The Dalai Lama, when
asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered
“Man. Because he
sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to
recuperate his health. And then is so anxious about the future that he does not
enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the
future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never
really lived”
Losing weight is
certainly the most aspired objective of most people in the World. As one gets
older, this aspiration needs to be converted into a reality to maintain one’s
health.
A lot of retirees tend
to let their bodies go and start to put on weight soon after retirement. They
don’t have a regular schedule and they eat at all hours resulting in weight gain.
Excessive weight is the
cause for a lot of diseases.
Besides, your body was
never made to handle more than a “normal” weight. Your ideal weight can be
checked quite easily on the internet or by asking your doctor.
Some
people are blessed with a naturally high metabolism and an aversion to sweets.
The rest of us aren’t so lucky. For those of you who may have hovered around
the upper end of the height-weight standards, or who put on some
post-retirement kilos, let me share with you what I’ve learned over the years.
Stop
looking for the magic pill or diet. Stop believing those magical advertisements
on television shopping channels that promise weight loss by simply lying in
your bed. If there was an amazing pill or dietary supplement that lets you eat
what you want while still losing weight, the big pharmaceutical companies would
be selling it like hot cakes.
Here
are some tried and tested ways on how can you manage your weight?
Be
realistic about your weight loss goal
– While many of us would love to reach the weight we were when we got married,
often that’s not realistic. Yet I have met a friend who was grossly overweight
and he decided that he would fit into his wedding shervani after 28 years of
marriage. I was amazed at his determination and one year later he had lost his
weight and met his goal.
Setting
an unrealistic goal sets you up for frustration and failure. I have tried every
possible diet and though I lost weight quickly, I put it back on even more quickly.
The only sure way to lose weight is by cutting down on your food intake.
If
your target is to lose 5 kilos, your target should be to lose one kilo every
month. Drop your first kilo in the first two weeks and then maintain it for the
next two weeks. With all the digital scales available, you can get your weight
to the nearest 100 grams.
Concentrate
on the calories in your diet – Losing weight is
not quick or easy, but the principle is simple. It all boils down to a balance
between “calories in” from what you eat versus “calories out” that you burn
through exercise.
There
are hundreds of wearable devices available at all price ranges that you can buy
to keep track of your exercise schedule and the calories you have burned.
A
reduction of 500 calories per day will lead to the loss of one kilo in two
weeks. While exercise is important to your overall health and to maintaining a
healthy weight, cutting calories is the key to weight loss. It is much easier
to cut 500 calories a day out of your diet (give up a bag of chips and a soft
drink, or a couple glasses of sweet tea) than it is to jog for 45 minutes or
swim for an hour every day.
Exercise
will help you to tone up your ageing muscles but only food control will help
you to lose weight.
Keep
a food diary – Document what, where and how much you
eat. Medical studies have shown that people who keep a food diary are much more
likely to lose weight. What you find from your food diary may open your eyes.
Do you skip breakfast, eat yogurt for lunch then empty the entire refrigerator
when you come home from work?
Do
you eat a healthy breakfast and dinner, but really add on the calories by going
out to lunch with your colleagues? Do you mindlessly snack in front of the TV?
Do you have a few beers or glasses of alcohol every night?
Keeping
a food diary forces you to be honest, but it also helps you pin-point your
problem areas to help identify where you can drop 500 calories a day.
New
norms recommend that you consume the following on a regular basis
· Eat three servings of fruits
· Eat four servings of vegetables every day
· Eat nine servings of whole grains each day
· Drink at least eight glasses of water daily
· Avoid drinking both sugar and diet sodas
Make
your weight loss plan – Based on your food
diary, figure out where you can eliminate 500 calories a day.
Don’t
make a vague commitment to eat less. Instead commit to a specific action such
as giving up sweet tea, stopping that nightly glass of alcohol or taking a
sandwich for lunch to work. If portion control is an issue, consider using
a meal replacement product for one meal a day. Meal bars or meal replacement
shakes for one meal a day can help you lose weight without compromising your
dietary intake of vitamins, minerals and fiber.
Don’t
give up if you slip-up – If you splurge and
have a big slice of birthday cake at work, don’t throw in the towel. Keep the
calories light for the remainder of the day and get back on track the next day.
Your goal should be to adopt healthy diet changes that give you slow but
consistent weight loss of a kilo or so every month.
Keep
at it and you will definitely see a perceptible improvement in your health. And
the bonus will be that you might just fit into your wedding suit again!
*******************
The author is an Executive Coach and an
Angel Investor. A keen political observer, he is also the founder Chairman of
Guardian Pharmacies. He is the author of 5 best-selling books, Reboot.
Reinvent. Rewire: Managing Retirement in the 21st Century; The Corner Office;
An Eye for an Eye; The Buck Stops Here - Learnings of a #Startup Entrepreneur
and The Buck Stops Here – My Journey from a Manager to an Entrepreneur.
Twitter: @gargashutosh
Instagram: ashutoshgarg56
Blog: ashutoshgargin.wordpress.com |
ashutoshgarg56.blogspot.com
