Find the answers here.

Hey - want to change your body? I don't have the answers. What I do have is the questions.

Body composition change (and by that I mean, in most cases, fat loss; but for the people reading who want to gain weight or get past disordered eating patterns) is hard to do. People ask me all the time what I think about this diet plan or that pill or so-and-so's new app or little magic doohickey that will do it all for you. Here's the absolute truth, as far as I can see:

Everything works, sometimes, for the right people. Everything is a load of shit, sometimes, if it's not right for you, for right now.

Ha ha, how's that for ambiguity?

I thought so! So what's a person to do if they want to make a change? For starters, ask yourself these questions. You could go a step further and write the answers down somewhere to refer back to if and when you get lost...and be warned: this is a lengthy, fluid process. Your answers might change before your eyes. But I PROMISE: a lasting physical improvement is dependent on knowing the answers to these questions. Anyone can do a 'diet' for a while and then go back to 'normal'. Changing your life requires some work.

1. Who are you? Have some fun with this one - maybe do some art work or a collage, but brainstorm. No right or wrong answers.

2. What are your core values? Another tough question, but again, your core values are what drive you so it's good to know what they are. Here's a good place to start: www.becomingwhoyouare.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Discover-Your-Values-.pdf

3. What are your greatest strengths? Once you've got those down, how can you play to them more? How do you express your pride in them? If you're having trouble, try here: www.viacharacter.org

4. What are your weaknesses? Now, imagine that you have a little child - a five-year-old version of you - in your care who exhibits those weaknesses. How are you going to build up that scared little kid so that he or she is aware of those weaknesses but secure enough to face the world in a constructive way? This is a biggie, because how you choose to deal with stress or discomfort has a direct link to your body composition. Know your weaknesses. Once you are aware of them, find a way to love them. They need love more than your strengths do.

5. Who's yo' Daddy? And yo' Momma? Take a good hard look at the generation before you. What behaviours regarding food, exercise, and health did you grow up with? What beliefs about yourself did they instill in you? How did you celebrate in your family? What do you think of when you remember being comforted as a kid? Now, we are all grown ups here and responsible for ourselves so I'm not asking you to place blame or shift responsibility. Just like in #4, awareness is what we're looking for here. Also, history does tend to repeat itself. Forewarned is forearmed!

6. How do you feel? Right now. How about if you have to spend some time in a waiting room...without your phone? Can you sit still and be okay with just being for, say, ten minutes? Try it. Set a timer. I'll wait.

Ok, how do you feel now? Sleepy? Where did your brain go during that ten minutes? If you're tired, you may need more sleep. In fact, most people are pretty sleep deprived and that plays a big part in our collective stress levels and body composition problems.

7. What are you looking for in a changed body? Imagine that you've met your physical goals. What do you look like? How does it feel? What would you do differently from day to day?

There are two things I am looking for here: one is, is that imaginary version of you actually YOU? Is it an improved version of yourself, or is it someone else? Before you start down this path, make sure your expectations are realistic. For example, I have wide shoulders, big joints, and wide hands and feet. I will never be dainty. I will never have a ballet dancer's body no matter what I do, so trying to get to that size 0-2 is not a realistic goal. Trying to get there would just be setting myself up for a whole bunch of misery because it's not me.

Your better physique needs to be a better version of YOU.

The second piece of this puzzle has to do with your perception of yourself: what will it feel like? How will you live differently on a daily basis? What's stopping you from living like that right now? And, if you have a date or occasion in mind that you really want to be spectacular for...what would happen if that was tomorrow? Would you be okay with showing up as you are now?

8. What do you like? This may seem like a pretty innocuous question, but bear with me for a second, because although you are for sure going to find some new things to like doing and eating and being, there may be things that you have to say goodbye to. For a little while, anyway. And if you're serious about making lasting improvements that stick, you may need to be ready to hear (and take) some advice that may not feel awesome at first.

9. How did you get to the point where you need to make a change? Take a stroll through recent memory - was there a specific point in your life where things started to go wrong? Life milestones such as death of a family member, birth, marriage, divorce, moving, injury, etc. all put mileage on our minds and bodies. Having a close look at how you deal with life's upheavals can give valuable insight into how you deal with stress from day to day - and I don't just mean the negative stuff. Celebrating can be just as hard on the waistline as grieving.

10. Who's your best friend? This sounds like an odd question to leave for last, but it may just be the most important one. The question that ties all the others together. Know why?

Because your best friend should be the person staring back at you when you look in the mirror. If you can find a way to love yourself you'll be on your way to not needing those destructive behaviour patterns to deal with the curve balls that life chucks your way. But it's HARD. That's why the diet industry is so full of woo and shit and quick fixes that don't work. Nothing will work for you until you are good and ready. The good news is that when you are ready, a moderate, varied whole-food diet and a sensible exercise plan is all you need. And that's the truth.