48 | The Lion King
Lifestyle | Health
Simple steps to
achieving your
weight loss target
M
ost people want to see a
significant weight loss within a
few months or hope to change
eating habits within a few weeks. Unfor-
tunately, weight loss can be more com-
plicated than that, but here are some
tips to help you reach your goals.
Internal Motivation
Do it for yourself; not for someone else.
You are more likely to achieve your
goal of going to the gym three times
a week if your motivation is to improve
your fitness rather than make someone
else happy.
Reality Check
Be realistic about your resolution. First,
have a resolution that is attainable. For
example, set a time frame that within
3 months, you will lose 6kg. If you were
trying to be healthier either through diet
or exercise, set a more realistic goal. For
instance, start by exercising for 30 min-
utes 2-3 days per week and gradually
increase throughout the year. I always
tell people to set goals for the month.
Also, be realistic about the number
of resolutions you chose to pursue.
Pursuing multiple resolutions can lead to
failure.
Planning
You should have a reasonable plan of
what your workout steps will look like.
How many repetitions of an exercise
routine you need to perform, how
many minutes you want to spend on
the treadmill or how much calories you
want to burn each session.
You have to set specific goals and
plans in order to achieve your fitness
objectives for the year. For examples, if
you work on shifts and also have inten-
tions of keeping fit, then you should be
able to plan when to come in to work,
how many minutes you have to spend
in the gym.
Get Support
To help you meet your resolutions, you
also need support within your everyday
life. Achieving goals alone is difficult.
Sometimes having a compan-
ion is helpful as they are
supportive, gives you ‘the
buddy advantage’ and
foster accountability.
Enabling Environment
Now put yourself in an
environment to maximize
your chances of success.
Try to eliminate all the “junk”
food or foods that you have
a weakness for. This could
include gala, fizzy drink, cakes,
cookies, chocolates that you
have at your desk every
afternoon. Replace these
items with healthier alter-
natives like whole grain
crackers or bread, high
fibre cereal, fresh fruit or
vegetables, and water.
If you are trying to abstain from
alcohol this year, going out to
bars is a bad idea.
In general, you should put many
steps between you and your
distractions /temptations and
few steps between you and
your goals.
Stick to it
Set a time to exercise with your fitness
buddy. In addition, try to have your
workout attire ready each day in your
car or beside your desk as a reminder
to take action. Once you do this for a
couple of weeks, it will become more
habitual. You can also form the habit of
using your cell phones and other tech-
nology to set an alarm that will remind
you to exercise.
Keep Up to Date with your Health Met-
rics
Also ensure you are up to date with
your health metrics, check your weight/
BMI and body fat percentage levels
as you work out. Also most important-
ly, check your Blood Pressure at least
every week/ fortnight and observe the
trend, check your blood sugar levels.
For the slightly older folks, ensure you do
