Eleven things to do to lose weight

If you need to lose weight, that is ....

1. Realise it's not a question of "willpower", or "just eating less and exercising more". You need to make changes to the way your life works. If you were going to give up drugs or recover from alcoholism, you wouldn't just "use willpower" and "try hard", you'd ask why it had happened; you'd change your social circles and your routine; you'd maybe get medication; you'd maybe look for support. "Trying" is sh*t and a waste of time.
   
2. Look closely at your alcohol intake. If it's more than about 7 units a week, you can probably make a big difference just by cutting out the alcohol. BUT that will require life changes, changes to leisure and social activities, maybe new friends, . . . . not just "trying to drink less" -- see point 1.
3. Do about an hour of brisk walking every day. Don't do jogging or running unless you enjoy it. Don't do swimming at all.
4. Weight-training helps a lot. I know, maybe you don't have any wish to get muscly, but you won't. That's not how it works. It changes your hormones.
5. Get enough sleep. It changes your hormones.
   
6. Learn to distinguish hunger from cravings for food. If it's a specific food that's you're thinking about, it's probably a craving, rather than hunger. They are usually felt in different places in the body, and feel quite different. If you've ever felt "full" after a meal, but still really wanted to eat the pudding because it looked so nice, then you should be able to understand the difference. Experiment with ways of dealing with cravings, for example by breathing and relaxation and self-talk.
   
7. Cut out all sugary drinks and "empty" carbohydrate foods like potatoes, white bread, pasta, rice, confectionery. Get your carbohydrates from beans, fruit, vegetables, rye bread. Especially cut out sugary drinks like coke, fruit juice, and beer. Coke is the worst (High Fructose Corn Syrup).
   
8. Don't eat anything deep-fried. That also includes crisps and similar snacks, as well as anything out the fryer at the chip-shop. Nuts are OK in moderation.
   
9. Avoid eating alone, if possible.
   
10. Never eat a large meal (what's sometimes called a "blow-out"). That would be more than about 1000 calories. No "saving up" your calories so that you can have a blow-out, that's forbidden.
    
11. Design your new life: imagine what you'd do, what you'd wear, who you'd socialise with, what leisure activities you'd have, if you were a different shape. If you want everything to be the same except be slimmer, that isn't going to work.