Another new year is here, and most of you are probably thinking about your new year’s resolutions and what you want to achieve for the year ahead. Looking back at 2016, I achieved a huge goal and lost 17 kilograms so far. I wanted to share my top 4 tips on how to lose weight, things that actually worked for me and that can work for you too!

One of the biggest challenges I faced last year was my weight. I was obese, and I had finally owned up to it and realised it and too responsibility for it. I wanted to change it dramatically. After some research, soul-searching and gradual change in my habits of how I ate and how I exercised, I was able to get a better grip on my weight.

The journey started around late April of last year, when I was about 84 kilograms. I had let myself go, and frankly for the many months and even years prior, I had not been taking care of my body properly. From time to time, I would exercise, but ineffectively and it wouldn’t stick. I didn’t really know how to lose wight effectively and keep it off. After closing up my previous business in South America and feeling a little lost about the path ahead, and then discovering my wife was pregnant and then feeling mixed emotions of excitement, nervousness and stress, I had turned to food as my comfort.

Since April of last year, I have been on a cut. These 8 months of cutting have actually not been that bad. Generally, I don’t feel any hunger pains or cravings because I eat what I choose, and my diet is flexible, as long as I meet certain targets for my calories, and if possible also for my macros.

My Top 4 Tips on How to Lose Weight

Here are my top 4 tips for weight loss that I want to reaffirm for myself, which I know have worked for me to lose 17 kg in 8 months, and which I hope and believe can work for you.

1) Energy Balance: To lose weight, ensure that energy expended is greater than energy (calories) consumed. You can have control of your weight once you understand this, and how calories are fundamentally related to your weight gain or weight loss.

2) Calorie Deficit: Ensure a daily calorie deficit of 25% under my TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure).

3) Protein Intake: Eat 1 to 1.2 grams of protein per day per pound of body weight, which ensures that muscle is maintained (not lost) while on a caloric deficit

4) Weight Training with Progressive Overload: Do weight training regularly, targeting major muscle groups, and gradually increase the weight as you get stronger, which again ensures that your muscles are maintained while on a caloric deficit

My Big Hairy Audacious Goal for this Year

Finally, I will get 6 pack abs this year. Having lost 17+ kilograms last year, I can very much taste the success of reaching my goal of showing a defined set of 6 pack abs.

I have had this goal for about over 15 years now, ever since I was a teenager when I first started going to the gym. Back then and up to now, I still had not been able to reach this goal and it seemed so elusive and unattainable for me. I never really understood how to lose weight until last year.

Follow me as I achieve this goal to get a defined set of 6 pack abs, turning my dad bad into a hot bod, from fat bod to fit bod. =)