……only it’s not another person. I have written off as ridiculous, the pressure to conform to what looks good in the eyes of another person or society. This year my hot date on Valentine’s is with myself. From this day on, I will make a fresh resolution. I will do all that makes me feel good about myself, for you see the way my body looks and feels needs to make me happy.

Most of us are pressured by the fact that the media is full of diets and exercise regimes that swear that a person can lose 10 kilos in as many days, or something equally ridiculous. And then there are these interviews with hunky looking film stars that claim that their really muscled bodies are a result of pumping iron a lot of iron and a few tweaks to their diets, and was achieved in a month or 6 weeks. It is enough to give any normal human being a guilt complex. You have been doing your best to eat right since the New Year (more than a month now) and you have been real regular at the gym. Surely the occasional chocolate that you sneaked in, or that one Sunday that you slept in, couldn’t make such a difference between your still out of shape body and the ripped look that the cover page film star swears was achieved in a month?

First of all, do remember that a lot of these claims are just that. Tall claims with air brushed photographs that have little to do with reality. Secondly, unfortunately, a lot of the success achieved is due to the use of chemicals that in the long run have dangerous effects on the heart, liver and kidneys (of course that is not something that ever gets reported!).

If you are eating a balanced diet and losing around 3 kilos a month, you are on the right path. The weight loss will be sustained and not regained the moment you get off the diet. As for the ripped muscles, including the six pack, we all have them. It’s just that you don’t see them right now, because they are covered with a layer of fat. Continue with the diet, make sure you do your regular strength training to tone the muscle, and give yourself steady doses of aerobic activity, be it running, walking or cycling, and it will be just a matter of time before the muscles in your body start showing definition.

The important thing to remember is that all of us have different bodies, with no two being alike in terms to their response to a diet or exercise routine. That being said, if you put in the effort, there is no reason on earth why the results won’t show within a reasonable period of time. The only point is that on this one, you are on your own. Your efforts will work on your body in a truly unique way. There is absolutely no pressure to conform and go with the herd. Ultimately it’s your body and the way it looks needs to make you happy. Don’t forget, you are your own hot date for life?

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