Eat healthily: Get active, control your weight

Being physically active is a vital part of a healthy lifestyle. It is also one of the best ways to help you lose weight and keep it off. If you are already at the right weight, exercise will help you to tone up your body.

Lots of us set out with very good intentions and grand plans at the start of a fitness blitz. But after two weeks of running, we often return to being best friends with the sofa and TV. It's better to gradually become more active in ways you find enjoyable. Take steps you can manage and that you will enjoy, rather than swinging from brutal and unrealistic training regimes to periods of inactivity and feeling guilty about it.

A common mistake is to try the ridiculous and then have a disproportionate sense of 'failure' when the inevitable happens. Go for a run, do a brisk walk, take a swim, jump on your bike or join an exercise class. They are all good ways to get active. Whatever you do, try to do it regularly and get into a routine that is enjoyable.

Keep it at a sustainable level in terms of your ability to commit the time and energy to it. Having a target such as the Norwich Union City v City 10K gives you a reason to go out there and exercise, when otherwise you might be tempted not to bother. Get a goal, or a few goals, and go for it!

It's not a good idea to be either underweight or overweight. Being overweight can lead to health conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes. Being underweight could also have negative effects on your health, so don't go to the other extreme!

If you're worried about your weight, ask your GP or a dietician for advice. But if you think you just need to lose a little weight, the main things to remember are:

Eat only as much food as you need, the rest will get stored - probably in the places you least want it!
Make healthy choices - it's a good idea to choose low-fat and low-sugar varieties.
Eat plenty of fruit, vegetables and wholegrains.
Get more active.
Eat a variety of types of food, so you get all the nutrients your body needs.

Eating healthy foods will stop you resorting to snacking on the unhealthy ones when the hunger pangs kick in. Remember healthy living and healthy eating are all about the principles that underpin your normal routine. A token piece of fruit added to a poor diet means you still have a poor diet, sorry. A 'treat' food as part of a healthy diet is something you can enjoy and have no reason at all to feel guilty about.

Physical activity is a good way of using up extra calories, and will help you to control your weight. But being physically active doesn't mean you need to join a gym or hire a personal trainer to bark orders at you! Just opening your front door opens up fitness options, including running, walking and cycling. The key is to incorporate sensible and sustainable levels of exercise and activity in your day-to-day life, and to incorporate them in the most convenient places. As with diet it is overall habits that count. One walk across the lounge to pick up the TV remote won't see you shedding inches from your waistline. Similarly, missing one gym session in a healthy lifestyle will not see your belly expanding before your eyes! Get a good routine going and then you can be flexible around it when the need arises.

Be active every day and build up the amount you do. Try to fit in as much walking as you can into your daily routine. Get off the bus a stop early or walk to the shop rather than jumping in the car. By the time you have taken account of how long it takes to park, it really doesn't take that much longer. Try to walk at a good pace. A little and often will add up.

Whenever we eat more than our body needs, we put on weight. This is because we are taking in more fuel than we are burning up and the body will store the energy we don't use up, usually as fat. Even relatively small amounts of extra energy each day can lead to weight gain over time.

Crash diets aren't good for your health and they don't work in the longer term. The way to reach a healthy weight, and stay there, is to change your lifestyle gradually. Adopt a new healthier routine where your activity levels and food intake both work to help make you healthier. Aim to lose about 0.5 to 1kg (about 1 to 2lbs) a week, until you reach a healthy weight for your height. This is a far less painful way of going about it, is far healthier and will actually work! Losing weight sensibly will see you able to still enjoy your food, and leave you feeling healthier and more in control of your life.