Real Life Real Faith July Issue | Page 23

When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continue effort required to reach your goals. Ask questions like how much and how many? Actionable, it’s pretty self-explanatory! No goal will ever be reached without ACTION!!!! Even action in the wrong direction is still action none the less. You working out one time per week, is better than zero times per week. Your goal will always require ACTION. Realistic, a goal must represent on objective toward which you are both willing and able to work. Most people set goals too high. If the end result is to lose fifty pounds, think about getting really good at losing one pound per week. Once you get really good at losing one pound per week, you can than decide to take it up a notch and lose a few more pounds that week. Time bound, is what your goal is grounded with. With no time frame in tied to your goal, there is no sense in urgency. If you want to lose fifty pounds, when do you want to lose it by? “Someday” won’t work! But if you anchor it with a timeframe, “by July 4th”, then you have set your unconscious mind into motion to being working on your goal.

Make mobility a priority.

Tone it down in the weight room on your first trip back to the gym. If you go all out with heavy weights, and for the next four days it hurts to laugh, cough, sneeze, turn, walk, sit, run, sleep and breathe; this will detour you from the gym once again. Jump start your first few days back, focusing on flexibility and mobility instead. You will not only feel better but because you have increase the range of motion in your joints you will ultimately burn more calories and have a much better workout.

Eliminate all obstacles.

Obstacles come in all shapes and sizes. There is no need to dive into this program with two time a day workout programs that are designed to leave you in a puddle of sweat after just five minutes. Consistency beats intensity. If you can consistently work out or be active even just fifteen minutes a day every day, that will keep you from falling off the trail. Research shows that just missing one workout increases the odds of you missing another workout by 61%.

Get a workout partner.

When it comes to staying on the path of your dream body, showing up is important. However, what if you don’t show up? If you make the commitment to workout with yourself, and yourself doesn’t show up, who is going to keep yourself accountable? This is why you need a friend or a group of friends to hit the gym with and share your goals with. Accountability, or lack thereof is one of the primary reasons people quit on their goals. You are 88% more likely to achieve your goals, if you have someone keeping you accountable and helping you along the way.

Get structure and a plan.

This is so often over looked and when done so, is completely detrimental to your success. Everyone these days has a GPS to take them places they have never been before right? Well if you have never lost fifty pounds before, don’t you think it would be important to have a structured plan of doing so? Losing any type of weight or attaining any type of goal, is impossible without a plan. The plan will serve as bench posts or the foundation for your success.

Most people think that achieving weight loss success is just for a select few; however, I am here to tell you that success can be yours. All you have to do is apply these 5 basic steps and TAKE ACTION.