राफेल के साथ राहुल गाँधी और उनकी काँग्रेस कहाँ जा रही है?

आख़िर ऐसी क्या वजह है कि जिसके चलते राफेल पर राहुल गाँधी अपने तथाकथित राजनीतिक करियर के साथ सबकुछ दाँव पर लगाने के लिए तैयार हैं?

मुझे यकीन है कि राजनेता होने के नाते वे जानते होंगे या उन्हें इस बात की सलाह भी दी गई होगी कि उन्हें सारे तीर एक ही तरक़श में नहीं रखने चाहिए। मतदाताओं के बीच उनकी व्यक्तिगत विश्वसनीयता हमेशा कम ही रही है और ससंद में और संसद के बाहर भी वे गड़बड़ करते नज़र आए हैं और सोशल मीडिया पर तो वे लगातार मंडराते ही रहते हैं। ऐसे में मुझे हैरत होगी यदि उन्हें इस बारे में कुछ पता न हो।

आगामी प्रादेशिक और लोकसभा चुनावों में व्यक्तिगत रूप से उनका बहुत कुछ दाँव पर लगा है। यदि कर्नाटक की बात छोड़ दे तो काँग्रेस ने राहुल गाँधी के नेतृत्व में लगभग हर चुनाव में मुँह की खाई है और कर्नाटक में भी सरकार बनाने के लिए गठबंधन सहयोगी का समर्थन लेना पड़ा और सहयोगी दल को गठबंधन के नेता के रूप में स्वीकार करने पर सत्ता मिल पाई। निश्चित ही अपनी शिकस्तों को काँग्रेस पार्टी पूरी तरह से अलग परिप्रेक्ष्य में पेश करेगी और केवल कुछ उप-चुनावों में मिली जीत की बात करती है।

मंदिर यात्राओं के दौरान किताब में और नर्म हिंदुत्व को दर्शाते हुए अपनी पहचान हिंदू समुदाय के साथ एक ओर तकनीकी तौर पर "जेनऊ धारी" के रूप में करने की वे हर संभव कोशिश करते हैं और दूसरी ओर सरकार के हर कदम पर सवाल उठाते हैं। ख़ास तौर पर जो विस्मित करती है, वह है उनकी असंसदीय (अशोभनीय) भाषा, जो चुनावों के करीब आने के साथ और अधिक से अधिक विशेषण एकत्रित करती प्रतीत होती है।

बात करने के लिए बहुत कम मुद्दे हैं, पिछले पूरे 4 वर्षों में भ्रष्टाचार का कोई मुद्दा सामने नहीं आया है और सरकार के कई महत्वपूर्ण सकारात्मक बदलावों के चलते कोंसने का कोई मौका नहीं मिल रहा है, ऐसे में राहुल गाँधी और उनके दल-बल ने राफेल मुद्दे को एकल बिंदु एजेंडे के रूप में उठा रखा है। इसी के साथ, उन्होंने प्रधान मंत्री मोदी को व्यक्तिगत तौर पर लक्षित करने का फैसला कर लिया है क्योंकि उनका मानना है कि अगर वे मोदी को चोट पहुँचाते हैं, तो वे अपने आप भारतीय जनता पार्टी को भी चोट दे सकेंगे।

राफेल विमान खरीद पर राहुल गाँधी के तर्क उदात्त से हास्यास्पद हो रहे हैं। उनकी उकताहट भरी टिप्पणियों को शेष वरिष्ठ काँग्रेस नेता पूरी वफ़ादारी से तोता पढंत की तरह दुहरा रहे हैं, क्योंकि एक बार उनके "राजकुमार" ने बात कह दी, तो उनके पास उसके अनुपालन, दोहराव और बचाव के अलावा अन्य कोई विकल्प बचता नहीं है। वरिष्ठों के सामने लगाए गए आरोपों को सत्यापित करने का कोई ठोस मार्ग नहीं है, पर उनकी पूरी रणनीति किसी भी तरह मतदाताओं के दिमाग में संदेह के बीज बोने की है।

श्री गाँधी का विश्वास निश्चित रूप से इस दर्शन पर हैं कि वे यदि कोई आरोप लगाकर लंबे समय तक रोना-गाना करते हैं, कीचड़ उछालते हैं तो थोड़ा-बहुत कीचड़ तो ज़रूर चिपकेगा। उनका मानना है कि उनके अपने परिवार और पार्टी की ख़राब आर्थिक ख़्याति के चलते जहाँ उनका हर कदम कीचड़ में धँसा है, प्रधानमंत्री मोदी भी ऐसे बेतुके आरोपों से कलंकित हो सकते हैं। वे पहचानते हैं कि उनके और उनके परिवार को मुक्ति केवल तभी मिल सकती है, जब वे किसी भी तरह मतदाताओं को यह मनवा देते हैं कि मोदी और सत्तारूढ़ दल भी "भ्रष्ट" हैं!

