Hi there,

Thanks for your email and I'm sorry to hear that you're not losing weight as you'd hoped.

I've had a look at your diary and hopefully I can offer you some advice that will help to kickstart your weight loss.

Looking at your diary you seem to be sticking to your calorie allowance most days which is good, although I did notice that your fat intake was over on some of the days. This is probably down to some of the choices you'd made on those particular days, so it's worth keeping an eye on this as you go forward.

When it comes to food, the choices you make seem to be generally healthy. In terms of breakfast, it looks as though you are choosing Breakfast Biscuits, toast or cereal bars on most days. Although these are fine, if you are at home for breakfast it would be good to try and add in some wholegrain cereals with milk, porridge or even a cooked option such as poached egg on wholemeal toast if you have time. The more convenient breakfasts are fine to have during the week, or every now and again, but they do tend to have extra fat and sugar in them compared to home prepared breakfasts, so just keep an eye on this.

I'm assuming you might be vegetarian judging by the choices you're making - that's often a healthier way to eat which is great, and choosing Quorn products will mean less saturated fat and calories than meat options which is a bonus. It's important to try and get at least 5 portions of fruit and veg every day which you don't tend to do - this is important for 2 reasons; they are low calorie foods plus they provide a whole plethora of different essential nutrients that help with metabolism and all your body processes.

I also notice that you do have quite a lot of foods that are higher in fat and sugar in your diet - so things like chocolate, cake bars, ice cream etc. It's absolutely fine to include these as treats every now and again, but it's important that you try and fill up on healthier options whenever you can as these are lower in calories than other options.

In terms of activity, I can see that you do include things like ironing in your activity record. Again it's fine to do this but it's also important to try and do some exercise that really starts to get your heart pumping, and build up a bit of a sweat. Brisk walking is one of the best activities you can do, plus it's free! Try and start with short walks round the block, and gradually build up to incorporate longer more challenging walks. Try and fit it into your normal daily routine so that it doesn't become a bind - so walking to work, or getting off the bus a stop earlier, walking to the local shop and carrying the shopping back...that sort of thing.

Also it's important to make sure you're recording everything accurately. Guessing serving sizes or portions can have a huge impact on your weight loss. Things such as pasta, cereal, potatoes, meat etc are often under recorded, but are over eaten (and contain quite a lot of calories!) For example, the recommended 30g serving of cereal is just 2 tablespoons! Weigh all your food out so you can accurately record what you're eating so you know you're within your calories.

So in summary - stick to your calorie allowance as you have been doing, but keep an eye on your fat intake. Think about your breakfast choices, and make sure you're getting at least 5 portions of fruit and veg every day. Weight out all of your food so you know what you've had. Keep a check on your treat foods and maybe make some healthier choices, and finally try and be a bit more active whenever you can.

Try these changes for the next couple of weeks and see how you get on. Please don't hesitate to come back to me with any questions you might have or if you need any further advice at any time.

Best wishes,

Janet