The Goal Setting Process

Over the last several years, I have helped countless people maximize their overall health, performance, and body composition. Put bluntly, I know how to help people lose ugly, unwanted body fat faster than most people can fathom. Make no mistake about it, a big reason for this is that our rapid fat loss training and nutrition system is second to none. I have done the research and trial and error and I have had people as real world case studies to prove that our system flat out works. But, today I am going to share something more powerful; something that must be set in place before you can even start to think about following a fitness program.

What do you think is the real secret behind my clients’ success? If your answer was my aforementioned training and nutrition system, then your answer is wrong. Yes, it is an incredible program, but unfortunately it’s useless if someone is unwilling to start it AND stick to it. The most important component of changing your body is finding the motivation to achieve your goals, and that’s the main focus of this article. I am going to walk you through the initial consult and three step goal setting process that each one of my clients undergoes before they start working with us. This is so important to weight loss success that I require it for all new clients.

Step One - The Why: Why do you want to do this?

This is where it’s time to get real. In almost every initial consult I do, when I ask why they have contacted me today, the typical first response is, “Well, I just want to get healthy and lose weight I guess.”

Of course they want to lose weight and be healthy, I mean who doesn’t, but really WHY do they want to do this? I mean, what is it that’s going to get them up at 5 am to get their morning workouts in or take a couple of hours on Sunday to plan and prepare their meals for the upcoming week? It sure isn’t “being healthy” because for some reason this just isn’t a very powerful motivator for most people (though it should be).

So, after a little digging, I find out the real reason why they want to do this; I find their past or pain and then establish their current and future ambitions. Some people want to be able to mow the lawn in the summer with their shirt off and not feel self-conscious. Others want to get back into their favorite pair of pants that they haven’t been able to get one leg into for the last five years. Then there are those who want to look and feel more attractive to ignite some passion back into their relationships and/or put forth their best image at work. And of course, my personal favorite is preparing for big events that have built in deadlines. Whether it’s wanting to look amazing in your bathing suit on your dream vacation, fitting into your ideal wedding dress, or dressing to impress for an important work event, having an event related goal works. This is the stuff that gets people excited and ready to commit to making some real changes. How do I know? Well, I just shared with you verbatim the exact “WHY’S” of some of my own clients.

So, the first thing you have to figure out is your personal WHY. To make this even simpler for you, just answer this question: what are your physical dreams? Once you establish this, everything else is easy.


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

So we already figured out the obvious: you want to look and feel better. The next step is to set measurable goals. There are three major ways I track “look better” progress with my clients, 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 take your initial weight before you start and then not weigh yourself more often 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 weigh yourself the better. If the scale is just too de-motivating for you in general, then just skip this one, because the next two markers are far more important.

2.) Dress/Pant Size: This is probably the most simple and effective 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. I tell my clients to assess how they are fitting in their preferred dress/pant size on a weekly or bi-weekly basis since our clients that follow our program exactly as outlined typically lose a dress and/or pant size every month (until they get to their ideal dimensions). Imagine putting on the jeans you haven’t worn since college or the dress that has seemed out of reach for years. There’s nothing more powerful than being able to fit into your dream size.

3.) Digital Pictures: Pictures don’t lie. 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. The key is take pictures wearing exactly what you want to look your best in. 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 the bathing suit you want to wear this summer. If you want to see your abs, then you need to take pictures of your abs 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. Anyone that has undergone a physical transformation can tell you that they are thankful for having taken before pictures. Your before pictures will become your trophy and they 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 - 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?

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 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 workout or make their meals. It doesn’t matter how busy 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. 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. 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 great or drinking? The choice is yours. 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.

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 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 our clients encounter on a regular basis, the key is to be honest about them and to plan and prepare for them. 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 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 friends and family. 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.

Joshua Mandel

Cranford New Jersey Personal Trainer

New Jersey Boot Camps

www.NewJerseyBootCamps.com

Important Announcement

I know this is a fitness based blog but there is something I need to share with you. As many of you know, I am a distributor of a company called Advocare. Besides the world class nutritional products, scientific and medical board and sports advisory council, there is a tremendous income opportunity as well.

Here's what I want you to do:

Go to https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/413100687 and register. It's free. Do it as soon as possible because the call is tonight at 9:38 est. It will only be about twenty minutes. Advocare may or may not be for you but at least you'll be able to make an educated decision.

If you have any disgust in your life financially or health wise, do you and your family a favor. Watch the live presentation. Here's the web address again:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/413100687.

Feel free to contact me as soon as the call is over. If you miss the call and want more information, call 908-418-1829.

Have a great start to the week!

Joshua Mandel

Cranford New Jersey Personal Trainer
Cranford New Jersey Boot Camps

Chicken Balsamico Recipe

Here's what you'll need:

1 tbs of olive oil
1 onion chopped
4 chicken breasts
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1.5 cups of lower sodium chicken stock
.5 cup of balsamic vinegar
.5 cup of sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

Garlic Spinach
5 cups of spinach
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp of olive oil
Ground pepper

Directions for the chicken:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and reduce heat to low. Allow the onion to carmelize, stirring only enough to prevent sticking. Add garlic and saute briefly.
3. Increase heat to medium. Add chicken to skillet and brown on both sides. Remove chicken, onion and garlic and place in a 9x13 dish.
4. Combine stock and vinegar. Deglaze skillet with this mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to simmer stirring occasionally until thickened. Pour over chicken and stir in sun-dried tomatoes. Cover dish and bake 15- 20 minutes.
5. Enjoy.

Directions for Spinach:
1. Heat oil over medium heat.
2. After 1 minute of heating, pour in the garlic. Stir for about 1 minute.
3. Add the spinach, stirring until it cooks down.
4. Enjoy.

Here's what it looks like when it's done.

I'd love to know what you think. Feel free to leave a comment. Rachael made this last night and it was great!

Joshua Mandel

New Jersey Boot Camps
Cranford New Jersey Personal Training