विपक्षी पार्टियों में से अब लगभग मृत प्राय: सीपीआई (एम) को छोड़कर अन्य कोई भी इस मामले को उठाने का फैसला नहीं कर रहा है क्योंकि राहुल गाँधी के तर्क में किसी को भी कोई औचित्य नहीं दिख रहा है।

श्री गाँधी किसी पौराणिक अनुबंध की चीर-फाड़ करते रहते हैं कि यूपीए सरकार ऐसे कोई हस्ताक्षर करने की योजना बना रही थी लेकिन किए नहीं। वे यह तुलना इसलिए करते हैं कि मानो ऐसा कोई अनुबंध एनडीए सरकार द्वारा पहले से ही निष्पादित किया गया हो और उनकी सरकार ने उस पर काम किया था। उनसे सवाल पूछा जाना चाहिए कि यूपीए सरकार के 10 वर्षों में इस पर हस्ताक्षर क्यों नहीं हुए थे? क्या कांग्रेस इस सौदे से पैसे कमाना चाहती थी, जैसे बोफोर्स मामले में किया था लेकिन संतोषजनक सौदा करने में असमर्थ रहे थे?

विशेषज्ञों के तार्किक तर्कों का मतलब उनके लिए कुछ भी नहीं है। सरकार द्वारा विस्तृत स्पष्टीकरण प्रदान किए जा चुके हैं, लेकिन उन्हें राहुल गाँधी और उनके वफादार प्रवक्ताओं ने बड़ी तत्परता से खारिज कर दिया। श्री गाँधी मनमोहन सिंह की अगुवाई में अपनी ही सरकार द्वारा बनाए कानून को खत्म करने में लगे थे, तब उनसे सत्ताधारी पार्टी के शब्दों पर विश्वास करने की उम्मीद कैसे की जा सकती है!

रक्षा मंत्री के वक्तव्य का मतलब उनके और उनकी पार्टी के लिए कुछ भी नहीं है। डेसॉल्ट के सीईओ श्री एरिक ट्रैपियर द्वारा दिए गए वक्तव्यों को धांधली माना जा रहा है। फ्रांसीसी राष्ट्रपति के वक्तव्य को तज दिया गया है और प्रेरित बताकर परे कर दिया गया है। वे अपने आपके अलावा किसी पर भी विश्वास नहीं करते हैं।

सुप्रीम कोर्ट का मानना है कि कीमत पर चर्चा नहीं की जाएगी और श्री गाँधी ने अदालत के मजबूत प्रतिशोध से डरते हुए बुद्धिमानी दिखाकर इस मामले में चुप रहने का विकल्प चुना है और सम्माननीय न्यायालय के विचारों पर आक्षेप नहीं किया है।

उनके पास अनुभव और समझ की बेहद कमी है और वे किसी भी कीमत पर प्रधान मंत्री बनने की अपक्व महत्वाकांक्षा रखते हैं, इसका प्रदर्शन हो चुका है। राफेल के सभी ब्योरों का खुलासा पड़ोसी देशों के साथ करने में भी उन्हें कोई चिंता नहीं है, क्योंकि उन्हें लगता है कि इस सौदे में कुछ तो ऐसा है जो शायद छिपाया गया है। फिर भले ही देश की सुरक्षा भाड़ में जाए।

श्री गाँधी बहुत ही हताश स्थिति में हैं। अपनी पार्टी की कमजोर स्थिति के चलते उन्हें चुनाव लड़ने के लिए विपक्षी नेताओं को साथ लेना होगा, पर वे महागठबंधन के नेतृत्व की चाहना करते हैं।

यदि काँग्रेस पार्टी तथाकथित महागठबंधन पर सवार होकर भी सत्ता में नहीं आती है, तो यह मानना मुश्किल नहीं होगा कि काँग्रेस पार्टी के अन्य सक्षम नेता उभरने लगेंगे और श्री गाँधी के नेतृत्व पर सवाल उठाएँगे। काँग्रेस का विघटन हो सकता है या नेताओं के अन्य समूह के साथ अहम पुनर्गठन का दौर चल सकता है।

