I wanted to take a minute to remind you to celebrate your little victories.

In the case of Nick, he's demonstrated nothing less than guts and determination throughout his body-recomposition journey.

Back in February, 2016, Nick made a sincere decision to lose 100 pounds of bodyfat.

I'm proud to say he's lost 80 pounds of bodyfat so far.

I'm a firm believer that success starts at home.

What you will notice is that Nick has a coach and a team of supporters, particularly his wife Monica.

The simple decisions you make at home (how much sleep to get, what to eat, etc.) directly relates to how much, or little, success you have outside of your residence.

I also believe you should invest in the right team. Why?

Simply put, a world-class coach will fast-track your success.

But you must be coachable. You must set goals and take action.

In the immortal words of Yoda, "Do or do not. There is no try."

How Nick Lost 80 Pounds

There is so much that goes on behind the scenes when it comes to a physical transformation.

Most of the challenges on the journey to massive weight loss (aka fat loss) occur in your mind.

I was thinking about the 15 things we all need to be reminded of when it comes to re-building your body.

The reason I use the word "reminded" is because you already know this stuff.

So my hope, today, is that you review the list and then take imperfect action by applying these concepts to your life.

1. You get results when you follow a proven plan

There are things that will never change, the fundamentals, that you should use as the foundation for creating the best version of you.

While everyone else chases the next shiny object you can become awesome at the things that will last forever.

2. Handling adversity often is the difference between success and failure

You will get knocked down.

You will get humbled.

What you do after the humbling knockdown occurs, well, that will determine how high you climb.

3. An idea without action is mostly worthless

It’s how you execute that matters.

Concentrate on execution of the idea.

4. Ignore what you want

Instead, focus on your needs. Concentrate on the fundamentals.

5. Have at least three nutrition strategies working

One is knowing your macros. Another way to say "macros" is how many calories you need to hit your weekly goal. 

Two is batch-prepping your meals on Sundays and Wednesdays.

Three is being mindful when you are eating... put your fork down until your food is chewed up and swallowed and digesting in your belly.

After that, pick up your fork and take another bite.

6. Best beats a shortcut

Skip the shortsighted juice cleanse or detox.

Practice moderation with everything, including moderation.

7. Unearned success is a lie

Sorry but it just doesn’t happen.

If you’re feeling overweight and weak, assume that the path to lean-and-strong requires you to earn it. You must commit to whatever you want.

8. Define targets

Be crystal clear on what you want.

From big-picture goals, like losing 80 pounds in 15 months, to daily goals like writing in your journal.

Don't boil the ocean, boil one pot at a time.

When it comes to goal setting, the more specific the better.

9. If it’s important – track it

Nutrition, training, sleep... if you don’t track it you can’t improve it.

You need to embrace the math and know your numbers.

10. Consistency is king

Everyone talks a good game.

Few have the guts and determination to stay the course and play the long game.

Remember you want success over decades versus days.

11. Know who you are and how you want to be remembered

Do you want to leave a legacy and create generational health?

If you want to accomplish anything worthwhile, remember to take care of yourself first.

12. Time is life

We all have less of it today then we did yesterday.

So quit wasting days doing things that aren’t getting you closer to where you want to be.

Otherwise you’ll look up and a decade will have passed and it will be even harder to make big changes.

13. Focus on the here and now

How do you lose 80 pounds of bodyfat?

Lose one this week. Drop another next week. Lose yet another the week after that one.

That is the best answer no one wants to hear.

They’d rather spend the next 15 months looking for a magical way to lose 80 pounds versus consistently losing 1.2 pounds a week for those same 15 months.

Which do you think will work better?

14. One of the biggest reasons people fail is poor follow-through

They don’t get things done.

It doesn’t take much to be an "idea person" or start something.

But only what you finish matters.

15. Forgive yourself quickly

Perfect never happens… so use your failures as learning opportunities.

And then get back on track.

You see, the key to real transformation is NOT diet and exercise.

It's finding your "why." It's taking action. It's facing your fears. It's developing the right mindset. It's plugging into a community that you will love.

If I were to look back and analyze every successful client over the past 25+ years, they all started the same way.

The first step was walking through the door and investing in yourself.

Next step is to identify your priority-one goal and deadline.

Choosing just one goal is often more complicated than it seems so use the "5, 6, 7" strategy for setting realistic goals.

What is the "5, 6, 7" goal-setting method?

Toned. Healthy. Feel better.

