Ten Ways To Lose Weight

1)      Start a diet. This had to be in the 10! If you want to lose weight, eating sensibly is going to help. The best diets lead to a lifelong healthier lifestyle rather than a ‘quick fix’ which provides short term benefits.

2)      Exercise more. If you don't do any exercise, try doing just a few minutes a day intensive walking. Take the steps at work rather than the lift. Any extra exercise you can fit into your day is going to help; from a short lunch time run to sit-ups before tea

3)      Change the snacks. When you fancy a snack do you go straight for the chocolate and crisps? Try swapping these for healthier treats, the change might take a while to become second nature but, like all these small steps, it's worth it

4)      Plan: Create a diet plan prior to jumping in feet first. How much do you want to lose, how will you maintain the weight loss? The more questions you can answer from the offset the more likely you are to succeed.

5)      Trust in the science. Very few diets are backed by scientific papers; most aren't. Ignore the latter. Remember, a few column inches in a Sunday magazine might be impressive but they're not the equal of a peer-reviewed paper.

6)     Tell people you want to lose weight. Telling people keeps you accountable and more likely to stick to the diet. It also helps aid your own motivation, when nobody else knows your intention to lose weight it's far easier to either keep putting it off or give up at the first hurdle. Perhaps peer pressure can be good at times!

7)      It's not about eating less; it's about eating the right things. Rather than eating small portions, then getting overhungry and ending up bingeing on snacks, consider eating balanced, healthy meals that cut out the need for the bed time treat. Low carbohydrate diets are one such approach.

8)      Drink more water. Did you know that it can be hard to tell the difference between minor dehydration and hunger? If you're feeling hungry try drinking a glass of water, it's often all you need.

9)      Find a diet buddy. It might be your partner, a friend, relative or colleague. Finding someone else who's dieting makes it far easier for you to stick to your plans. You've got someone to discuss your success with, to ask for advice and to share any tips that work. And, on any bad days, someone to tell you to keep going.

10)  Treat yourself. Set little targets and reward yourself for hitting them. It can be anything, a DVD, a round of golf, a lie in. Those treats are a deserved reward for the hard work you're putting in.

Hopefully those 10 ways to lose weight can help you on the path – we'd love to hear your tips for success!