काँग्रेस पार्टी अपने भीतर होने वाले इस तरह के विनाशकारी परिवर्तनों से परिचित है।

आखिरकार, श्री राहुल गाँधी की दादी श्रीमती इंदिरा गाँधी ने भी वर्ष 1969  में भारतीय राष्ट्रीय काँग्रेस को विभाजित कर काँग्रेस (इंदिरा) के उस पार्टी के अग्रदूत का गठन किया था, जिसका नेतृत्व आज श्री गाँधी के पास है। मोरारजी देसाई, बाबू जगजीवन राम, पी.वी. नरसिम्हा राव और ऐसे ही तमाम अन्य लोगों के नाम अब कहाँ हैं, जिन्हें पार्टी से बाहर फेंक दिया गया और भूला दिया गया।

राहुल गाँधी लंबे समय से "भेड़िया आया-भेड़िया आया" चिल्ला रहे हैं और अब यह केवल कुछ समय की बात है, उसके बाद मतदाता उनकी किसी भी बात पर विश्वास करना बंद कर देंगे। जैसे कि पुरानी कहावत है, श्री गाँधी भी कुछ लोगों को हर बार मूर्ख बना सकते हैं या वे कुछ देर के लिए सभी लोगों को मूर्ख बना सकते हैं लेकिन वे निश्चित रूप से हर बार सभी को मूर्ख नहीं बना सकते!

श्रीमती सोनिया गाँधी ने हाल ही में जिस नेहरू विरासत की बात की थी क्या राहुल गाँधी उसकी आखिरी कड़ी है?

क्या राफेल की इस तरह की एक और कथा बन जाएगी जो कहे  "राजकुमार के पास पहनने के लिए कपड़े नहीं है"?

*******************

लेखक कार्यकारी कोच और एंजेल निवेशक हैं। राजनीतिक समीक्षक के साथ वे गार्डियन फार्मेसीज के संस्थापक अध्यक्ष भी हैं। वे 6 बेस्ट सेलर पुस्तकों – रीबूट- Reboot. रीइंवेन्ट Reinvent. रीवाईर Rewire: 21वीं सदी में सेवानिवृत्ति का प्रबंधन, Managing Retirement in the 21st Century; द कॉर्नर ऑफ़िस, The Corner Office; एन आई फ़ार एन आई An Eye for an Eye; द बक स्टॉप्स हीयर- The Buck Stops Here – लर्निंग ऑफ़ अ # स्टार्टअप आंतरप्रेनर और Learnings of a #Startup Entrepreneur and द बक स्टॉप्स हीयर- माय जर्नी फ़्राम अ मैनेजर टू ऐन आंतरप्रेनर, The Buck Stops Here – My Journey from a Manager to an Entrepreneur. के लेखक हैं।

·       ट्विटर : @gargashutosh                                                                                 
·       इंस्टाग्राम : ashutoshgarg56                                  
·       ब्लॉग : ashutoshgargin.wordpress.com | ashutoshgarg56.blogspot.com

Where is Rahul Gandhi and his Congress going with Rafale?

What is driving Rahul Gandhi to stake everything, including possibly his political career on Rafale?

As a politician, I am sure he knows or has been advised that he must never put all his eggs in one basket. He has always been low on personal credibility with the electorate and his gaffes in Parliament and outside are constantly doing the rounds on social media. I would be surprised if he is not aware of this.

The stakes are very high for him personally in the coming State and Lok Sabha elections. The Congress has lost virtually every election under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership barring Karnataka where it had to support its coalition partner to form the Government and saty in power albeit with their partner as the leader of the coalition. Of course, the Congress party will present a completely different perspective on these losses and only speak about some of the bye-election wins.

Mr Gandhi is trying everything in the book from temple visits and soft Hindutva to identifying his “janeo dhari” self with the Hindu community to technology on the one hand and questioning every step the Government takes on the other. What is particularly surprising is his unparliamentary language which seems to be gathering more and more adjectives as the elections draw nearer.

With very few issues to speak about, no corruption issues at all over the past 4 years and faced with significant positives of the Government that he no way to counter, Rahul Gandhi and his band of merry men have picked up Rafale as their single point agenda. Coupled with this, they have decided to target Prime Minister Modi as a single individual because they believe if they hurt Mr Modi, they will hurt the Bhartiya Janata Party.

Rahul Gandhi’s arguments on the Rafale aircraft purchase are moving from the sublime to the ridiculous. His shrill comments are being loyally parroted by the senior Congress leaders because once their ”Prince” has spoken, they have no option but to comply, repeat and defend. They have nothing concrete to establish their allegations, but their entire strategy is to somehow, sow some seeds of doubt in the minds of the electorate.

