Celebrity fitness instructor shares five tips for weight loss and making wellness a habit

Yasir Khan lists the essential steps to enjoying a holistic and healthier lifestyle

Yasir Khan with Indian tennis player Sania Mirza, a client who has taken on his holistic transformation challenge. Photo: Yasir Khan

A fast-paced world, and an ever-evolving country such as the UAE, means maintaining a balance between hectic schedules and a healthy lifestyle is a constant struggle for many. A word of advice: ditch the shortcuts. If you’re truly looking to improve overall well-being, you need to think holistically.

It’s a buzzword, I know, but if you embrace a holistic transformation, you instil in yourself a state of physical, psychological and spiritual balance.

Your body is a product of your lifestyle and a reflection of your thoughts. Transformation requires a change of perception that is not solely focused on a simple weight-loss journey, but a remodelling of your outlook and actions. Adopting — and truly accepting — a better lifestyle with a variety of supportive techniques will allow you to thrive long term, no matter how your hectic your weeks and months are.

We are multidimensional beings and are at our best when we work on ourselves wholly and consistently. The aim is to create a difference and adopt intangibles beyond conventional fitness. Holistic transformation focuses on the subconscious mind, pushing people to believe in the true importance of their transformation journey, as opposed to standard fitness training where the focus is largely on the mechanism.

With this in mind, here are some primary challenges people face, as well as ways to recognise and change these habits one by one to kick-start your wellness plan.

1. Nip the abundance of excuses

We are all aware that if we don’t put in the work, results are hard to achieve. Excuses are one of the foremost obstacles to reaching the milestones you set out to conquer. Whether you are busy, have too much going on or even if you’re recovering from an illness, fitness is often not seen as a priority until it becomes a necessity.

There are two ways to overcome this: find in yourself an inner reserve of strength and willpower that ensures you exercise self-discipline; or seek out a programme that fosters accountability or a professional who encourages you to make health your number one priority.

2. Emerge from the sand

Being fully aware of your lifestyle and its repercussions is key. Ask yourself: are my surroundings aiding my fitness journey? Has fitting into social circles and overindulging at weekends become my culture? Just as you watch hard-hitting documentaries on slaughterhouses and climate change on Netflix, educate yourself about the long-term health issues an excessive lifestyle can lead to. The aim is to help you want to challenge and change it.

If you adapt your surroundings to serve you and your goals, that’s half the battle won. It’ll mean you are more aware of what you eat and who you look up to, emulate and even follow on social media. Surrounding yourself with positive examples will play a major role in your holistic well-being.

3. Every day is not Monday

I strongly believe a person controls his or her own motivation levels. If you are faced with a lack of desire, don’t wait for a sign from the universe. Instead, take baby steps on a daily basis and make decisions based on your goals — not your feelings.

Motivation is an emotion; its levels can vary based on the events of your day. Yet, each day is not the same, nor should be treated as such. A lack of motivation on Monday should not dictate your actions for the rest of the week. No excuses.

4. Keep at it

We’ve often heard the old adage consistency is key and this is most applicable on your fitness journey. A tendency to give up, especially when you don’t get quick results, is one of the biggest reasons people fall off the wellness wagon.

Instead of thinking “what’s the point?” change your mindset to believe “a little effort every day will show big results someday”. Consistency will follow.

5. Make wellness a habit

It sounds basic, but a significant number of people are intimidated by the thought of entering a gym. If you don’t have it in you to jump head-on into your journey, enlist a friend who can guide you. Fitness buffs like nothing better than to bring others on side.

There is no magic solution to a healthy, well-balanced life. It simply starts the day you decide to make it happen. Better habits start as a single action. Repeated over time, they become second nature. And, that is the simplest way to embark on a journey of holistic transformation, with no doubts and fears.

Empowering people to train their minds to overcome tiresome habits, as well as championing the belief that the impact you make on yourself is an impact made on society, is one of the primary pillars of my Transform Your Body programme, which is centred on the idea that the body achieves what the mind believes.

Yasir Khan is a transformational mentor and trainer to celebrities such as influencer Khalid Al Ameri and tennis star Sania Mirza. Khan will launch TYB Gym in Dubai in September