Hmm…when I was thinking about writing this I asked myself, what “tips” can I give that people haven’t already heard before? The honest answer is that I really have no idea! Let’s face it - any book or magazine on diet or weight loss will basically tell you the same thing: eat less, eat healthily and do more exercise. Has that advice worked over the last 40 years? Obviously not as we’re generally getting fatter. So isn’t it about time we did something different? Research has shown that the more we have in material terms the unhappier we are compared to fifty years ago. So that got me thinking that the tendency to put on weight must go far deeper, it must involve a lot more about how we actual see ourselves and live our lives nowadays. Are we actually far more self-centred, do we take less responsibility for our actions than ever before? How many of us are really quick to blame other people, retail outlets, doctors, the government, our partners, even our work, anyone but ourselves? Then there are those of us who look for a reason for putting on weight. Recent research confirms that there is such a thing as a fat gene. ‘Hurrah,’ I hear you shout, ‘I must be one of those people, that’s why I’m fat, it’s not my fault after all!’ Wrong – wake up! There are some of us who possess the gene that pre-disposes us to being fat but that doesn’t mean that we will be fat! Ask yourself if the gene has always been there or did it just magically appear in humans who mainly live in the western world?

I use to obsess about my weight and kid myself that it was fine to binge at weekends as long as I went to the gym on Monday. A bit like doing penance for my sins of the weekend! That was until I identified what the underlying cause for me bingeing was, what drove me to do it. Nowadays, yeah sure, I could do with losing a few pounds, but the difference is I don’t obsess about it. If I eat something deemed as ‘bad’ I’ve consciously made the decision to do it and I’m prepared to take full responsibility for the result – my clothes feeling a bit tighter! Most importantly I don’t feel guilty or beat myself up, or starve myself for the next week – so no need to seek comfort in yet more food. So what are my tips for losing weight? In a nutshell, gain a greater understanding of yourself and for once be honest with yourself!

·         Start asking yourself some basic questions when you find yourself reaching for something to eat. Am I really hungry? Am I bored with what I was/am doing? Am I reaching for it because it happens to be there? If it was wet and cold outside and I had no transport would I be prepared to walk to a shop to buy it? If I was busy right now doing something I enjoyed would I be reaching for food?

·         We’ve all heard about chewing our food 20 times, however going from “shovelling” or “hoovering” food down to chewing 20 times is like applying the emergency brakes. Take note – honestly - of the average number of times you chew your food, then increase by 3 for a week, the next week increase by another 3 and so on until you are automatically slowing your “shovel” speed down. The slower you eat the more chance you give your stomach of communicating with your brain that it is full – there is approximately a ten-minute delay. Of course to be able to count you have to concentrate and focus on your food, and by concentrating on it you’ll find you discover new tastes and sensations.

·         Make a list of all the excuses you tell yourself for being fat: I’m big boned, I’ve got a slow metabolic rate, I’m too busy, I don’t get time to go to the gym/cook/eat during the day, I’ve got that fat gene! Be honest.

·         If you have a photo of yourself, at your preferred weight, stick that on the fridge, cupboard and mirror. In my experience sticking a fat photo on the fridge didn’t help. If I was going for food I’d look at it and think ‘Hey, I already look like that so what difference will one more cake make?’ The thin picture reminds me of what I want to look and feel like. I can remember how it felt and imagine how good it will be to feel like that again. If you haven’t got a thin picture of yourself then find a picture of someone who has the figure you want and imagine it being you - or better still, cut your head out of a photo and stick it on top of their body.

·         Think about your life and all the different areas: relationships, friends, work, interests, and score them out of 10 – with 10 being “it couldn’t get any better” and 1 being “it couldn’t get any worse”. Then make a list of the things that would need to happen in each of those areas of your life to make it a score of 10. Once you have identified everything that would need to happen, choose one of the areas and start making the changes. You’ll find you will start feeling better about yourself, and food will no longer be your only friend.

