First, read the book!! - "Body for Life" by Bill Phillips (available at good bookstores, or order online from angusrobertson.com.au or amazon.com).

Decide what your goals are and write them down.  Read them EVERY day.  Visualise yourself achieving those goals, see yourself with that new body!

Plan, plan and plan!! Plan your meals a day ahead, write the plan down and at the end of each day, record what you actually ate (be honest!).  Plan your workouts as well, what exercises you will do, how many reps for each set, what weights or equipment you will use.  If you write it down, you are far more likely to stick to it.  To make it really easy on yourself, get the Body for Life Success Journal - it has pages for all this and more.

Log onto the EAS/Body for Life discussion forum and pick up some great advice, get your questions answered, or find some online workout buddies.

If you slip up, get over it and get on with the program.  Nobody's perfect.

If you're following the program to the letter and not seeing the results you want, first check that you ARE doing everything right.  If so, have faith and see it through - I saw my biggest changes in the last 4 weeks of my first challenge - in fact, my lower half changed drastically in the last 2 weeks (sometimes it seemed like overnight!).

Have a free day once a week - indulge yourself a little with some of the not-so-healthy things you love. 

Take progress photos - I took them at 4 weeks and 8 weeks.  You might also check your measurements at these points.

DON'T weigh yourself constantly! Scales are evil and should be destroyed! If I had relied on what the scales were telling me to keep track of my progress, I'd have been totally discouraged and would probably have chucked it in halfway through challenge 1.

Remember that the closer you get to your ultimate goals, the harder it gets to shift that last bit of stubborn fat! But persevere, and it will happen.

Most of all, relax and have fun!!