Getting started

Do you want to improve your health; to have more energy; to feel better about yourself or fit back into some of your favourite clothes?

Writing it down, visualising your end goal, and reminding yourself of why you want to lose weight in the first place will help with your motivation.

You might find it helpful to keep a food and physical activity diary for a week as this can help identify some areas where you can make some small changes.

Try identifying one or two things you can change to start with – this could be going out for a short walk every day, or perhaps eating breakfast at the same time every morning.

Once you start making some changes and start to see and feel some benefits then try making some more changes.

Your support might be a friend that you can exercise with; planning out all of your meals in advance; using an app to track food and exercise; joining a weight management class or your partner or family also joining you with the changes you are making.

Doing things differently isn’t easy to start with but having support will make the journey there much easier!

How many times have you said to yourself that you’ll go out for a walk or run but when the time comes you can’t muster the energy? If you have a friend or family member that can join you then you’re far more likely to do it and enjoy it! 

Decide what you want to track and how you want to track it. You could set a day for a weekly weigh in and track it in an app or diary. You might prefer to take progress photos at certain time intervals so you have a visual comparison.

Having a record of the progress you have made can help you get back on track after a setback. Remember that having a few setbacks are a normal part of the process. What matters is not letting a setback completely derail you from reaching your end goal.