HONG KONG — Moving to Hong Kong in 2017 was the motivation Arash and Harriet needed to lose weight and get into shape. Impressed by the city's fitness culture, the husband and wife, who had arrived from the Middle East, set out to lose fat, build muscle and eat more healthily — as a team.

The couple, who agreed to share their story but not their surname for privacy's sake, say working towards their goals together was a key factor in their success in achieving their lean, taut bodies.

Wanting to look and feel their best for themselves and each other incited them to spur each other on.

"I wanted to lose three to five kilograms and get toned. Arash wanted to lose a few kilos too, as well as build muscle," 35-year-old Harriet explains. "Deciding to take charge of our health and weight together made achieving the goal so much easier."

They signed on with trainer Ivan Corsi at the Athletic Club in Central, who designed an exercise and meal plan to help the pair meet their targets.

"Before starting the programme a typical weekend for us would have involved hanging out at the beach in the morning and then sitting down to a long meal," Harriet says. "But now, we start our weekend mornings with a hike and reward ourselves afterwards with some beach time and a healthy lunch."

The 39-year-old Arash says: "Before the pandemic we travelled frequently for work and spent a lot of time apart. This often translated to unhealthy food options and erratic eating schedules. Add to that insufficiently equipped hotel gyms and jet lag, and it's easy to see how tricky it was for us to stick to our workout and diet programme.

"Through it all, we encouraged each other to stay on track and helped each other prepare healthy snacks and pack gym gear before a trip."

Research has shown that when couples aim to lose weight together, they're more likely to succeed.

Research presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in August 2020 found that heart attack survivors who were part of a couple were almost three times more successful at losing weight than those who were single.

Lotte Verweij, of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, who was part of the research team, noted: "When spouses join the effort to change habits, patients have a better chance of becoming healthier — particularly when it comes to losing weight.

"Couples often have comparable lifestyles, and changing habits is difficult when only one person is making the effort. Practical issues come into play, such as grocery shopping, but also psychological challenges, where a supportive partner may help maintain motivation."

Getting fit would've been much harder had Arash and I tried to do it separately — and we probably would've had to spend time apart in the process
Harriet

Mr Niall Westley, a personal trainer at Aqua Terra Performance in Stanley, Hong Kong, says that it helps having someone by your side to motivate you and keep you accountable.

You may be more likely to wake up early to train, even if you don't feel like it, or you may be more consistent with your training schedule and less likely to skip sessions, he says.

"Every couple is different, but generally, successful couples have somebody who's in the fight with them, who'll push them when they need motivation and who'll listen to them when they need to share their experiences or when they feel overwhelmed by their weight loss and fitness goal," Mr Westley adds.

Working on a fitness regimen with a significant other is bound to have challenges. In addition to feeling like you have to compete with them to lose weight or feeling jealous when they progress faster than you, you might find your partner neglects to do their part, making it harder for you to meet your own goals.

"You might feel discouraged if your partner refuses to take accountability or reneges on their commitment to exercising or eating healthily with you," says Dr Tommy Chan, a clinical psychologist at Matilda Medical Centre in Hong Kong.

"They might influence you to skip a workout session or eat foods that you shouldn't, or make you feel bad for trying to stick to your routine. And, if tension already exists in your relationship that isn't related to your weight-loss goal, it might spill over and cause other issues that could hinder your progress."

Since the pandemic began, Harriet and Arash have faced a few obstacles with their workout schedule, but they've handled them together.

"The pandemic has made this a challenging year," says Harriet. "Working from home makes it easy to forget that you have to move, because you're sitting at your desk for hours on end. We've had to plan our hikes in advance and remind each other to stay active.

"We also both recognise that exercising is good for our mental health, so when one of us sees that the other is dealing with work stress and not making his or her fitness a priority, we try to schedule a walk or workout that day. Our trainer, Ivan, also calls us out on our bad habits and gets us back on track."

It's important to set long-term goals and remember that consistency is key to seeing results, Mr Westley says.

Dissociate your happiness from the result of losing weight, and instead, derive a sense of accomplishment from, say, having successfully completed a training session or eaten healthy snacks instead of junk food.

Above all, avoid obsessing over measurements and weight and comparing yourself to your partner. This, he says, will only leave you feeling frustrated and disappointed.

Harriet and Arash achieved their goals: He swapped 4kg of body fat for 4kg of muscle; she lost 3kg of fat and gained 1kg of muscle.

Now in maintenance mode, they train with Mr Corsi twice a week, focusing on strength, and they get their 10,000 steps in every day. On weekends they go on long hikes or exercise together at home.

They haven't been too strict with their diets, but over the year they've been stuck in the house together, they've learned how to cook, so now prepare most of their evening meals themselves instead of ordering in.

Harriet says that being together in Hong Kong for most of 2020 and having each other for emotional support has made a difference in the way she and Arash continue to navigate their health and fitness goals.

"Getting fit would've been much harder had Arash and I tried to do it separately — and we probably would've had to spend time apart in the process. Changing your eating and exercise habits can have an impact on your family, but because Arash and I made these changes together, the transition was smooth," she says.

"It's definitely easier when you have someone there who can help you when you need an extra push." SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST