Published on LinkedIn – May 2018
So, having been on a mission to get myself in shape I have finally reached my goal – 16% body fat! Now 12 months later and 55 kg lighter (yikes!) I would like to share 5 key principles equally applicable to sound financial planning that helped me achieve my goal:
Principle 1: Cut out excess consumption
I can truly say that 80% of the result was due to cutting out the junk and eating the right things in the right proportion. It is very difficult to out exercise a bad diet unless you are spending 4 hours in the gym every day! Changing your eating habits is certainly easier said than done. After overcoming 2 weeks of withdrawal symptoms things became a lot easier!
Principle 2: Have the right strategy
Combining good eating habits with the right type of exercise (once I had already lost some weight and was feeling motivated by the results) accelerated my progress. It also took me a while to realise that weight and resistance training three hours a week was far more effective at burning fat than normal steady state cardio as it not only slowed down muscle loss, it accelerated fat loss due to my body’s requirement for more energy to maintain the muscle! Combining this with HIIT (high-intensity interval training) cardio every now and then on my “rest days” made a very effective combination. Rest and recovery, together with refining and reviewing the strategy from time to time, was crucial.
Principle 3: Be consistent and disciplined
Pitching up to the gym on the days that I least felt like it and choosing to have a bun-less burger with salad when everybody else was having burgers and chips were the little battles that helped me win the war. Also having the discipline not to bring temptation into the house and having the support of my family made a huge difference.
Principle 4: Don’t overextend yourself
Starvation diets cannot last and overtraining at the gym can also lead to adverse results e.g. injury and more off days. What you do must be sustainable and needs to become a habit/lifestyle.
Principle 5: Seek professional advice
Engaging the services of a great personal trainer (Matt Koury from Virgin Active Cresta – thank you!) and dietician will ensure that you are following an appropriate plan to achieve your objective. They will motivate you, ensure that you are using the right technique for exercises and will hold you accountable. It certainly makes me more likely to go to gym if I know Matt is there waiting for me!
As mentioned these principles are just as applicable to sound financial planning: keep your expenses within your planned budget and avoid unnecessary spending especially when fuelled by credit cards and personal loans (Principle 1), make sure that your investment strategy is appropriate for your objectives and review it when necessary (Principle 2), stick to your strategy and put money away consistently (Principle 3),ensure that your financial plan is affordable and can be sustained (Principle 4) and seek ongoing professional financial advice to ensure that you achieve your goals and that your policies and investments are structured correctly (Principle 5).
#FinancialFitness #GetInShape #Fitness #WeightLoss
Nick Bezuidenhout 