Fit for Life: The Keys to Building and Maintaining a Workout Routine

Start with little ambition

I was always overweight in my childhood. At my heaviest, I weighed 230 pounds (105kg) at age 15.

At first, being chubby was cute. But eventually, it got out of hand in my later teens.

So I visited a dietician who gave me a meal and exercise plan and all sorts of advice. I forgot most of their advice now, but here’s the one tip I remember clearly:

“Leave just a little bit of food on your plate.”

If I was eating a meal, I wouldn’t finish it. I did it even with food that didn’t come in plates, like potato chips. I put half a bag of potato chips in a bowl, and that’s it!

It was simple advice that worked well. Of course, exercise came into play too. Within a year, my diet and workout helped me lose 55 pounds. I was in good shape by the time I finished high school.

But when I got out of grad school, work life came and I gained weight again. It’s the same old reasons why adults gain too much weight: Working/eating/drinking too much, exercising very little and only at irregular intervals.

By age 27, I had a beer belly and was out of shape again. I decided to make a change and tried all sorts of workout regimen.