If the time has come and you feel ready to take control of your weight, it might be helpful to ask yourself the following questions:

Small changes, big benefits!

Making small changes to what you eat and your activity levels can make a big difference over time.

Write a list of how you would benefit from losing weight:

• Use Making Lifestyle Changes worksheet to help you do this.

Display your list next to your desk at work, on the fridge or store them on your phone so you can refer to them easily. Keep reminding yourself of these positive reasons why losing weight is important to you. This will help keep you motivated when things get a bit more challenging.

Here are a some benefits to help get you started:

• I will feel more confident
• I will fit into my clothes better
• I will have more energy and sleep better
• I will feel fitter and healthier
• I will lower my blood pressure and reduce my risk of developing heart disease and diabetes

How much weight should you try to lose?

Often people overestimate how much weight they can lose and this can lead to disappointment and frustration. Instead be more realistic and set achievable weight loss targets. You are more likely to succeed and manage to keep the weight off for good!

• Use this Healthy Weight Calculator

If your Body Mass Index (BMI) is 25 or over, then you should really start to think about taking control of your weight, you will start to feel better and your overall health will improve.

• Try to lose and keep off 5 to 10% of your initial body weight.  This is realistic and will result in significant health benefits. Use these Weight Loss Tables to help you work out how much weight you should aim to lose. These documents were supplied and reproduced with the kind permission of Counterweight Ltd.

• Losing about 0.5 – 1 Kg (1-2lb) is excellent progress, but remember some weeks you may lose more than others.