Diet and exercise

• 5:2 diet
• Special K diet
• NHS weight loss plan
• Juice fast
• Atkins diet
• Raw food diet
• Baby food diet
• Calorie counting
• Grapefruit diet
• Cabbage soup diet
  Andy followed each diet for five days before moving on to the next one – hoping the approach would keep him interested.

• planning meals using the advice depicted by the eatwell plate as a guide 
• eating at least five portions of a variety of fruit and veg a day
• eating smaller portions
• not skipping meals, including breakfast
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• He says that the NHS advice helped him get a better understanding of food labels which proved useful when trying to make healthier choices at the supermarket.

• homemade chilli con carne
• butternut squash risotto
• pasta with homemade vegetable sauce
• chicken salad with a jacket potato

'No more guilt'

A plan for life

The science

• If the amount of calories that you eat equals the amount of energy that your body uses up, then your weight remains stable.
• If you eat more calories than you burn up, you put on weight. The extra (or excess) energy is converted into fat and stored in your body.
• If you eat fewer calories than you burn up, you lose weight. Your body has to tap into its fat stores to get the extra energy it needs.

• Eating less (taking in fewer calories from food).
• Doing more physical activity (burning up more calories).

Lifestyle change for life

• Some people lose weight by strict dieting for a short period. However, as soon as their diet is over, they often go back to their old eating habits, and their weight goes straight back on. Losing weight, and then keeping it off, needs a change in lifestyle for life. This includes such things as:
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• The type of food and drink that you normally buy.
• The type of meals that you eat.
• Your pattern of eating.
• The amount of physical activity that you do.

  Before you start

  Motivation is crucial

  To lose weight and to keep it off, it is vital that you should be motivated, really want to lose weight, and want to improve aspects of your lifestyle. No weight-loss plan will work unless you have a serious desire to lose weight. You may not feel that being overweight or obese is a problem to you. So, you may have little motivation or desire to lose weight. That is fine, so long as you understand the health risks.

  Set clear goals with a realistic timescale

  Based on the recommended rate of weight loss explained above, set yourself a clear weight loss goal with a realistic timescale. Some people aim to get down to a perfect weight. However, this may be a lot of weight to lose for you and you may get fed up about poor progress, and give up. So, you may find it helpful to break up your weight loss goal. For example, you may wish to set yourself a goal to lose 4 kg over the following 4 to 6 weeks. Once you have achieved that goal, you can set yourself another, etc.
  For most people, you can start to get health benefits by losing even just 5-10% of your starting weight. For example, if your starting weight was 100 kg, losing 5-10 kg in weight will produce some health benefits for you, even if you are still not at your ideal weight.
  Top tip: aim to lose weight steadily, around 0.5-1 kg per week. For most people, health benefits can come from losing the first 5-10% of their weight. This is often about 5-10 kg.
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Set yourself an action plan

Monitor your current food intake

Extra tips for losing weight

1. Eat regular meals. This can help you to burn calories at a faster rate and avoid becoming too hungry. It can help in regulating the hormones that are involved in controlling appetite. It can also help you adapt well to a routine, reduce the likelihood of unplanned temptations, and encourage you to develop good self-control.
2. Eat breakfast. Eating breakfast helps to control your blood sugar levels, can kick-start your metabolism and prevent you from snacking or eating impulsively later on. It has also been linked with increasing activity levels throughout the day, by replenishing your energy levels.
3. Make sure each meal is balanced. Think about what you're putting on your plate at each meal time. Half your plate should be made up of fruit and/or vegetables. A quarter of the plate should contain your meat, fish, beans or other protein sources. The other quarter should contain your starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, potatoes or bread. A balanced meal will provide you with all the nutrients you need while keeping your blood sugar levels steady and satisfying your hunger.
4. Don't let yourself get too hungry. If you go for long periods without eating, this can result in you eating more when you eventually do eat and can cause you to crave unhealthy snacks. Eating every 3-4 hours will help to prevent this.

Aim to eat a healthy balanced diet

• Eating plenty of fibre in your diet. Foods rich in fibre include wholegrain bread, brown rice and pasta, oats, peas, lentils, grain, beans, fruit, vegetables and seeds.
• Having at least five portions, or ideally 7-9 portions, of a variety of fruit and vegetables per day. These should be in place of foods higher in fat and calories. For example, fruit makes a good, healthy snack if you feel hungry.
• Limiting fatty food such as fatty meats, cheeses, full-cream milk, fried foods, butter, etc. Use 
  
  • Skimmed or semi-skimmed instead of full-cream milk.
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  • Using low-fat, mono-unsaturated or polyunsaturated spreads instead of butter.
  • If you eat meat, eating lean meat, or poultry such as chicken.
  • Try to grill, bake or steam rather than fry food. If you do fry food, choose a vegetable oil such as sunflower, rapeseed or olive.low-fat options where possible. Examples are:
• Avoiding sugary drinks and foods such as chocolate, sweets, biscuits, cakes, etc.
• Limiting other foods likely to be high in fat or sugar such as some take-away or fast foods.
• Eating three meals a day and not skipping meals. Always have breakfast. Eat each meal slowly. Skipping meals will just make you feel more hungry, make you think more about food, and make you more likely to overeat in the evening or snack between meals.
• Trying not to add salt to food, and avoiding foods that are salty.
• Including 2-3 portions of fish per week. At least two of these should be 'oily' (such as herring, mackerel, sardines, kippers, pilchards, salmon, or fresh tuna).

