Four ways to achieve long-term weight loss

Many of us are overweight and one in six are currently trying to lose the kilogrammes. But well over half of people dieting find they just put the weight back on.
So how do we stop yo-yo dieting? While you should always get personalised advice from a health professional, here are some methods I used to achieve long term weight loss.
Although there may be a temptation to avoid being weighed, dodging the facts of your situation will not help you lose the pounds.

Get on the scales
I had a phobia about being weighed. Now my advice would be take a deep breath and find out what you weigh at the start. Then you will know exactly how much you need to lose, and as your fitness builds you will know how much you have lost. Losing just five to 10 per cent of your weight has a significant health benefit.

Set yourself a goal
You will have a target weight, but think about why you want to lose weight. Changing your diet and lifestyle will have so many other benefits thanproblems such as diabetes and heart disease at bay. You may have specific desires, such as wanting fit into a favourite item of clothing once again, or to be able to play with your children or grandchildren.

Get your family on board
Make sure that those closest to you are your allies. Get them to take care of the dinner on some nights, enabling you to join an exercise class. Ask them not to complain when the fridge is no longer stocked with calorie-laden snacks. There will be tough times when your motivation may flag but having someone to support you will help.

Rewards
Don’t wait till you have lost five stone to reward yourself. Mark out steps, or mini goals, along the way to your ultimate goal and acknowledge each one you reach. Making a change is hard so recognise your achievements.
Make sure your reward isn’t based on food and calories as this reinforces the power that food can have on our lives. The money not spent on Friday night takeaways could be used for rewards such as a new healthy eating cookbook, a trip to the cinema or a beauty treatment.