Hmm…when I was thinking about writing this I asked myself, what “tips” can I give that people haven’t already heard before? The honest answer is that I really have no idea! Let’s face it - any book or magazine on diet or weight loss will basically tell you the same thing: eat less, eat healthily and do more exercise. Has that advice worked over the last 40 years? Obviously not as we’re generally getting fatter. So isn’t it about time we did something different? Research has shown that the more we have in material terms the unhappier we are compared to fifty years ago. So that got me thinking that the tendency to put on weight must go far deeper, it must involve a lot more about how we actual see ourselves and live our lives nowadays. Are we actually far more self-centred, do we take less responsibility for our actions than ever before? How many of us are really quick to blame other people, retail outlets, doctors, the government, our partners, even our work, anyone but ourselves? Then there are those of us who look for a reason for putting on weight. Recent research confirms that there is such a thing as a fat gene. ‘Hurrah,’ I hear you shout, ‘I must be one of those people, that’s why I’m fat, it’s not my fault after all!’ Wrong – wake up! There are some of us who possess the gene that pre-disposes us to being fat but that doesn’t mean that we will be fat! Ask yourself if the gene has always been there or did it just magically appear in humans who mainly live in the western world?

I use to obsess about my weight and kid myself that it was fine to binge at weekends as long as I went to the gym on Monday. A bit like doing penance for my sins of the weekend! That was until I identified what the underlying cause for me bingeing was, what drove me to do it. Nowadays, yeah sure, I could do with losing a few pounds, but the difference is I don’t obsess about it. If I eat something deemed as ‘bad’ I’ve consciously made the decision to do it and I’m prepared to take full responsibility for the result – my clothes feeling a bit tighter! Most importantly I don’t feel guilty or beat myself up, or starve myself for the next week – so no need to seek comfort in yet more food. So what are my tips for losing weight? In a nutshell, gain a greater understanding of yourself and for once be honest with yourself!

·         Start asking yourself some basic questions when you find yourself reaching for something to eat. Am I really hungry? Am I bored with what I was/am doing? Am I reaching for it because it happens to be there? If it was wet and cold outside and I had no transport would I be prepared to walk to a shop to buy it? If I was busy right now doing something I enjoyed would I be reaching for food?

·         We’ve all heard about chewing our food 20 times, however going from “shovelling” or “hoovering” food down to chewing 20 times is like applying the emergency brakes. Take note – honestly - of the average number of times you chew your food, then increase by 3 for a week, the next week increase by another 3 and so on until you are automatically slowing your “shovel” speed down. The slower you eat the more chance you give your stomach of communicating with your brain that it is full – there is approximately a ten-minute delay. Of course to be able to count you have to concentrate and focus on your food, and by concentrating on it you’ll find you discover new tastes and sensations.

·         Make a list of all the excuses you tell yourself for being fat: I’m big boned, I’ve got a slow metabolic rate, I’m too busy, I don’t get time to go to the gym/cook/eat during the day, I’ve got that fat gene! Be honest.

·         If you have a photo of yourself, at your preferred weight, stick that on the fridge, cupboard and mirror. In my experience sticking a fat photo on the fridge didn’t help. If I was going for food I’d look at it and think ‘Hey, I already look like that so what difference will one more cake make?’ The thin picture reminds me of what I want to look and feel like. I can remember how it felt and imagine how good it will be to feel like that again. If you haven’t got a thin picture of yourself then find a picture of someone who has the figure you want and imagine it being you - or better still, cut your head out of a photo and stick it on top of their body.

·         Think about your life and all the different areas: relationships, friends, work, interests, and score them out of 10 – with 10 being “it couldn’t get any better” and 1 being “it couldn’t get any worse”. Then make a list of the things that would need to happen in each of those areas of your life to make it a score of 10. Once you have identified everything that would need to happen, choose one of the areas and start making the changes. You’ll find you will start feeling better about yourself, and food will no longer be your only friend.