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 Of all the seasonal motivators to get into shape, nothing strikes fear in the hearts of people more than the thought of getting back into a swimsuit.  A quick glance in the mirror getting out of the shower and the mind can race into calculations of how many weeks before we’ll be shedding winter clothes.  If you throw a towel over the mirror and wait too long, you may find yourself frowning behind a beach wrap or wearing a tee shirt all summer.  Speaking of calculations, that’s a great place to start with our plan!    Figure out how many pounds you would like to lose by a certain date.  A client of mine just set a goal to lose fifteen pounds by the actual first day of summer. If you can break that down to a reasonable amount per week, you now have a short-term goal to meet each week.  Just like a sales quota, it’s very tough to meet big, long-term goals without being able to bite off a chunk at a time.  

Once you know how many pounds you’ll need to lose each week, it’s time to create the best dieting strategy.  I always recommend being specific and I help people assess their individual needs not only calorically, but by going a step further to grams of protein, carbohydrates, and fat.  The main reason is that your body needs a certain amount of each in order to function properly and reach those goals easily.  A random guess or haphazard approach makes it too likely to see inconsistency in the results.  Genetically, we can be far enough away from any “norm” that one diet approach is a disaster while another may be perfect.  The more experience you get under your belt, the easier it becomes to learn the best dieting approach for your body and even for your likes and dislikes regarding food.  However you set up your diet, you now have a goal amount to lose each week and you have a written game plan to achieve it.  These first two steps set you up to succeed.

Knowing your body well begins with your first diet – record what you do, track progress, and make notes. This is the step that bridges the first two and the second two steps.  You have your goals and your plan; now you need to make sure you’re on target each day.  Even in my own life – though a pro bodybuilder and someone who works as a nutritional consultant with clients every day – I wouldn’t lose body fat when I want to very effectively at all without tracking. Study after study confirms this is a common denominator – perhaps the greatest – for success. You’ll actually like seeing the objectivity and dare I say even have fun comparing statistics week to week. Ultimately it is this that gives you control and understanding both of nutrition and your own metabolism. It takes reading labels, maybe having a food count book, a kitchen scale, and a little time preparing and calculating macronutrients, but the alternative is failure. It really is. If you don’t learn what is in foods you could be choosing, you’re a slave to repeat mistakes and wonder why you’re not seeing the finish line.  I’ve never met a dieter who couldn’t lose weight – just some who don’t want to make the effort up front that could guarantee them a happy ending.

The last two steps involve the execution of your plan.  The practical side of both nutrition and exercise has to be made easy.  I’m a big fan of seeing people incorporate variety. If you think you have to eat the same thing every day for the same meals, you’re doomed to fail. As soon as you can’t get that particular food or you get bored, the house of cards will fall. Instead, allow yourself the freedom to eat different foods by exchanging one like-item for another and if you’re moving grams of protein, carbs, or fat around your day, so be it. It’s like a budget. Stay in tune to the bottom line, be reasonable making your meals fit your day, and you’ll love the ability you have to control your food – and your results! Here’s the practical side: you have to have the foods you need ready to go. That means having fruits and vegetables cleaned and cut up in the refrigerator, lean protein sources perhaps bulk-cooked ahead of time, and having items like this in your office or ready to take with you anywhere you go. It also means handling restaurant situations; knowing how to get what you want specialized to meet your dieting needs. You may need to find a favorite high-protein snack bar or shake for times where convenience is a factor. Over a hundred years has passed since the founding of the Boy Scouts and they still have it right: be prepared.

The last step is being consistent with your exercise plan. You can be ultra-sophisticated and create a program that covers every physical aspect – I’m sure eDiet Chief Fitness Pro, Raphael Calzadilla, can help you there, or you can make it very simple.  It’s the consistency in expending more calories and all the good side effects of better health that matter in this sprint to the summer season.  If you map out these five steps and you meet those weekly goals, you’re going to be smiling all summer long!

Dr. Joe is the founder of The Diet Doc and has written in the fitness industry for over a decade.  His newest book (www.thedietdocs.com) is taking aim at permanent weight loss while he continues to work with clients every day via his unique online programs (www.thedietdoc.com) and fitness, figure, and bodybuilding competitors of all levels (www.perfectpeaking.com).