Being overweight can cause quite a few health problems for you. This can happen at any age, but naturally worsens with age. Shedding some pounds will help bring around a range of important health benefits for your body to enjoy. But what’s the key to success?

The best way to start any form of diet is to be realistic. Small steps mount up in the bigger picture, so make changes to your diet and physical activity levels. Doing this will allow them to become part of your daily routine.

The following tips can help you lose some pounds to reach a healthy weight.

Have a commitment to the change

The way we live our lives now is completely different to how we would’ve lived a mere 25 years ago. It can be easy to eat and drink more than needed in today’s world, due to the high amount of food chains available at our disposal. The increase in food intake and the reduction of physical activity will often result in weight gain.
Losing weight isn’t as hard as it is seems. It’s a process of changing the current habits we have for healthier options. So, taking in less food – even if you currently have a healthy, balanced diet – and getting more active physically are the two main ways to shed some pounds.
The fad diets that promise drastic results and the exercise regimes that propose the same can deliver you rapid weight loss, but they won’t last for long purely because the lifestyle it requires cannot be maintained for a long period of time. Stopping this regime will eventually result in bad habits returning as you’ll inevitably regain weight. Instead of this, choose a diet and physical activities that can become part of your daily routine. This will help ensure it sticks with you, making it much easier to follow than its fad counterpart.

Are you ready to get started?

You can take four steps today that will start you on your journey towards a healthier weight:

·         If your BMI is currently in the overweight range, you should aim to achieve a weight that will lower your BMI into the healthy range. If you’re currently in the obese range, then aim to lose between 5% and 10% of your starting weight. It can be possible that having a lot of muscle will bump your BMI into the unhealthy range, even if you hold a small amount of body fat. However, this will only apply to small amounts of the population. You can check your BMI here.
 

·         Next is a step that’s quite easy. Everybody has a snack that they have on a regular basis, whether that be sweets, crisps, chocolate or biscuits. All of these things are high in fat and sugar, which give you calories you really don’t want or need. Swap your afternoon snacks for something a little healthier: maybe a piece of fruit, a slice of malt loaf or even a fruit bun. Switching butter to low fat spread will also help your weight loss efforts. Voila, you just made your first major step!
 

·         Swapping those fizzy drinks that are high in calories and sugar for their healthier counterparts is a good idea. Swap sugar based fizzy drinks for sparkling water with a slice of lemon. Also, remember that alcohol is high in calories, so cutting down on your intake could also help control your weight.
 

·         Find a way to fit some walking into your day. Walking helps burn calories, and more often than not you can fit some of it into your daily routine. You might just take a walk to the shops or even get off the bus home a few stops early and walk the rest of the way. Whatever little changes you make will help burn your fat levels. Commit to this, even on the days that you’re feeling a little tired and you’ve taken the second step towards a healthier body. Aiming to walk around 10,000 steps a day may seem a lot, but it’s not! You’ll accumulate thousands just by your daily routine.
 

·         Think about your breakfast regime. Can it be any healthier? More often than not you will have the foods at home to improve your eating habits.
 

What can I do this week?

Here are four steps that you can take this week into your weight loss plan:
 

·         Download the NHS Choices 12 week weight loss plan.
 

·         Commit to more than one way of increasing your physical activity. Your recommended levels of physical activity will depend on your age. Adults between the ages of 19-64 should try and get 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week. You can increase this in your attempts to lose weight.
 

·         Have a healthy weekly shop. Buying healthy, balanced meals are a great way to achieve your health weight, so get to your supermarket and start eating a balanced diet. Look for the fresh foods and the healthier options compared to your current shopping habits.
 

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