Tackling obesity

What you can do to tackle obesity.

The most effective way to tackle obesity is to change your diet and start exercising regularly.

Cut out the following from your diet

Fats
Dairy food (butter, full fat milk, cream, crème fraiche,
Unrefined starchy food (white bread, pasta, rice)
Sugar
Salt
Ready meals and junk foods
Red meats
Cakes and biscuits
Crisps
Sweets and chocolates
Alcohol

Replace this with

Lots of fresh fruit and vegetables (5 portions a day)
Wholemeal bread and pasta
Wholegrain rice
Chicken (without the skin)
Fish (oily fish are extremely beneficial)
Soya milk products
Grains and pulses (lentils, bulgar wheat, quinoa)
Fruit juices and smoothies
Water

Think too about how you cook your food. Try steaming and grilling your food instead of roasting and frying.

Don't eat more than you actually need. Know how many calories you require each day and stick to this.

Exercise every day

Starting an exercise regime can feel gruelling. But by doing a little and often you’ll soon find that it gets easier and you start to enjoy it.

Try a variety of different exercises and sports at first and then start to build a regime around what you enjoy.

Find friends who enjoy the same thing and make a regular date to get together and have fun.

Exercise for at least 60 minutes of exercise a day. The exercise should be vigorous enough to make you sweat, raise your heart rate and get you slightly out of breath.

Have a go at:

Cycling to work or to the shops
Going for a walk in your lunch break or after work
A yoga class
Water aerobics
Circuit training
A cardiovascular workout at the gym
A game of tennis, badminton or squash
Orienteering

If you haven’t exercised for a while it’s a good idea to find your local gym and ask them to put together an exercise programme for you that’s suited to your level of fitness.