I'm going to give you a couple of gems to ensure your motivation keeps up throughout your journey. It's going to force you to really think about your body. Let's get started:

I want to talk about your fat loss goals specifically.

Many of the more reasonable fat loss programs talk about goal setting. Although that is a very important part of actually achieving anything of significance, I don't like using that term, because it's so polluted.

And I'm not talking about the idea of doing it. I'm talking of the way a lot of the 'experts' teach others how to set goals. It's almost like they get so caught up in setting the goals, they forget about actually achieving it.

Before you think about setting any goals you really need to ask yourself, "is this my goal?"

You have to be sure that you actually want to achieve that thing.

We so often set goals because we want to impress someone we love, respect or someone we want the approval of. If you set goals because you believe that's what somebody else thinks you should do, you are never going to achieve that goal long term. Remember to honor and respect yourself. You're ok the way you are, you don't need to be like anyone else.

You have to be clear about what you want. You have to be sure that it's something you do actually want. For example, if you're starting a program to lose fat because you get screamed at by your partner for being overweight, then I'm sorry, but you're only going to see temporary results.

At best, you'll lose a couple of pounds. Then as soon as you get complemented by your partner, and they stop their screaming, you'll lose your commitment. This is because you (really) started this journey with the goal of pleasing your partner, not losing weight (which is what you thought the goal was). Once you please your partner, you're done and you'll just stop the program.

This is exactly why it is very, very important for you to do this for your reasons, not someone else's.

So it's very important you are honest with yourself. Only when you've resolved that you're absolutely committed to losing the fat, and that you're going to make this a lifestyle change - no matter what anyone else says, then you're on target.

A really simple way to check this is to ask yourself, "what is it going to cost to reach my goal?"

Really think about that question. Once you have a detailed list of what needs to happen, you then need to decide if you're willing to do those things. You have to work out whether you're willing to pay the price to get what you want.

If you decide you are, then you've done 80% of the goal setting process already.

Then it's just a matter of making the goal measurable and tracking your weight loss correctly, so you know if you're making progress.

I've known many people who have tried new fat loss programs, stuck to it religiously for a little while, following every order, and recommendation to a tee.

Then something happened to take them out of that routine. Maybe it was an injury, maybe they went on a holiday or a business trip or something of that sort. And what happened is that, they went totally the other way.

Just because they weren't able to follow a small part of that program, they decided it didn't matter if they just totally ignored all of it. And because of this 'all or nothing' mentality, they would kill all their progress, and end up where they started.

So how can you overcome this?

Just realize that not everything you do will take you closer to your goal. That's called life. If you remember that, then you don't have to take every week where the fat didn't drop so seriously. You'll use it as feedback to work out what works best for you as a unique individual. And that'll help you to reach your goal as easily as possible.

Just remember that this is a long term commitment - so one bad day, or even a week can easily be overcome by getting straight back on the horse.

If you remember that and set goals that are truly yours, you'll find that you are well on the way to a great body. First get your mind set so that your motivation remains strong, then your body will follow just the way you want it to.