague of an answer. You must break this answer down into more fine details, to remain more focused on your goal. For example, I want to lose 10 pounds in the next two months in order to look good in a bathing suit for my upcoming cruise. This allows the person to have something more to work towards, instead of just getting in better shape. I have found that being more specific with your ultimate goal, leads to greater motivation. Clearly motivation is one of the number 1 factors in trying to make lifestyle changes.

What is holding you back from your goals?

A lot of the recurring themes are lack of time, family commitments, work and other social events. After the more obvious answers, come some that have people scratching their heads. People will be surprised at what they write. Common examples include: watching television for three hours when you get home from work,  spending your day off  from work roaming through facebook looking at your friend’s latest picture updates. Perhaps it could just be a matter of poor time management that ultimately gets in the way of your weight loss strategies.

Are you willing to sacrifice, to reach your goals?

How much are you willing to sacrifice in order to reach your goals? Many of the goals that you have set for yourself will not be easy to attain without some degree of sacrifice on your part. Is your main goal fat loss? If so, are you willing to exercise regularly and follow your chosen healthy eating plan? It is very easy to make excuses as to why you can’t achieve your goals. Although, it usually comes down to the fact that you were not able to make the necessary sacrifices.

Are you willing to sometimes give up your big Friday night out with your friends in order to stay home and cook that healthy dinner? Would you rather sit in front of the television to watch your favourite sitcom than go and take a walk? These are questions only you can answer.

What is your Plan of Attack?

The final question you must ask yourself is what you are going to do, in order to reach your destiny. It is crucial to lay out, in fine detail, how you are going to achieve your goals. What type of meal plan will you follow? What training program will work best with your current lifestyle? These are all factors you must consider before making that decision to live a healthier lifestyle. I promise you will not be successful if you do not take time to plan out how you will reach your goals. Remember that Failing To Plan is Planning To Fail.

Final Thoughts

Honestly answer these questions. You should be able to tell by your answers if you are ready to take that leap and change your life around. You must be as committed and willing as possible to reach your goals. Your body and fitness level will not change with luck. Your healthy lifestyle changes will be a result of discipline and an undeniable desire to be a better You!