Mr Gandhi certainly believes in the philosophy that if he shouts out an allegation crying himself hoarse long enough, some of the dirt may stick. He assumes that because of the financially dirty reputation of his own family and party, whereby he and his family have had a sticky finger in every pie, Prime Minister Modi can also be tarnished with such nonsensical allegations. He recognises that the only salvation for him and his family is to somehow convince the electorate that Mr Modi and the ruling party is “also corrupt”!

None of the other opposition parties, barring the now almost defunct CPI(M), have chosen to rake up this matter since no one sees any merit in Mr Rahul Gandhi’s argument.

Mr Gandhi keeps pulling out some mythical contract that the UPA Government was planning to sign but did not. He does this to compare what his Government may have done with a contract that has already been executed by the NDA Government. The question to ask is why this was not signed in 10 years of the UPA Government? Did the Congress want to make money from this deal, like they did with Bofors and were unable to close a satisfactory deal?

Logical arguments from experts mean nothing to him. Detailed explanations have been provided by the Government, but these are discarded very promptly by Rahul Gandhi and his loyal spokespersons. Mr Gandhi is used to tearing up legislation of his own Government led by Mr Manmohan Singh so how can he be expected to believe the words of the ruling party!  

Statements by the Defence Minister mean nothing to him and his party. Statements by Mr Eric Trappier, the CEO of Dassault are deemed to be rigged. Statements from the French President are discarded and thrown away as motivated. He believes no one except himself.

The Supreme Court has taken a view that the price will not be discussed and Mr Gandhi, fearing a strong reprisal from the Court, has wisely chosen to stay silent on this matter and not cast aspersions on the views of the honourable Court.

His complete lack of experience and understanding coupled with his raw ambition to become the Prime Minister at any cost is on display. He has no worries about disclosing all details of Rafale to our neighbouring countries because he thinks there is something that maybe hidden in the deal. Security of the country be damned.

Mr Gandhi is in a very desperate position. He needs to get opposition leaders together to fight elections and despite the weak position of his own party, he wants to assume leadership of the mahagathbandhan.

If the Congress party does not come to power even after riding on the back of the so called mahagathbandhan, it would not be hard to assume that other competent leaders in the Congress party will start to emerge and question Mr Gandhi’s leadership. The Congress may disintegrate or go through a serious reorganisation under another set of leaders.

The Congress party is familiar with such cataclysmic changes within itself.

After all, Mrs Indira Gandhi, Mr Rahul Gandhi’s grandmother, split the Indian National Congress in 1969 and formed Congress (Indira) the precursor to the party that Mr Gandhi leads today. Where are the tall leaders like Morarji Desai, Babu Jagjivan Ram, PV Narasimha Rao and so many others who were thrown out of the party and forgotten.

Rahul Gandhi has cried “wolf-wolf” too long and it is only a matter of time before the electorate will stop believing anything he says. As the old saying goes, Mr Gandhi can fool some people all the time or he can fool all the people for some time but he certainly cannot fool all the people all the time!

Will Mr Rahul Gandhi be the last of the Nehru legacy that Mrs Sonia Gandhi recently spoke about?

Will Rafale become another celebrated story of the “Prince has no clothes”?

*******************

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 6 best-selling books, The Brand Called You; 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

The forthcoming elections – more questions than answers

The BJP has lost one more seat in Bellary and the Congress has already blown the winning trumpet of the incredible leadership their “young” leader is providing to the nation!

While the BJP will go through its “Chintan Baithaks” it is time for the BJP think tank to start taking stock of what is really going on in the mind of the electorate and why the communication to its constituencies seems to be falling on deaf ears.

Clearly the opposition strategy of continuous attack on alleged corruption charges is beginning to affect the mind of the voters with the all too familiar reaction that "if there is so much smoke, there might be a fire somewhere". The opposition strategy of going after Prime Minister Modi repeatedly is beginning to hurt the BJP.

Political niceties have been thrown to the winds and in the opposition "Arjunesque eye of the fish cross hairs" is Prime Minister Modi. From calling him corrupt to a scorpion to Hitler to an Anaconda, they have not left any negative adjective in the book.

Most opposition leaders are still trying to figure out whether it is a good idea to attack the Prime Minister who is seen as the tallest leader of the current times. They are not sure of what subjects to base their attacks on.

The so called mahagathbandhan, in its own way, seems to have found a method in their madness. Their repeated attacks are reaching the voter though whether the voter will accept their narrative is still unclear.

However, is the mahagathbandhan for real?

