A first step is to ensure that you actually do need to lose weight for your health’s sake. With all the ‘thin is beautiful’ messages in the media it can be easy to get a distorted view about whether your weight is healthy or not.

A great aim is to get to a weight where you feel healthy and comfortable, have the energy to do what you want to do, enjoy a varied diet, and have no weight-related medical problems.

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is used internationally by doctors and other health professionals to assess if someone’s weight is putting their health at risk.

Another important way to assess your weight is by measuring your waist at belly button level. A simple way to stay aware of your waist is according to how well, or otherwise, skirts and trousers fit.

Measuring body is fat especially useful when regular physical activity is a key part of your weight loss plan. As well as seeing how the scales change, you can assess how the amount of fat in your body changes.

If you are now satisfied that losing some pounds is a good idea, the next helpful step is to be clear about why you actually want to lose weight.

Besides health reasons, many people have their own reasons for wanting to lose weight.

Weight is regulated by the calories we consume from food and drink and the calories we burn  (our metabolic rate (the rate our bodies tick over) + activity we do).