Creating Conditions For Fat Loss Success

Not Exactly Prince Charming Eh?

I remember the moment I met my wife like it was just yesterday. It was a warm, prairie summer evening. Having just finished playing a couple of hours of backyard volleyball, my friends and I all sat down on the deck to enjoy some cold beer. This group of friends was particularly close. For the most part, we’d grown up together, gone through high school together and stayed together as we all entered into the work world. Yet that day there was a new face in the crowd.

My best friend and his girlfriend (now wife) invited a woman from work to join us for an evening at a nightclub. She had just moved from out of town to start a new job and knew no one…didn’t even have family in the area.

As the beer was being passed out, I took a seat behind the new girl. Someone handed her a beer and as she struggled to twist off the cap, I literally jumped out of my chair to open it for her. I know. Not exactly Prince Charming slaying the dragon to save the Princess. But that one moment was the beginning of a fifteen year love affair, producing thousands of wonderful memories and one very special daughter.

So what does this have to do with fat loss you ask?

When you think about it, a lot of things had to happen for me to meet my wife that night:

• She had to get a job thousands of miles from home.
• She had to work at the same company as my friends.
• My friend had to think to invite her.
• She had to agree to “tag along”.
• She had to get a beer with a stubborn cap. (I shudder to think what my life would be like today if she had chosen another drink.
• )
• We both had to be single and open to a new relationship.
• And on and on…

In other words, the conditions had to be just right.

The Conditions of Fat Loss

Wind and rain on their own can be completely harmless. But given the right conditions, they can combine to create one of earth’s most destructive forces…a hurricane. In the same way, opening a beer bottle for a lady, while polite, often leads to nothing more than pleasant conversation…maybe a phone number…but rarely marriage.

Is the same not true for fat loss?

Whether it’s Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, PX90, Body For Life or any of the thousands of other fitness and weight loss programs available, someone has succeeded using it. There really is more than one way to skim the fat, so to speak.

Once you get past the weight loss program however, you’ll find that certain conditions make weight loss success more likely, regardless of which diet or fitness program you follow.

Creating The Conditions For Fat Loss Success

Here then are the most important elements of fat loss success. On their own, they lack the power to see you through to the accomplishment of your goals. But put them together and magic happens.

A Strong Reason “Why?”

I’ve talked about the importance of uncovering all of the reasons why losing fat is important to you before. What it boils down to is if your reasons for doing something are strong enough, you’ll run through a brick wall to reach your goals. If your reasons for losing weight are just to look better, feel better or be healthier, you’re doomed. When tough times hit, you’ll need more than “I want to feel better” to keep you going. You may find this article helpful with your weight loss motivation.

A Support System

Regardless of why you want to lose fat, the bottom line is you must do it for your reasons…not someone else’s. With that said, having a support network can prove invaluable. Whether it’s a close friend, an online forum or a weekly meeting, you should have someone you can turn to for advice, support and maybe even a shoulder to cry on from time to time. You may notice I didn’t mention a spouse or significant other. Often, the person closest to you is the worst person to provide support. Sometimes it has to do with jealousy. Other times it has to do with them not believing you’re serious or that you can actually achieve your goals. Regardless of the reasons why, you should seek out some outside support for your weight loss efforts.

A Belief That You Can Do It

It’s simple. If you don’t believe you can reach your weight loss goals, all the support in the world won’t help. Even if you really want to lose weight, you must feel at the core of your being that it’s possible. So start by writing down your goal and then ask yourself “Do I really feel like I can do it?” If that little voice inside you says “NO”, then adjust your goal. Ideally, your goal should excite and challenge you, but you still need to believe it’s possible…not easy…but possible.

An Action Plan

Planning is critically important to your weight loss success.

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

• Plan what time you’ll workout.
• Plan which exercises you’ll do and how many repetitions of each exercise to perform.
• Plan what time you’ll need to go to bed.
• Plan what you’ll eat ahead of time.
• Plan what how you’ll deal with extraordianry situations.

Creating a plan ahead of time keeps you from suffering paralysis from analysis once you begin your fat loss program.

Given the right conditions, rain and wind combine to create a hurricane. A warm summer night and a stubborn beer bottle cap combine to create a loving marriage. What can you achieve given the right conditions? Who can tell until you take action. When you do find out, I’d love to hear about it.