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Before you start any weight reduction programme or fitness campaign, it is advisable to seek expert advice or consult your Doctor.

The healthiest way to lose weight is not by crash dieting or irregular bursts of exercise - the body likes slow changes in terms of food and exercise.

For example, someone who has not exercised for years should not rush into running miles each day or pounding the treadmill. Not only will they struggle, but will be left feeling disheartened and demotivated, and more likely to sustain injuries setting fitness levels back further.

The same goes for people who suddenly start starving themselves. Diets that severely restrict calories or the types of food 'allowed' can lead you to be deficient in the nutrients and vitamins your body needs.

If you are overweight, you can't continue with your current eating habits. It is not possible to reduce body fat while eating lots of food, cakes and sweets. This doesn't mean you can never have any treats, but you need to learn how to limit these to small quantities - say, for special occasions.

In terms of weight-loss, you can get your body to use up existing stores of fat by eating less and making healthier choices. This does not mean crash dieting (anything less than 1500 calories) or Quick-fix diets. Crash diets will just leave you feeling weak and you'll then give up in desperation and Quick-fix diets create a yo-yo effect of drastic weight loss and gain, resulting in an unhealthy vicious cycle.

Basically, there are no shortcuts to losing weight in a healthy and reasonable way. Eating 300 to 500 calories less per day should lead to a loss of between one and two pounds per week. This is a realistic target. It may seem slow, but would add up to a weight loss of more than three stone in a year.

Fat contains the most amount of calories out of all the food types, so cutting down on fatty foods and eating more wholegrain bread, fruit and vegetables is a good way to achieve this.

Below are ways to reduce calorie intake without having to alter your diet significantly.

 • Replace fizzy drinks with loads of water.  

 • Swap whole milk for semi-skimmed, or semi-skimmed for skimmed.

 • Eat less lunch than usual. For example, make your own sandwich and limit the use of
   margarine/butter and full-fat mayonnaise (store-bought sandwiches often contain both).

 • Stop taking sugar in tea and coffee.

 • Have smaller portions of the food you enjoy.

 • Avoid having a second helping at dinner.

 • Cut out unhealthy treats, such as confectionary, sugary biscuits and crisps between meals.

 • Cut down on beer and alcohol.

All these things will influence your health in a positive way.

Don't be tempted to skip breakfast or any meal to lose weight. While skipping a meal will reduce your calorie intake for that hour, it will leave you much hungrier later on. Not only are you likely to overeat to compensate, but you'll often make bad choices to fill the gap.

Irregular eating habits also disrupt your body's metabolism, which makes it harder to lose weight in the first place.The body will get defensive and store more body fat as your eating habits become erratic.

It may take a week or two before you notice any changes, but they will steadily appear. After the first month you will be able to see the results and measure them in terms of looser fitting clothes.

Keeping your motivation up is one of the most difficult aspects of dieting. There will be days when healthy eating goes out the window and there will be weeks where you may not lose any weight – or put a little back on. This is normal for everyone – dieters or not – so don't let it undo your plans for a slimmer you. You're not doing anything 'wrong', but you may need to look at your plan. Do you need to increase your activity levels? Make a few more changes to your diet? Put more effort into sticking to your current plan?

The other side of this is to make sure you celebrate your goals. While there is joy enough in stepping on the scales and seeing them dip lower, be sure to mark long-term progress with a reward such as a trip to an exclusive restaurant and that special bottle of ‘Vino’. Celebrating is also a way to involve your nearest and dearest – it's up to you whether you want their encouragement in the form of gentle reminders not to eat certain foods, but support from other people can get you through the bumpy patches.

It is suggested that you view this as an on going process rather than looking for a quick fix. If you aim to lose 1lb per week, then this is a very achievable and realistic goal to go for. So if you want to lose a stone (14 lbs) – you have 14 weeks to do it in and still enjoy life while you are doing it. Now you need to sit down, have a think and…….

 • Decide how much weight you want to lose and by when.

 • Put it down in writing.

 • Then start thinking in terms of changing some of your habits. (Eating more fruit)

 • Eat three meals a day.

 • Keep a mental note of your daily calorie intake.

 • Develop an exercise routine. Join a gym. Get advice from the Fitness Instructor.

 • Monitor your progress. Weigh your self once a week.

 • And reward yourself!

 

It has been said that,

"if you lose weight and increase your fitness, your personal production can increase by 20%!"

The theory is that you feel good in yourself and have more energy, drive and enthusiasm for the job.

This has a positive effect on your work and personal production.

A win - win situation.