Diet and Lifestyle Advice

Assessing Your Current Diet

You can't change what you eat until you know more about your usual diet.  This is why we always recommend keeping a 7 day record of what you are eating before you embark on any weight loss programme.  However, it is vital that you are honest with yourself.

Research studies show time and again that overweight people under-report their usual diets by missing out drinks and snacks, or by consciously reducing portion sizes.  This approach will get you nowhere.  If you feel sensitive about the foods you eat or your portion sizes then keep a private diary only for your own eyes. 
Remember to include:

• All drinks except water
• Alcohol
• Snacks between meals
• Food eaten in bed or in the car
• Meals eaten away from the home
• Leftovers eaten later
• Food eaten while cooking
• Nibbles in front of the TV
• Binges of any kind
• Party food

Assessing Your Current Lifestyle

As mentioned earlier, weight gain is caused by a combination of eating too much and exercising too little.  So it is important to check how active you are as well as knowing what you eat.  Divide your activities into two types: daily and recreational.  Daily activities are those which we do around work and home e.g. walking to the bus stop, taking children to school, shopping, cleaning and DIY.  Recreational activities are those which we might do in our spare time e.g. sports and gardening.  A good amount of activity is 2 hours each day, with at least 30 minutes of that as recreational activity.