With any weight loss programme, your intention is to lose weight, but more importantly to keep this weight off permanently. And if there’s one thing to help us slim down and stay slim, it’s exercise. Research has proven that those of you that include exercise in your weight loss programme have more success in keeping it off, than those that only change their diet.

Any exercise, even if it’s gentle at first, will help to stimulate your circulation and boost your metabolism. You don’t need expensive gym equipment, or a gym membership to make exercise a part of your life. There are a multitude of activities waiting just outside your front door that can easily be incorporated into your daily routine. Walking, running, dancing, skipping and shadow boxing can be done anytime, anywhere, and when done with friends, your children or your dogs, it makes it that much more fun. Just choose something you will enjoy doing regularly. And whatever exercise you decide, remember to start gently and build up slowly so as not to lose motivation and enjoyment. Cross training will also keep your exercise programme interesting and strengthen different parts of the body.

As you begin to firm up and lose weight, you’ll be replacing fat with muscle. It is a medical fact that muscle weighs more than fat, so as your jeans get looser, your scale might tell you a different story! Don’t despair, this is a good sign! Rather keep your tape measure handy and measure the centimetres melting away.