This man, apparently an eager new member of the gym, tries to follow a trainer’s instruction. He succeeds for the first few repetitions, but soon tires out, breathing hard.

Oh, it’s hard. I’m trying to get rid of this bulging tummy before the summer. I lost three kilos in four weeks and I feel fit. I need to lose about six kilos. I can feel that I’m in better shape. A fat tummy makes life really difficult. And nothing fits me anymore.

It’s the new year and dieting probably made it to almost everyone’s New Year’s resolution list. Already a month into the new year it’s too soon to give up on the promise we made to ourselves, showing up fit and trim in a swimming suit this summer. So until that goal is reached, we keep on huffing and puffing on the treadmill and subsist on chicken breast and salad.

Among the most cited New Year’s resolution are quit smoking, learning a foreign language, and saving more money, but losing weight takes the crown. Everyone can afford to lose a couple of kilograms and that’s why dieting is always at the top of people’s resolution list. But it is also one of the hardest resolutions to keep, with the temptations to skip workouts and binge on fatty food aplenty even before the year’s first month is over. But there are still plenty of determined dieters who stick to their strict regimen. Let’s find out how they do it.

- While I was in the middle of a diet, almost starving myself, my boyfriend said that I didn’t need to eat so much. I was even more shocked when his friends told me that I looked chubbier than before.
- I first began dieting to support my daughter, but found out I had high blood pressure and needed to lose weight more than my daughter did.
- I was diagnosed with a slightly deformed spine. I registered with the gym to correct my posture.

People attempt to lose weight for various reasons – to become healthier, to look more stylish, and to regain confidence. What is so surprising is that Korea is seeing its obesity rate climbing steadily. Here’s Professor Kang Je-hun at Inje University’s Seoul Paik Hospital.

Just a decade ago about twenty percent of Koreans were obese, but now it’s more than 30%. There may be many reasons for the spike, but most have to do with environmental reasons. Koreans take in more calories than before. Also, women tend to gain weight after childbirth and men after they finish their military service and get a job. In general, weight gain is caused by social and economic changes in a person’s life, one’s job situation, and changes in the surroundings.

- My abdomen is the problem. I want to lose about ten kilograms, twenty would be even better. I want to wear whatever I want, not big, loose-fitting clothes, but tight, shape-revealing ones. Wearing a short, cropped shirt like young people is my dream.
- My goal is to get my old body back. Most of the fat is concentrated in the lower half of my body, on my thighs and calves. I want to lose about five kilograms.
- I want to be about ten kilos lighter. I’m going to work out until I have a smooth tummy and I can wear bikinis in the summer.

Everyone dreams of reaching his or her target weight and strutting in a new shapely body. With that vision in mind, dieters try everything, from a boot camp-style fitness program to yoga and swimming, but losing weight boils down to controlling your appetite and food intake. There is nothing more difficult and stressful than resisting the urge to eat.

- Of course I want to eat. I’m most tempted by ramen, something spicy. Rice is the hardest food to forego, because it’s starch. I crave carbohydrate the most.
- I miss chicken and beer the most, but I must resist the temptation. I need to lose weight. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night because I’m so hungry. At times like that I just drink a glass of warm milk. The hardest time is when I have to go to family dinner on the weekend.

But resisting the urge to eat is only half the battle. Body fat won’t go away unless you work out. Dieting without exercising brings just the opposite of what you want to achieve - you lose muscle and look older from sagging skin. So the first step people tend to take in their weight loss quest is to get gym membership, making the beginning of the year the busiest time for a fitness center. Here’s personal trainer Jeon Sang-min.

We get more than double the membership and double the attendance rate. One news article said that dieting was at the top of the New Year’s resolution list, followed by quitting smoking and saving more money. Dieting is the easiest promise to make, but also the hardest one to keep. A new year doesn’t make any difference to those who have been working out for a long time, but those who start out in January tend to overdo it and stop showing up after a while.

Weight training to build muscle, power walking on the treadmill, riding the stationary bike, stretching to relax the muscles – the things people go to through to shed even a few hundred grams. But it would do you more harm if you used exercise equipment incorrectly. So the hottest trend in the workout world these days is getting personal training sessions to learn how to use the equipment effectively and get a customized workout plan.



