Hacks to Attain Your WHR (Waist to Height Ratio) Goal in 2020!
The other week we discussed about shifting from being weight-watcher to waist-watcher. Watching our waistline is so much easier and more effective than watching our weight or even our BMI (Body Mass Index). (Click link to read article)
We discussed how we should not allow our (WHR) Waist to Height Ratio to go beyond 50%
The above is just a limit for health purposes, as beyond this size increases your risk of having diabetes, heart disease, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, musculoskeletal disorders, etc. If you want to aim for sexier figures, here is your WHR guide:
Here are steps you can take to achieve your #WHRGoals2020.
- Measure your waistline. Then compute for your WHR are provided in the illustration above. If you are significantly beyond 50%, start aiming for 50% first before you aim for a Beyonce WHR. :)
- Do you have a target date for getting your desired waistline? Is there a wedding you have to attend? A reunion? A milestone birthday? A photo shoot? Think of any important event and make it your target date. Having a deadline is powerful in achieving goals.
- Write down your desired waistline measurement on the first day of the month of your target date. (For example, you’re attending a wedding on May 15, 2020 and you want your waistline to be 26 inches by then so you will look gorgeous in your gown. Write in your calendar “Waistline is 26 inches!” on May 1, and set an alarm. :)
- Help yourself get to that waistline gradually. For example, you measured your waistline to be 28 inches in January 2020 so you have four months to get to your desired waistline of 26 inches. Here’s what you do: 28 – 26 = 2 inches to lose. Two (2) inches divided by 4 months = 0.5 inch per month. For each first day of the month write down the waistline reduced by 0.5 inch. So February 1, 2020, write “Waistline is 27.5 inches!” For March 1, 2020, write “Waistline is 27 inches!” and so on.
This is like having an appointment with yourself and it gives the effect of a written commitment to achieve the mini milestones on to the way to achieving your ultimate goal by July 2020.
- Visualize. If you have a photo peg of how you’d like to look on target date, have that photo where you can see it regularly. This day and age, it’s your phone’s screen saver.
- Design your diet. It’s ideal to consult a nutritionist. You may also research on the right kind of food for your goal. Then make sure that the desired everyday diet is your default meal. If you have the budget, there are various food deliveries that can help you with this. If you prefer home-cooked meals, do so and serve in desired quantities. At home, we have not eliminated rice but we have switched to red rice and served in half-cups. This way it is easier to consume the right quantity.
If it’s important for you to still enjoy your favorite meals once in a while, designate one or two days a week (e.g. weekend) to still have them but don’t be OA in the quantity you consume such that all the disciplined eating during the week will be no match to your weekend “happy meals.”
- Exercise. Find the exercise you enjoy and design a way to do it regularly without having to count on will power each time. This is what I did when I was serious in fitting in my wedding gown once again when we celebrated our Pearl Anniversary (30th) last year. At night, I put my cellphone beside my rubber shoes and work-out clothes on my dresser. I could only turn on my phone after I’ve put on my rubber shoes, work-out clothes and gone to the treadmill. The decision to make was, “Do I want to turn on my phone?” and not anymore, “Will I exercise today?” :)
- Have a measuring tape handy. When I was a young mom of three active toddlers, it was easier for me to shop for their clothes by myself. Shopping for shoes and clothes with my three sons was quite a chore then, as they would be all over the place running around, impatient with waiting and would just say, “Yes Ma this is okay, can we go now?” So, I always had three cut-out paper of their respective shoe size where I wrote down the current measurements of their shoulders, waistline, pants length, and my measuring tape so I could measure the clothes quickly. I carried all these until they became grown up. A few years ago, I decided to put back my measuring tape in my bag. I also have one in my walk-in closet instead of a weighing scale. To me, it is a much more helpful tool and definitely more convenient to carry around than a weighing scale! :)
- When attending parties and other occasions where you’re predisposed to eat a lot, wear something that’s not too loose to discourage over-eating. Yup, it’s the opposite of what we’d usually wear in going to an eat-all-you-can restaurant or attending parties with good food, but this is a design that limits your food intake. Make it uncomfortable to overeat. My husband Marvin has a built-in physiological problem that helps control his weight/waist gain. His hyperacidity acts up when he overeats. You may consider it a blessing in disguise. Observe your body and see what signs it gives you when you should stop eating already.
- Drink lots of water. Design your water intake with reminders. In my writing office, we programmed Alexa to tell us, “It’s time to stand up and drink!” every hour. Whenever we hear this, we stand up from our desks, drink water, go to the toilet for a leak and do some stretching.
