The 20/20 Diet (10 page)

for serious illnesses.

Why? Well, your waist measurement is an indication of the

amount of visceral fat in your body, and when I say visceral,

I’m referring to the fat underneath your abdominal wall. This is

the dangerous fat surrounding and in a sense “strangling” your

organs and keeping them from fu
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nctioning properly. This stuff

is no joke—if you have this excess belly fat, and your measure-

ments are in the danger zone, I want to sound the alarm loud

and clear. And I want you to get serious about losing weight, so

run, not walk, to your doctor to discuss what steps you need to

take to reduce your risks.

The last step in this process of setting your sights on a clear target

is to look at th
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e chart on the next page and find your healthy weight

range. Now again, this isn’t a perfect science, but these weight ranges

are typically considered within the realm of healthy for their corre-

sponding heights.

Of course there are exceptions. Some people are long and lean,

while others are naturally stocky. While some body types put on

mus
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cle very quickly, others just aren’t designed to show muscle defi-

nition. You do have to use common sense and set a goal that is

realistic. If you feel you are at a healthy weight, but fall outside of

the range below, I recommend you talk to your doctor to help assess

your weight needs.

Set the Right Goal | 53

Use this table to set your sights on a goal that is reasonable for
your
body.

Height

Ideal Weight Range

4 6 

77–103 lbs.

4 7 

80–107 lbs.

4 8 

83–111 lbs.

4 9 

86–115 lbs.

4 10 

89–119 lbs.
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4 11 

92–123 lbs.

5 0 

95–128 lbs.

5 1 

98–132 lbs.

5 2 

101–136 lbs.

5 3 

104–141 lbs.

5 4 

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108–145 lbs.

5 5 

111–150 lbs.

5 6 

115–154 lbs.

5 7 

118–159 lbs.

5 8 

122–164 lbs.

5 9 

125–169 lbs.

5 10 

129–174 lbs.

5 11
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 

133–179 lbs.

6 0 

136–184 lbs.

6 1 

140–189 lbs.

6 2 

144–194 lbs.

6 3 

148–199 lbs.

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6 4 

152–205 lbs.

6 5 

156–210 lbs.

6 6 

160–215 lbs.

6 7 

164–221 lbs.

6 8 

168–227 lbs.

54 | The 20/20 Diet

Your 20/20 Vision of Your Future Self

An important aspect of goal setting has to do with defining the types

of improvements you’ll be making and how your life will change.

Answer these questions honestly:

On a scale of 1 to 10 (where 1 = not at all and 10 = extr
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emely), rate

how your weight has affected (or is currently affecting) your:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9 10

Sex life

Social life

Romantic relationship(s)

Work/Professional life

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Non–romantic

relationships

Ability to participate in

physical activities

I’m guessin
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g your answers revealed that your current weight is

impacting most, if not all, aspects of your life. Now, let’s dig a little deeper. Write down exactly what you’ve
wanted
to do that your weight has
restricted
you from doing. These are the aspirations that you’ve pu
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t so far on the back burner that you’ve nearly forgotten them. You

must be
realistic
so you don’t set yourself up for disappointment. If your “dream” has been to pose on the cover of the
Sports Il ustrated
Swimsuit Issue, you might need a reality check. But maybe you want

to strike a sexy pose in your bikini on the beach this summer? Now

we’re talking.

Set the Right Goal | 55

Here are a few more ideas to get you thinking: Maybe you want to

set a goal of getting back into the dating world after years of keeping

to yourself out of embarrassment. Or perhaps you want to fit into rides

at the amusement park when you go with your kids, or simply fit into

your favorite pair of jeans that you buried in the back of your closet.

Write down your dreams and goals below.

Part 1: What I Want to Do

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Part 2 of the exercise is to spend at least 30 seconds visualizing yourself actual y
doing
these things. This will al o
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w you to
see
your own potential

even before you’ve reached it. Athletes do this all the time. As basket-

ball players stand at the free-throw line, they vividly see themselves in their mind’s eye shooting the ball and the ball landing in the basket.

Nothing but net! Golfers “watch” the ball go in the hole before they

make the putt. I want you to program your mind by capturing a spe-

cific mental image not only of you doing these things, but what you

will look like, what you will feel like, and how your life will be different after you’ve broken free of the bonds of being overweight. Imagine

those feelings of p
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assion, excitement, or whatever it may be for you

and then imprint them in your mind. It’s a step toward behaving in a

way that will make it a reality.

When you’re finished with the visualization, write it down.

