[Read Part 1: Weight Loss – Three Keys]

[Read Part 2: Weight Loss – Another Key (Luck)]

[Read Part 3: Weight Loss – The Next Key]

[Read Part 4: Weight Loss – One More Key]

[Read Part 5: Weight Loss – One Simple Key]

People commonly believe running is a solitary sport. IMHO, yes and no. It is also a team sport.

For years people tended to compare and contrast between Hong Kong and Singapore. The two cities had very similar histories even though they had very different roots and DNAs. As my daughters are running now, I have come to realize that both in Singapore and Hong Kong, interschool cross-country is a combination of individual and team sports. One more similarity between the two cities, right? In both systems, the fastest runners get individual medals and schools with the top combined results from their runners receive team trophies.

When I was running in my high school cross-country team as a school boy, I noticed that some schools performed well over the years and always stayed on top even though they may not have had star runners (individual medals were far and between). On the other hand, some schools had star runners. However, no matter how great those few top runners were, a team could not go on the podium if there were other significantly weak teammates.

‘We don’t need star runners!!,’ said Manson Kwok, who coaches my high school cross-country team now. Manson enlightened me in this perspective. He was and is right. For a team to do well, it is nice to have star runners but it is not essential.

Someone once said, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Spot on! Human beings are genetically wired as herd animals, we fare better as a group/team.

I assume everybody has heard of the phrase, “Rome was not built in a day.” Rome is still around and we can assume that the Rome now is different from the Rome that previously existed. It is safe to assume that the motivating-driving force that once drove the build-up of Rome is no longer around. However, it was casually forgotten that Rome was not built alone! What we see today was a collective effort  of numerous pairs of hands over many years!

Lifestyle change is also a team sport. Food and activity routines are the result of a family team sport. A family that is supportive of dietary modification from the kitchen to the dining table and mutual encouragement is crucial for great long term results.

 A team that is collectively respectful, works together well in setting goals, makes plans, takes action and achieves them together forms a rock-solid foundation for long term results. We are not talking about years, we are talking about decades at a time.

A great team achieves more than any individuals.

One fundamental key of weight loss is to Get help and help one another, even if you may not think you need it.