It’s that time of year again, where hoards of people are embarking on “healthier” lifestyles in order to lose excess weight, get fitter or at least fit into certain clothes that they used to fit into! It’s usually well intentioned, even if the method chosen sometimes leaves a lot to be desired. So lets dispel a few myths while at the same time, showing you how you can have more money in your pocket/purse/bank account:
DIETS DON’T WORK – Let’s start with the point that, unless you’ve been without television, radio or social media for your whole life, should be quite obvious by now. Diets do not work. Any short-term drastic change to your usual pattern of eating and drinking, is mostly unsustainable and therefore, will result in reverting back to old habits. 98% of people that lose weight this way, pile it back on again (with sometimes more than they had before they started!). Any plans that suggest your calorie intake should be below your basal metabolic rate (the minimum rate of calories required to simply function) is not a good idea (and that includes practically starving yourself for a few days!). The key to success is to make subtle lifestyle changes that are manageable and not a shock to your system. It could be removing white bread from your daily routine. The following week it could be cutting the amount of wine or beer you drink. The next week it could be only using stairs instead of lifts or escalators. One small change per week is 52 changes in a year. No, this won’t lead to you dropping a stone (6.36kg) in 5 days. But if it drops 1/2 lb per week, that’s almost 2 stone in a year. This way, you are far more likely to keep the weight off as your new routine has slowly and gradually become the norm. To see what you need to do, keep a detailed (and honest) diary of food, drink and activity for 7 days. Make sure you include every little detail. Once this is done, it should be quite obvious where YOUR adjustments need to be made. (For months of tips and advice around the area of getting healthier and losing weight in an efficient manner, see the free weight loss group thread here http://mams.ie/forums/topic/mumstown-free-weight-loss-group/ )
SO HOW DOES THAT LEAVE YOU WITH MORE MONEY? – As described above, one of the keys to success is to slowly remove some of the indulgences that are simply not going to help you lose weight. Now, nobody is suggesting that you never drink again or order take-away food. Moderation is the point to note. But the things that could do with being cut down are often ones that can put a strain on your finances – additional beer/wine, pizzas, fizzy drinks (when water will do a much better job!) etc. If you are spending less on these things, then you have more money left over. This also extends to other aspects of a healthier lifestyle. How often do you drive to the shops when you really could have walked? Burning more calories and not using any petrol. Then, there are the health benefits. Statistically speaking, the closer you are to a healthy height/weight ratio, the less likely you are to encounter weight related health issues, therefore saving you the costs associated with dealing with these health issues.
Overall, if you have a little patience and a desire to succeed efficiently, making these subtle changes can leave you healthier, closer to your ideal weight and with a few more euro left over each month. So what is there to lose? Errrrr….weight.
Dave Kavanagh QFA has been a Financial Advisor for over 25 years (and a Gym Instructor/Nutrition Advisor before that!) He has done advice slots on on RTE 2FM, LMFM and on TV3 and has written numerous articles for local and national publications. For more information on this topic, just send an email and remember, with Financial Companion, there is no cost and no obligation to arrange a review. Contact us to find out how simple it is.
