Investing and Dieting - Wealth and Health

The whole point of planning for a retirement income is to eventually achieve financial independence to retire on right? That means there is an inherent assumption that one gets to actually retire and live life to enjoy for "as long as you shall live", as my insurance agent might say. So one has to figure out what it takes to be healthy to do so.

Eat Less, Exercise More

Managing one's weight then goes a long way to achieving this goal. "Eat less, exercise more", or so goes conventional wisdom. But where's the joy if I love to eat in the first place? Easier said than done it seems.

Actually, my experience over the past half a year suggests that it really isn't that tough. There are really two important rules to remember to get started:

Rule #1.  Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). This is the daily calorie (kCal) intake that one needs to maintain the weight. There are several formulas. But no worries, just pick one and go with it. They are about the same anyway - a function of height, weight, age and sex. Simply said, if I eat more than the BMR level, I would gain weight. Conversely, eat less, and I lose weight. Simple.

Rule #2.  7000 calories = 2 pounds (or just under 1 kg). Therefore, if I maintain a net deficit vide Rule #1 over a period of time, I would lose almost 1 kg per 7000 calories of deficit. At a steady rate of 350 calories deficit a day, I would lose about 1 kg each fortnight.

Spend Less, Invest More

If you think about this, the whole concept isn't really that much different from investment - i.e. live within one's means. Overspend, and I end up in debt. Spend less, and there is savings. The Basal Metabolic Rate is similar to the idea of balancing our revenue and expenses.

And if I were to put aside a certain sum regularly, I would build up a healthy level of savings. Attempting to lose 350 calories a day to create about 2 kg weight loss a month is equivalent to putting aside a regular sum of savings into investments to build up a healthy portfolio.

Health is Wealth

It all goes together. I've shed 10 kg over the past 5 months. Join me?

Go go go!