These are all great goals, right? Yes, of course.

Those and similar lines are commonly what we hear from people on day one when we ask them what their goals are.

Although that's a great starting point, and we can work our magic, dig a little deeper, and find out the actual goals, it's important to have a clear understanding of what you actually want.

In order to have the motivation to show up when you don’t want to (which will happen… a lot), you need to know your true purpose, your true “why.”

We often just go through the motions, try to exercise on a regular basis, eat healthier, but never have a specific target that we’re working towards.

Now there's no right answer as to what that target is, but it's tough to achieve something if you don't know what you want to achieve.

So here are a few things that help...

There's the "fluffy" side of it, and then there's the analytical side of it.

Let's start with the "fluffy" side of it. The mental side.

The stuff that can't be measured, or it can't be plugged into a formula.

I call this exercise the 5, 6, 7. I suggest you spend some time in the next day or two completing this exercise.

Here goes...

What is your goal?

(1. ANSWER)

Why is that important to you?

(2. ANSWER)

Now, why is that important to you?

(3. ANSWER)

And, why is that important to you?

(4. ANSWER)

Why is that important to you?

(5. ANSWER)

Almost done, why is that important to you?

(6. ANSWER)

And finally, what would it mean to you when that happens?

(7. ANSWER)

The exercise is called 5, 6, 7 because the answers that you wrote for 5, 6, and 7 are actually what you want.

You may think you want to lose 80 pounds, but after you go through this exercise, you realize your 5, 6, 7 is that you want to be able to run in the backyard with your kids/grandkids, be healthy and active when they're older, and create more happy memories together.

The 80 pounds is just a step that has to happen in order for that dream to come true.

So, that's the "fluffy" stuff.

The stuff that you just skim past, don't think is important, but then wonder why you don't have the motivation to change.

If you really know your 5, 6, 7 you'll be forever motivated.

Now, for the analytical stuff...

This is a process I like to call reverse engineering.

And frankly, most people just never spend the time to do it.

Now, let me preface by saying, I think this stuff is irrelevant if you don't know your WHY, or your 5, 6, 7.

Imagine that your priority-one goal is "fat loss."

And, more specifically, you want to lose 80 pounds of fat.

Why 80 pounds?

That's the 5, 6, 7.

So now let's say you have two goals.

• I want to lose 80 pounds
• I want to be able to do 10 push-ups

The first question you have to ask yourself is:

Is it specific? Yes.

Stronger is not specific.

Being able to do 10 push-ups is specific.

Is it measurable? Yes.

You can't really measure "I want to be able to do push-ups."

On the other hand, you can measure "I want to be able to do 10 push-ups."

What's the deadline?

This is where a lot of people drop the ball.

Put a deadline on everything.

Parkinson's law: Work expands as to fill the time available.

In short, whatever time you give yourself to do something, it will take you that long.

That's why a goal without a deadline very rarely gets achieved because the work will always keep expanding (you'll keep procrastinating).

Let's say you have a clear goal and a realistic deadline: I want to be able to do 10 push-ups and lose 80 pounds in 15 months.

Great, now the easy part. Just reverse engineer that down.

80 pounds in 15 months is 5.3 pounds per month.

You know if you lose 5.3 pounds in the first month you're still on track. That's just 1.2 pounds per week.

You know if you lose 1.2 pound per week you're on track.

So now, all of the sudden, it seems more manageable.

Twenty pounds seems daunting; however, one pound a week seems doable.

That's just reverse engineering.

Reverse engineer all of your goals down to manageable chunks, daily, weekly, and monthly.

Then, it's just a matter of putting in the consistent work.

But at least now you know exactly what the target is, and why you're hitting that target.

And, once that target has been hit, rinse and repeat the process for a new target.

Summary: 

Nick's body-recomposition journey has been marked by dedication and determination. He has already shed 80 pounds, driven by his strong mindset and the support of his coach and family. This success story underscores the importance of focusing on fundamentals, handling challenges with resilience, and setting specific, measurable goals. The key lies not only in nutrition and exercise, but also in identifying one's true motivations and systematically breaking down goals into manageable steps through reverse engineering.

To your success,

Coach Joe

Joseph Arangio helps 40+ men and women lose weight, gain strength, and slow aging. He's delivered over 100,000 transformation programs to satisfied clients around the globe. If you want to increase longevity with the best online age-management program, or you want to visit the best age-management program in the Lehigh Valley, you can take a free 14-day trial.