facts

The most effective way to lose weight is to permanently change these 4 aspects of your lifestyle:

what you eat
how you eat
your behavior
your activity levels

Reducing the amount of fat in your diet will make a huge difference to the amount of weight you lose. The more fat we eat, the more we crave it. If we stop eating so much fat, our cravings for it will stop.

Whether you take in 500 fewer or burn 500 more calories a day, by the end of the week you’ll be one pound lighter!

Aiming for a rea slistic amount of weight loss will not result in disappointment or failure. Small goals (e.g. 5 pounds; 10 percent of your current weight) are far more achievable and easier to stay focused on.

No matter which way you look at it, 3,500 calories cut is one pound lost.

Going on and off the same plan again and again leads to yo-yo dieting. This will not help you to achieve your goals.

The following diseases can be a result of being overweight:

diabetes
high blood pressure
cancer
and heart disease (see below for more information on heart disease – cardio vascular disease or CVD)

Genetics, ethnicity, your environment, your job, physical hindrances from exercising, etc., can affect your weight management efforts. Learn to work around these if they cannot be altered and accept them as unchangeable.

Diets with too -severe restrictions like too few calories or entire food groups being omitted often lead to binges and uncontrollable cravings. Moderation is the key.

Your weight will fluctuate from day to day. Resist the urge to weigh yourself on a daily basis, as doing so will discourage you.
Weigh in the same time and day once a week.

Obesity

About 46% of men in England and 32% of women are overweight (a body mass index of 25 -30 kg/m2), and an additional 17% of men and 21% of women are obese (a body mass index of more than 30 kg/m2 ).

Overweight and obesity increase with age. About 28% of men and 27% of women aged 16-24 are overweight or obese but 76% of men and 68% of women aged 55-64 are overweight or obese.

Overweight and obesity are increasing. The percentage of adults who are obese has roughly doubled since the mid-1980's.

CVD - Cardio Vascular Disease

CVD (Cardio Vascular Disease – including heart attacks and strokes) kills 4 million Europeans each year. It's the No 1 cause of death.

CVD kills 1.5 million EU citizens each year. It's the No 1 cause of death in the EU.

It causes 42% of all deaths in the EU: 46% of deaths (women) and 38% deaths (men).

Between a third and a half of deaths from CVD are from heart disease, and 25% from stroke.

CVD is the main cause of death for women in all 15 countries of the EU and it is the main cause of death for men in all these countries except France.

Deaths before the age of 75

CVD is the second main cause of deaths before the age of 75 in the EU: accounting for over 460,000 deaths. CVD causes 31% of deaths; cancer causes 36% of deaths.

Deaths before the age of 65

CVD is the second main cause of deaths before the age of 65 in the EU: accounting for over 170,000 deaths. CVD causes 22% of deaths; but cancer causes 35% of deaths.

CVD is the main cause of deaths before the age of 65 for men in six EU countries - Austria, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Sweden andthe UK. For women it is not the main cause of deaths before the age of 65 for any country in the EU.

Activity	100 Ib	150 Ib	200 Ib
Bicycling, 6 mph	160	240	312
Bicycling, 12 mph	270	410	534
Jumping rope	500	750	1,000
Running 5.5 mph	440	660	962
Running, 7 mph	610	920	1,230
Running, 10 mph	850	1,280	1,664
Swimming, 25	185	275	358
yds/min
Swimming, 50	325	500	650
yds/min
Tennis singles	265	400	535
Walking, 2 mph	160	240	312
Walking, 3 mph	210	320	416
Walking, 4.5 mph	295	440	572

Just remember:

You don’t have to belong to a gym

Any increase in activity will make you feel fresh and is good for your health

Try to achieve at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity each day

This could be brisk walking, cycling, swimming etc.