Par
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t 2: How I Will Feel

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56 | The 20/20 Diet

That might have been an emotional experience, especially if you’ve

been afraid to let yourself think about what “could be” instead of wal-

lowing in what “is.” Maybe you’ve been blocked by fear of failure, or a

fear of getting carried away in a dream that can never be your reality.

I want you to claim victory over fear right here and now. This time,

you will not fail. This time, it’s within your grasp.

Create Your 20/20 Plan

Now let’s create your plan to reach your goals. This i

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s a process that

I’ve been using and recommending for years because I’ve seen it work

with people I have counseled. It gives you the ability to program your-

self for success.

In short, the steps are:

 Express your goals in measurable and realistic terms.

 Express your goals in terms o
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f specific behaviors and feelings.

 Assign a timeline to your goals.

 Break down your goals into manageable steps.

 Create accountability.

We’ll go through each one together.

Express Your Goal in Terms That Can Be

Measured and Are Realistic

Too many folks
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make the mistake of starting a new weight loss regimen

with the unclear, unquantifiable declaration of “I want to lose weight.”

That is a wishy-washy, loose, weak statement made by someone who

isn’t serious about what lies ahead. If all you’re saying is you want to lose weight, how will you know when you’ve reached that goal? When

you’
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ve lost one pound? Ten? You won’t know because you haven’t stated

it in a measurable way. A winner, someone who is programming himself

or herself for success, states his or her goal with great specificity. Your weight loss goal must be measurable and realistic.

If you are 20 pounds overweight, then you would express your

goal by writing, “I intend to lose 20 pounds to reach my goal weight

Set the Right Goal | 57

of 130 pounds.” Or if you choose to focus on your waist measurement

instead of your weight, your goal might be expressed as, “I intend to

lose 3 inches around my waist to reach my goal waist circumference

of 34 inches.”

My Measurable, Realistic Goal(s) Are:

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Express Your Goal in Terms of Specific Behaviors

You behave your way to success. So, you have to get specific about

what behaviors you will need to start doing, stop doing, or continue

doing in order to achieve your goal. F
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or instance, you might need to

stop eating fast food and start doing the nutrition plan described in this book. Or you might need to shuffle your daily schedule to accommo-date exercise, or get a physical activity tracking device so you’ll move and walk more every day. You might need to continue doing meditation

because it’s reducing stress in your life.

I can’t emphasize enough how important your past mistakes are

here. You already know what hasn’t worked, so add those routines and

self-defeating behaviors to the lines below. Search all areas of your life for what you shoul
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d stop, start, or continue doing in order to help you

reach your goal.

I Need to

STOP Doing:

START Doing:

CONTINUE Doing:

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58 | The 20/20 Diet

Assign a Timeline to Your Goal

The difference between a goal and a dream is a timeline. If you start

this program with the attitude of “I’ll lose weight someday,” I can

almost promise failure. “Someday” is not a day of the week. So, pull

out the calendar and assign a realistic timeline to your goal. This is

exciting because you will literally mark a day in your future, and that

is the day you will have reached your goal (if not sooner).

Notice I said your timeline needs to be
realistic
. If y
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ou’re still off

in la-la land thinking you will be bikini-ready in three weeks even

though you have 20 pounds to lose, you’re kidding yourself. A realistic

amount of time to lose 20 pounds is between 10 and 20 weeks.

You should also set incremental goals to help you maintain moti-

vation. Rather than setting a date for when you’ll achieve your final

goal, give yourself some mileposts along the way. If you want to lose

six pounds in the first month, write that down, and then when you

achieve it, attribute that success t
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o yourself so you can see yourself

being successful at losing weight. This will help you define your per-

sonal truth as a winner.

Below, clearly state your weight loss goals in terms of a timeline. You

can break it down week by week; whatever is going to work best for you.

But write it here and set alarms in your smartphone or add it to your

desktop calendar so that you have visible reminders. (Have you noticed

yet how important a role I think vision plays in your success?)

My Realistic Ti
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meline/Incremental Goals

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Break Down Your Goal into Manageable Steps

Next, you need to define precisely what steps you’re going to take in

order to achieve your goal. You may not know every single step you’ll

need to take just yet, and that’s OK. This list should evolve with you

Set the Right Goal | 59

throughout the program. As you learn what is required of you, come

back and add to this list.

For now, the steps might be more general, such as “I will learn and

apply the information in this book,” or “I will resolve to get up at least once per hour and walk around,” or “I will stop going to the drive-thru.”

The Steps I’ll Take to Reach My Goal