Can political parties with completely diverse ideologies like the CPI(M) and the Trinamool Congress or the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party really come together on a common platform? Will they ever be able to agree on a common economic agenda and a corruption free system of governance?

The smart Indian electorate recognises that they cannot have a situation where politicians play a game of musical chairs with the chair of the Prime Minister of India with the key contenders being Mayawati, Mamta Banerjee, Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and Chandrababu Naidu.

Everyone accepts that it would be a disaster if Mr Modi does not get a second term because the alternative of getting a new PM every year by rotation from the multitude of political parties is a frightening prospect. It is frightening to imagine a new Prime Minister and possibly a completely revamped Cabinet every 12 months!

The Congress knows that its only opportunity to survive beyond the next elections is to get aggressive. From attacking the BJP to temple visits and soft Hindutva to promising loan waivers to banning alcohol in Chhattisgarh, Rahul Gandhi is not leaving any opportunity.

Their attacks are generally centred around RSS, Rafale, Demonetisation, Crony Capitalism, GST and Non-Performing Assets. Attacking the RSS is ridiculous. Everyone associated with the RSS does not believe a word of what Rahul Gandhi keeps alleging. Those not associated with the RSS agree that Hindus can never be terrorists. Does the common voter even understand what the Rafale deal is all about?

Does anybody really believe Rahul Gandhi on matters of corruption as he stumbles through his speeches making one faux pas after another? Is it the pot calling the kettle black? What is the Congress strategy for the elections other than abusing Modi and talking about several non-existent corruption charges?

Is Rahul Gandhi now a huge liability not just for the Congress but also for the mahagathbandhan? Will the dissent within the Congress be able to get their leaders to pull together in one direction? Are the carefully laid out plans of Rahul Gandhi coming apart at the seams because no one really trusts him or his capabilities?

Is Rahul Gandhi “peaking” too early in the election game and will his quiver still be full of laded arrows by the end of the first quarter of 2019 or will he be firing blunted and used arrows?

Every decision that is now taken by the Government is questioned repeatedly by Congress politicians and their affiliated journalists who have been left out by the BJP in the last 4 years. This crescendo will get louder as the polls approach. It almost seems like a situation where Rahul Gandhi and his team scour the papers every morning to see what is the “flavour of the day” that they need to attack.

Counter attack by the BJP spokespersons is not being heard as they try to raise their decibel level and trade counter charges or worse say "well they did this as well when they were in power".

The BJP came to power on the platform of development and removal of corruption under the strong leadership of Mr Modi. Very substantial developments have taken place in the last 54 months and it is important to keep emphasising the successes rather than go on the defensive.

The main question to ask is whether all this anti Modi propaganda and noise is consolidating the Hindu vote behind the BJP because no one really believes any of the corruption charges against Modi?

Yet, the BJP is not being able to take advantage of all its positives and is getting sucked into the mess being crafted by the gang of opposition leaders who have a single objective - to win at all costs, consequences be damned.

What the BJP can hope for is that the opposition strategy had peaked too early because it is difficult to keep telling lies repeatedly without repeatedly contradicting oneself.

Politics and elections are a game of perceptions.

Corruption is a subject that the Indian voters understand and despise. The BJP has established that the Government of Prime Minister Modi has significantly reduced corruption in the country.

Are the elections in Rajasthan Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh really an indication of what is likely to happen in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019? The Lok Sabha elections are still 6 months away. Polls being run by various news channels have very diverse results and we know that these results will keep changing over the next few months.

As someone said, development is needed for the country and the electorate expects this from their leaders. But development happens over a period of 5 years and does not win elections. Elections are won or lost based on how the marginal voters decide in the last few days.

Perceptions, falsehoods and corruption charges create doubt in the mind of the voters and need to be countered immediately and very strongly as was demonstrated by the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister on the Vyapam matter which made Rahul Gandhi retract his statements.

Staying silent on corruption charges or waiting for an appropriate time to respond simply strengthens the lie and makes the voter question the reason for the silence.

The BJP needs some good fortune in the next few months starting with a drop-in oil prices which has started to happen. A good monsoon and more money in the hands of the farmers will suddenly change the narrative in favour of the BJP again. What the BJP also needs is for its leaders to stop talking of diversionary topics like renaming of cities and places and similar topics that take the narrative away from development and corruption.

The ruling party always must face headwinds and the opposition knows the wind is filling up its sails. There more questions than answers at this stage.

What is clear though is that the BJP needs to change its narrative and change this fast. The results of all the fundamental changes that have been made will be seen in the next five years.

This is a critical “must-win” election for the BJP. 

*******************

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

Manage Your Weight especially post Retirement

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