HEALTHY CHANGES TO YOUR DIET & LIFESTYLE IS A SECRET FORMULA TO LOSING WEIGHT

Reaching and keeping to a healthy weight cuts your risk of heart and circulatory diseases.

But it can be tricky to do. This article can help you understand what might be holding you back. Keep going with healthy changes to your diet and lifestyle, and even if you're not losing weight as quickly as you like, you'll still improve your health.

1. EXPECTING TOO MUCH TOO SOON

You may have gained weight over time. It can also take time to unlearn habits and lose weight. It can feel frustratingly slow when you want to lose weight quickly. But, to keep the weight from coming back you need to make changes you can stick with in the long run.

TIP: Healthy weight loss is around 0.5 to 1kg (1 to 2lb) per week. But even smaller amounts add up over time. Stick with it and if the dial is going in the right direction, however slowly, you'll get there.

2. ONLY FOCUSING ON EXERCISE

To lose weight, you need a calorie deficit. This means using up more energy than you get from eating and drinking. It's possible to do enough exercise to achieve this. However, it's hard to keep this up.

Keep a food and activity diary to confirm that you are consistently doing what you need to More exercise can also increase your appetite, making it harder to reach this goal. Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommend changing your diet as well as physical activity.

TIP: Find an activity you enjoy rather than the one that uses the most energy. Then you're more likely to stick with it. Spinning, running and aerobics classes are great if you enjoy them, but you could also try other activities ke gardening, walking or dancing.