Commitment is Not a Four-letter Word

Here’s the thing about achieving your weight loss and fitness goals — they require commitment. You didn’t gain weight or get out of shape overnight. And you certainly can’t achieve your health and fitness goals by being haphazard in your commitment to eat healthy and work out.






I like to think of the 90 percent level of commitment to get your closer to your goal. If you want to eat healthy, try to do that 90 percent of the time. If you’re eating five meals a day over the course of a week, that means you’re consuming 35 courses in seven days. If you’re trying for 90 percent commitment, that means you can have three or four reward meals every week.

The same goes for strength training and cardio conditioning. If you committed to my boot camp for five mornings a week, that means you’re attending 20 times a month. Over the course of 30 days, you should only miss two classes maximum to achieve your fitness goals. When you are at class, don’t just show up. Only you can push yourself to the next level.

It’s easy to make excuses regarding why you can’t achieve your goals. I know that this level of commitment requires sacrifices, whether it be a time crunch, lack of sleep or giving up your favorite foods. But if you give up on your goals at the first sign of adversity, you are going to have a very difficult time achieving them.

Your goals don’t have to be over the top. For example, I gave two of my current boot camp members a pushup challenge. They had to stop doing pushups on their knees and do 20 full pushups, all the way down and up on their toes. Each was only allowed to do full pushups in boot camp. One was convinced she couldn’t do any. I asked her to do as many as she could, and to her surprise, she did five.

Over the next 30 days, I challenged them to do 20 full pushups every night at home with no time limit. At then end of the 30 days, one did 26, up from 10, and the other did 20, up from five. Both completed this in 60 seconds.

How to stay committed


Write down your goals — If you want to meet your goals, you need to have them in writing. That helps you visualize where you want to be. Come up with three-month, six-month and yearlong goals. Maybe you want to run a mile 30 seconds faster in three months. Maybe you want to lose 10 pounds in three months. Whatever your goal is, write it down and share it with me.

Attend boot camp — Every morning, five days a week, I offer boot camp at Sandstone Ridge Park in North Las Vegas. When you can’t make it to class, ask for help. I can give you exercises to do if you’re on the road or have to miss class for another reason. Keep in mind that I will call you if you don’t make it to class to find out why.


Keep a food journal — If you bite it, write it down. You may discover that you eat too many carbohydrates, not enough protein or not enough vegetables, something I’ve discovered in many food journals. A good rule of thumb is to eat a carbohydrate and a protein with every meal to maintain your blood sugar levels and help you curb your urge to overeat. Writing down everything you eat will help you see where you can make changes to your diet to help you achieve your goals.

Most importantly, consider me your partner in crime. I can hold you accountable for reaching your goals.