Don’t Dream it, Do it—Be committed!

Joining the Challenge is just the first, small step toward the new you. Now you must make the decision to do it,
not just dream about doing it. The real difference between a dream and
a decision is simple: commitment. A dream is based on wishes; things
that you hope will occur. A decision is the initial step in an active pursuit of something you truly want. A solid decision leads to commitment; commitment leads to success.

Throw the scale away! (Not really, just set it aside)

The bathroom scale is a liar! It will fool you into thinking that you
are making little to no progress. Frequent weight-checks on the scale
usually leads to one thing: frustration. You see, the scale will only
tell you one thing… how much you weigh at any given time. Your
overall body weight can fluctuate throughout the day due to fluids and
foods in your body. You are shooting for real change in your overall body composition and health, not a number on a scale. By the way… get a body composition assessment! It’s the best way to gauge your true progress.

Expect to stall out slightly.

During your program, you may experience a period where nothing seems to
be happening. Don’t be alarmed! Remember that you are replacing fat
weight with healthy, lean muscle! Although your scale weight may not
show it, you’re probably experiencing substantial progress in your body
composition. Women in particular may notice the most dramatic changes
occurring after week seven. Again, the best way to determine your
progress is through body composition assessments and how your clothes
fit.

Stick with the basics—it’s not rocket science!

Read Body-for-LIFE
by Bill Phillips, cover-to-cover, and then follow the program exactly.
These training and nutrition principles have been time-tested by
countless fitness enthusiasts and Challenge Champions with astounding
results. The "before" and "after" pictures and testimonies are proof
positive.

Set specific, realistic, attainable goals.
Gauging
progress is much easier when you know exactly what you are trying to
accomplish. Set goals that are specific, realistic and attainable. It
may help to identify long and short-term goals. The long-term goal
would be exactly what you want to accomplish by the end of the 12
weeks. Short-term goals could be weekly, bi-weekly or monthly
checkpoints for evaluating your progress. For example, let’s say your
long-term goal is to drop 24 pounds of body fat. Your short-term goals
may be to finish each week without deviating from the Program, check
scale weight every two weeks, and get new pictures and a body
composition assessment each month.

Share your decision with others.

Tell everyone you know that you have joined the Body-for-LIFE Challenge.
Tell them your goals and your start and finish dates. There’s nothing
like a little healthy peer-pressure to help you stay focused and
motivated!

Keep records and refer to them often.

Download and print off the Daily Progress Reports.
These are excellent tools that will help you to track all 84 days of
your weight training, cardio and nutritional programs. They are
indispensable for trouble-shooting your progress and for verifying how
far you’ve advanced at any point of your program. They are also very
helpful for reference when you are seeking advice from one of our
Fitness Advisors. Have them nearby if you call us for guidance on your
progress.

Eliminate obstacles.
Pre-plan your way around known
obstacles to increase your chances of success. Learn to say "no"
(respectfully) more often to those who drain your time each day. Be
willing to train early or late in the day around your responsibilities.
If food temptations are too great, eliminate un-authorized foods from
your pantry! Eliminate the need/desire to consume fast foods by cooking
volumes of food such as chicken breasts and rice and storing them in
containers. Two or three microwaveable containers with a chicken
breast, rice and a vegetable are portable, convenient and "Authorized".

Use your "Free Day" …but not too freely!

As Porter Freeman says, "It’s your Free Day; you’re free not to use
it." In other words, the Free Day is there for you if you need it,
however, it is not required that you take it. It’s a personal choice.
The Free Day does have its benefits. For one thing it is useful as a
reward systemit’s something to look forward to and helps eliminate food
cravings.