- Don’t be over sensitive when people who care for you remind you of your weight. I know it’s a sensitive remark to receive but let’s not mistake gentle reminders for “body shaming.” Body shaming is when one calls you “Baboy” or “Balyena” or “Damulag,” and other demeaning words. Why is it not politically correct to gently remind someone, “Do you think that’s healthy for you?” or “Aren’t you full yet?” when it’s okay to say, “I think you’ve had too much to drink!”
- Do not buy clothes when you are not in your right size. If you observe this, you will be forced to trim down the waistline if every morning you struggle to fit in your clothes without looking like a suman or muffin-top. Let vanity set in and you will surely do something to fit in your wardrobe again. Reminder: Do not buy clothes in your target size yet, hoping that it will motivate you to trim down your waistline. It doesn’t work that way and it’s a waste of money. There’s a psychological explanation to this, especially for girls. In general, women who like to shop will already get a satisfaction when shopping for clothes. Don’t get that satisfaction yet. Get it only when you go back to your normal size.
- Keep your “standard waistline deviation” low. In investment lingo, standard deviation is a measure of volatility, a bandwidth of ups and downs from the average. Applying it to our waistline, know what your comfortable healthy waistline is. Then endeavor to not deviate too far from it – both going way beyond your 50% WHR or getting way too thin by doing fad diets or procedures. Like in investing, the higher the standard deviation, the riskier it is.
- Have a WHR support team or partner. Accountability, reminders, and cheers are helpful in attaining this goal.
- Do not count on fad diets. Fad diets come in different names and promise big short-term changes with little efforts. While some may say that so and so diet really worked well for them and in a short period of time, think about the negative side effects it will have on your body. Most of the time the weight loss is easy-come easy-go and subjects your body to the yoyo effect (weight loss followed by weight gain which usually brings you to a heavier net weight).
The FQ-minded me likens this to a financial scam. There is no such thing as easy money or get-rich quick. Inasmuch as healthy investing requires a long process of high FQ lifestyle, healthy body into your old age requires a life-long journey of high HQ (Health Quotient) lifestyle, no shortcuts!
Remember, nobody gets fat overnight! Just like nobody falls out of love or becomes poor overnight (unless you’re a terrible gambler). Weight gain (or should I say “waist gain?”) is a slow process. The final outcome is in the everyday choices that we make knowingly or unknowingly.
I hope the above hacks and reminders help you attain your desired physique this year. I’m sure you have other hacks in mind. I’d love to hear them. Let’s all design our everyday life so that our default actions are the ones that are good for us and help us achieve our #WHRGoals2020! 
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
- For more tips on how to attain your desired waistline please click How to fit in your original wedding gown after 25 years
- I have received several queries on my next public talks. Here’s one that you can attend and you will not just learn from me and my family but also from other speakers. Come to the Money and Family Summit on April 4-5, 2020 at SMX Aura. Register here: www.finlitsummit.ph
- Mom and Son Podcast - Year 2 Episode 3 (TRANSITIONING TO A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE)
We tend to focus on the exercise aspect of getting fit most of the time and overlook or forget the importance of having a proper diet. People say “Abs are made in the kitchen,” as it would contribute to 80% of what is needed to do compared to the 20% that exercise affects. We discuss how our family has tried to implement a healthier lifestyle through the structure of our meals, how we buy our food etc. Here’s to a healthier 2020!?
#MomAndSonPodcast?
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7zYeuiMsCMw9ibQIpqcghU?si=v1CwP8JbQJ63zt1ZBvv2BQ
Buzzsprout
Apple iTunes
https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/mom-and-son-podcast/id1449688689?mt=2
Google Podcasts
https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8yNDE0NDcucnNz
YouTube
Originally uploaded on Anton Fausto’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/tKwUZhUpPp0
FQ Mom Link: https://youtu.be/naJ94VJZFdE
- If you want to include better Financial Health for 2020 and the new decade, take the FQ Test now. Click link. http://rebrand.ly/FQTest
- Have a healthy relationship with money, start by reading FQ: The nth Intelligence and sharing the lessons with your loved ones.
You may purchase the book in major bookstores, or if you want autographed copies, please go to FQ Mom FB page (click SHOP), or FQMom.com (click BOOKS), or email us at FQMomm@gmail.com
Rose Fres Fausto is a speaker and author of bestselling books Raising Pinoy Boys and The Retelling of The Richest Man in Babylon (English and Filipino versions). Click this link to read samples – Books of FQ Mom. She is a Behavioral Economist, Certified Gallup Strengths Coach and the grand prize winner of the first Sinag Financial Literacy Digital Journalism Awards. Follow her on Facebook & YouTube as FQ Mom, and Twitter & Instagram as theFQMom. Her latest book is FQ: The nth Intelligence.
Image Attribution: Photos from freepik.com, pngkit.com, corefityoga.com, and Wikipedia.com, modified and used to help deliver the message of the article.
