The god within you.

Earlier, if somebody had asked us, "What does fitness mean to you?" we'd have answered, "An exercised, well-tuned body." Those were the days when we had just sniffed at the exhilarating potential of fitness and had begun to enjoy the tautness of a muscle and the actual feeling of physical well-being. Today, we'd add on a few more qualities. "Fitness," we'd say, "is a well worked-out body, a feeling of total 'wellness, a mind free of agitation, a sense of being spiritually at peace and a pleasant, invigoratingly lively attitude towards life." To that: we'd further add, "Tuning totally into the natural forces within and without you."

However, a poor self-image is not the domain of fat people alone. There are millions of people of all shapes and size who suffer from the same syndrome. Fat or thin, they are victims of themselves. Themselves? you may ask. Think. How many times has somebody told you, "You look like a washed-out dish rag"? Once? Twice? Three times? or perhaps, never?

Be number one with yourself

Today, television screens dish up sports bacon sizzling hot. Speed merchants zip across on winged feet. Tennis tycoons serve aces with pungent power. Swimmers splice and explode through water like turbo­powered fish at an Olympic meet. It's not just sport, but life out there, as superhumans battle for records and recognition. Medels hang around athletic necks trumpeting the triumphant Number One note.

You may not realise it, but you are privileged because you have the choice. And it is up to you whether you want to be in control of your health and life by making the right choice. Even if your immediate goal is to lose weight, you should also have a long term one - to be forever fit and healthy. This way, you can always maintain your weight loss.