It’s that time of year where you’re either regretting over indulging on too many gelatos on holiday or you’re anxiously thinking about the office Christmas party and getting into that party outfit.  Whatever the reason September, second next to January, is another time of year where most people embark on a fat loss diet and exercise regime to get themselves back into shape.  Here are my top 5 tips for making sure you get the most out of it!

 1. Keep a food diary

Trying to recall stuff from memory at the end of the day or when quizzed by a friend or family members you’re guaranteed to embellish on how good you’ve been that day or worse still forget all the bits here & there that you ate throughout the day.  This can be DISASTEROUS when you’re trying to drop dress sizes as all those little bits still add up!  The only sure fire way to make sure you know exactly what and how much you’re eating is to keep a food diary.  It doesn’t need to be anything fancy (however we have templates for all Fearless Female Bootcamp Members to make it nice & easy!) even just a little notebook in your bag listing everything you eat and drink will do the job!  Then make sure you fill it in after every meal or snack that way you won’t forget all those little bits throughout the day!

2. Take before & after pictures

This is the bit that EVERYBODY hates – I get it, its sooooo uncomfortable seeing things about your body that you hate right there in full colour on view.  However in order to ensure you get INCREDIBLE results you’ve got to be brutally honest about where you are now.  Think about it – if you know where you are now and most importantly, where you want to be, you’ve got a crystal clear target to aim for and best of all by knowing where you’re starting from, you’ll know for sure if you’re making progress right?!  Plus when you’ve achieved your goal and you can put those 2 pictures side by side to see the amazing transformation – you are going to feel UNBEATABLE – why rob yourself of that?!

3. Set a goal

Setting out to “lose weight & tone up” is as pointless as trying to drive your car somewhere you’ve never been before, without using a map or a sat nav, and with a flat tyre and the handbrake on.  You’ll get nowhere fast, end up driving in circles and probably bust up the car.  Like  every journey you take in life it needs planning.  You’d figure out where you’re starting from (that’s the easy bit!) and most importantly where you want to get to (this is the bit most people struggle with).  Think about it – if you have no idea where you’re headed for how will you know when you get there?!

The best ways to set goals are a bit like programming sat navs.  If you just pop in the city centre because you don’t know the exact location sure it’s going to get you somewhere near to what you want but you’ll still be driving round aimlessly for a bit trying to find what you’re looking for (that’s if you don’t give up first!).  However, put in the postcode and building number and BINGO!  It’ll take you to EXACTLY where you need to go.  Stating that you want to look better in your bikini/little black dress/naked (!!) is the equivalent of entering the city centre in your sat nav.  You need to get specific by saying: “I want to lose xx amount of inches from my waist/hips/thighs/etc taking me to a size X by Christmas 2011?.  Think about it – if you have fulfilled or exceeded the criteria above by Christmas Day 2011 then you’ll know for sure you succeeded.  How can you go wrong??!!

4. Make yourself accountable

A great way to make sure you keep yourself on track and focused on the goal at hand is to hold yourself accountable to someone that you’re going to complete it.  It could be that you buddy up with friend and promise each other you won’t let the side down and tell them what you’ve done each week towards your goal (along with what you’ve eaten – including the naughty stuff!), you could tell your friends and family about what you’re doing and tell them not to let you give up or cheat or another great way to give yourself accountability is to join a fat loss programme (like Fearless Female Bootcamp) where everybody is there for the same reason as you and you have the expertise and motivation of an experienced coach to guarantee you won’t quit.

5. Consult an expert

Speaking of experts, I firmly believe that when it comes to matters of fat loss, fitness or health its VITAL you get expert advice from an appropriately qualified and experienced source who has a proven track record of getting people the results you are looking for (so nope I’m afraid that cabbage soup diet in this week’s trashy glossy magazine won’t cut it and neither will the “maple syrup” diet plan that your mum’s friend’s sister’s workmate followed either!).  Think about it – you wouldn’t cut your own hair (unless your having a Britney Spears style meltdown!) or fix your own gas leak (unless you’ve got the appropriate training for that!) so why should it be any different for your health and fitness?!  Find the best Fitness Trainer in your area (or the next area if there’s no one good enough in yours!), ask to see the results they get their clients and then ask them how they can help you get results like those!