It’s hard to slack off under the watchful eyes of a personal trainer. You do your best to follow the trainer’s count and movement, so it is only a matter of time before you began to see a change in your body shape. However, it is important to set a realistic goal and a doable exercise plan lest you should get discouraged and give up when results are not soon evident. Here’s Professor Kang Je-hun of Inje University’s Seoul Paik Hospital again.

Every year we see people resolving to lose weight and quit smoking. They are the most frequently made resolutions, because they are the hardest ones to achieve and thus people make them year after year. People make the mistake of setting unrealistic goals, plans that are impossible to follow. So they tend to get off to an eager start, but after a while they find it hard to keep up and just give up. I advise all my patients to set a realistic, achievable target. Dieters naturally want to lose weight quickly, but that’s a shortcut to failure. You should make a fitness plan that you can follow for the rest of your life.

At this boxing club it is not unusual to see a group of ladies in boxing gloves learning jabs, hooks, and uppercuts. Boxing is a popular sport among those looking to lose weight quickly, because it burns up a lot of calories in a short time. Here’s boxing coach Kang Tae-yong.

There are two types of boxing diet – traditional boxing preferred mostly by men and boxing aerobic, naturally favored by women. Boxing aerobic requires wider steps and frequent turns, so it is great for women looking to have a slim waistline. Boxing aerobic is all about punching and stepping to the music, so it uses up more calories. It’s more fun than running on the treadmill, because a trainer can help you hit the sandbag or engage you in a mock fight. You can burn up more calories while having fun.

After only thirty minutes under the instruction of a boxing coach and you’ll find yourself begging for mercy. Your legs would wobble and your body would ache for days.

- It burns up so many calories. It’s hard at first and I ached all over when I woke up in the morning. But the pain goes away as I become more fit.
- I used to dabble in several exercise programs when I was fat. But I like boxing aerobic the best, because it’s fun and energetic. A ten-minute session burns up as many calories as an hour of swimming. I lost as much as 20 kilos.

If boxing diet requires endless punches and steps, there is a workout program that makes much less demand on your body.

This is hot yoga, or Bikram yoga. It’s a yoga exercise program performed under hot and humid conditions, just like its origin in India. It’s great for relaxing your tense muscles and letting out a copious amount of sweat. No wonder you lose so much weight. Here’s yoga instructor Park So-hee.

Hot yoga is done in an environment 38 degrees or hotter. Since it is so hot in the studio, your muscles relax more easily and you let out a lot of sweat, toxins included. It helps strengthen your upper body and boosts your metabolism to increase your calorie consumption. Just a few of the hot yoga movements would tire you out. Hot yoga improves your muscle strength and balance, which ultimately helps with dieting.

Hot yoga is done in an environment 38 degrees or hotter. Since it is so hot in the studio, your muscles relax more easily and you let out a lot of sweat, toxins included. It helps strengthen your upper body and boosts your metabolism to increase your calorie consumption. Just a few of the hot yoga movements would tire you out. Hot yoga improves your muscle strength and balance, which ultimately helps with dieting.

- Since it’s so hot here, I tend to drink a lot of water and naturally let out a lot of impurities from my body. I had a bad skin condition, but now I’m much better.
- I feel so much lighter and my pants are loose now. It’s not too strenuous so I can follow the moves better. I also like the fact that it’s not boring.
- It doesn’t bulk your muscles up like weight training. Yoga makes you look trimmer, more toned. Of course it helps with weight loss, but I recommend it because it helps form lean muscles.

The road to weight loss may be long and hard, but once you reach your goal, all the pain would seem worthwhile. You not only look better, but radiate from inside with pride for having met your goal successfully. Dieting has made both your body and mind healthier. Here’s Professor Kang Je-hun of Inje University’s Seoul Paik Hospital.

You can tell successful dieters from their eyes. Their eyes sparkle with confidence. There is nothing more difficult than losing weight. So achieving their goals makes them really confident and satisfied with their lives. They tend to enjoy their lives more.

We certainly should not judge a person by his or her outward appearance. But, with obesity blamed for causing various illnesses, we need to keep fit in order to live a healthier life. Why not start with eating a little less dinner and taking a short walk around the neighborhood? You will soon find yourself in better shape, both physically and mentally.