Dieting can bring the reverse of what you want – in order to lose weight permanently you have to change the way you eat. Healthy eating is the key to permanent weight loss

Your body is different from anyone else’s and you will lose and gain weight in different ways. Two people following the same program won’t have the same results, so don’t get discouraged if you can’t lose weight as easily as a friend. What might be a great program for one person might not necessarily be good for another.

A multi-vitamin supplement can improve your health overall and help you to lose weight a little faster. Take a 500 milligram calcium supplement daily to help against weight gain

Find out what your ideal weight is (based on your BMI) and target that as your end goal. The ideal healthy weight is the one where you will be the healthiest, and it’s important not to try to drop below it – thinner is not always better.

Aim for permanent weight loss and switch to healthier fresher foods, avoid junk food and fast foods at all costs. One of the most straight forward ways to improve your health is to eat the sort of food that supports and nourishes you. Eating healthily supplies you with the energy you need to get through your day effortlessly. It provides you with the nutrients that will protect your long term health.

Make it easy on yourself, eating healthily doesn’t have to be a chore – take it easy, one simple step at a time. Every week make one change to your diet. It can be very difficult to change the way we eat, partly because our relationship with food is often bound up with habits that we think are essential to our happiness.

Resolve to eat a good breakfast every morning. Your metabolic rate slows down overnight and without eating breakfast you can stay on this lower rate till lunchtime. It’s been estimated that this alone can result in a 1 kilo weight gain every year – which might explain why regular breakfast eaters weigh on average 4 kilos less than non-breakfast eaters. A perfect breakfast includes complex carbohydrates, protein and fruit or vegetables.

Eat at least one portion of fruit or vegetables at every meal and snack on it twice a day. In this way you will be getting the recommended five portions a day. Drink a glass of water with every meal, lack of water is the prime reason for energy dips. Aim to eat at least one portion of wholegrains, beans or lentils and at least one portion of lower fat dairy products a day.

Eat a bowl of salad leaves as a first course before lunch or dinner. Cut your salt intake by half, both in cooking and at the table. Swap one of your cups of caffeinated drink for a healthier choice. Green tea appears to speed up metabolism and protects you against Alzheimer’s; redbush tea is caffeine-free and loaded with antioxidants.

Aim for one portion of soya products a day, two portions a day have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease. Limit your alcohol intake ( fourteen units a week for women and twenty-one for men), make it a special occasion, and really savour both the taste and the occasion.

Find a way to include fish in your diet every day. Top your jacket potato with tuna and sweetcorn, have a prawn sandwich, try sardines on toast or a shrimp salad for lunch.

Snack on a handful of nuts a day- around 25g a day protects your heart, and pistachios, cashews, almonds,walnuts and pecans make a great mid-afternoon snack as they cut hunger pangs. Nuts are a great fast food- and a healthy choice for a snack. What’s more, research shows that nuts- in moderation ( about a small handful a day) – can help keep you slim.