Plan what you eat

Change your eating habits

• Are you eating larger and larger portions when you have a meal? Deliberately try to take smaller portions when you have a meal. Do not feel that you have to empty your plate. Perhaps change the plates in your cupboard (which may be large) to more medium-sized plates. In this way you will naturally serve up smaller portions.
• What do you have for snacks? Try changing chocolates, cakes or crisps for fruit. The Change 4 Life website listed below gives tips about healthy snack alternatives.
• Do you have second helpings at mealtimes when you are really already full?
• Skipping meals is usually a bad idea. It sounds a good idea, but many people just become hungry, have snacks later in the day, and eat too much at the next meal. Eating at regular mealtimes may be a first important change. It is best to have three healthy meals a day.
• Do you always have a pudding? Will a light yogurt do instead of a sweet pastry?
• Do you eat quickly? Are you ready for a second helping before most people have half finished their first plateful? Overweight people, on average, eat faster than slimmer people. It is best to train yourself to chew each mouthful for longer, and to eat slowly.
• Do you give yourself time to feel full? It takes 15-20 minutes for the brain to register that you feel full. The hormones that regulate your appetite need time to kick in. So, eating slowly and allowing yourself time to feel full can help you to lose weight.
• Do you watch TV while you are eating? Sometimes having distractions and not concentrating on mealtimes can cause you to overeat. Sit down at the table during meals, focus on what you are eating, taste the food and become more aware of your food and eating habits.

Change the food you buy

Try new recipes

Consider eating more soup

Are you feeling physically hungry?

A note about special diets

Be careful about what you drink

An interesting research trial involving water

Increase your physical activity levels

Monitor your behaviour and progress

Get help and support

Surgery to help with weight loss

ALMONDS

Accept that the occasional slip up is normal and that it’s not the end of the world. Get straight back on track. Don’t let a slip make you lose sight of your overall goals and the progress you have made, instead learn from it.
• Keep some form of food diary. People who do lose more weight as it helps you to stay aware of what you are doing and deal with any problems like emotional eating. It also helps you feel more in control of your eating.
• Track your progress; you might want to do this by weighing yourself once a week, measuring your waist, reviewing your food diary or seeing what goals you have achieved at the end of each month. • Plan for events like eating out, celebrations and parties. Decide what your plan of action will be and stick to it. For example: when eating out, decide to have two courses instead of three or share a pudding that you would normally eat to yourself.



• Have a plan for your high risk situations to help prevent any slip up. The plan must be specific and detailed, for example: I am at high risk of stopping my healthy eating when I’m busy. My plan to handle this situation is to do menu plans weekly, write shopping lists, cook in bulk and freeze individual portions.
• Making changes to your lifestyle can require a lot of effort. When you achieve a goal reward your achievement with something you value that is non food-related (e.g. magazine or a trip to the cinema).
• Get the support that is right for you - it makes all the difference. Decide who can help you and tell them the best way they can do it. Ask a friend to go to an exercise class with you and ask your partner not to buy you food as a gift. Remember there is no quick fix. People who successfully lose weight and keep it off stay realistic and develop techniques to make their new lifestyle and activity habits an enjoyable way of life.

And finally, it takes time for your brain to know your stomach is full so wait at least fifteen to twenty minutes before deciding you need more food. Be more active Moving your body around means using up more calories than if you are sitting down - every little helps... •
 Just like your food it is important to keep an activity diary to see how much activity you actually do each week. This will help you see the times that you could include a little bit more activity to help you maintain or lose your weight. Plan your activities into your diary each week, tick them off and be proud when you have done them.

• Slowly build on the amount of activity you do so that it becomes part of your daily routine and not just a passing phase you find too difficult to keep up. People who do this are far more successful with long term weight control and maintenance.
• Look for easy ways to fit more movement into your day-to-day routine, for example, stand up when on the phone, use a toilet further away, park a bit further away from your destination, take the stairs or get off the bus a stop earlier.
• Plan a walk into your day. Ask someone in your family or a friend to walk with you. Gradually increase the length of time and the speed of your walks to burn more calories.
• Try using a step counter or pedometer to see what you currently manage then gradually add to the number of steps you take - build up to 10,000 a day or even more.
Follow an eating and activity plan that is tailored to you and to your lifestyle - you are much more likely to stick to it if it suits you.