You want to see progress, we get it, but there’s really no point weighing yourself 3 times a day.

Despite our best intentions, sometimes we just can’t be bothered to cook. When we’ve had a long busy day, we need healthy food and fast. Enter: meal prepping.

Preparing your meals for the week in one go is a great way of helping you reach your weight loss goals. If you’ve got your food ready and waiting for you, it’s much less likely that you’ll opt to eat something unhealthy because you’re too tired or busy to make something. Here are some easy ways to make meal prep work for you.

Pick and choose what to prep

You can prep as many meals and snacks – or as few – as you like.

• Struggle to get up in the morning? Prep some breakfasts in advance.
• Meal deals seem appealing on your lunch break? Prep some lunches you can grab on your way out.
• Got a busy week coming up? Prep breakfast, snacks and dinners to help you get ahead.

It’s all about making your life easier, so you choose what works for you.

Prepare food you’ll actually eat

It’s all well and good making a week’s worth of meals in one go but there’s no point if you don’t want to eat what you’ve made. Meal prep doesn’t have to mean boring food. Want burgers one night? Prepare the patties ahead of time, store them in the fridge and whack them on the grill for a few minutes when you need them.

You don’t have to meal prep everything

If you’re thinking that meal prep means eating cold food straight from plastic tubs, think again!

• You could chop salad ingredients ready for lunch
• Grill some chicken breasts to store in the fridge for an easy sandwich filling or to eat with pasta.
• Whip up a tomato sauce that you can reheat while you’re cooking pasta.

These helpful steps can play a crucial part when you come home from work and are tempted to call up your old friend Papa John.

Prepare to succeed

A little planning before your food shop can make meal prepping easier.

• Figure out what you’re going to eat during the week.
• Make an ingredients list.
• See what ingredients could multitask and change any meals as appropriate, e.g. mince could make Bolognese sauce, chilli and lasagne.

This is the best way of making sure your meal prepping is simple, effective and as easy to do as possible. As our English teacher used to say, fail to prepare and prepare to fail.

How’s your Tupperware?

Getting excited about Tupperware could be a sign of impending middle-age but trust us – making sure you’ve got decent containers is crucial to meal prep success.

Make one day a meal prep day

Meal prepping can seem like a daunting task if you’re trying to do it for the entire week, but it’s not too bad if you get it over and done with in one session. Try it on a Sunday so that you’re ready for the week ahead. Set yourself up in the kitchen with some good music, a fully stocked fridge and your meal plan and get to work. Top tip: wash up as you go along so you’re not left with the daunting clear up at the end.

Cutting down on the drinks can be great news for your health, but hard to know where to start.

We don’t always have the best relationship with alcohol. But it doesn’t have to be difficult. We’ve got some quick-fire tips to help if you want to cut down on the booze without going cold turkey.   

Measure up

Keep an eye on your pouring. Use a measuring beaker when you’re drinking spirits at home so you don’t end up drinking more units than you realise.   

Banish the binge

Binge drinking for men is classed as having 8 or more units on one occasion. Aim for 2 alcohol-free days a week.  

Look for lower levels

Get some lower alcohol options on your favourite drinks into your trolley. Try changing to a 4% (ABV%) beer or a 9% wine. 

Sip, don’t skull

Pace yourself and try to have a pint of water with your first drink. Then flick between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.  

Set a drinking window

You could decide to only drink with dinner, say between 6-8pm, for example.      

Know your units

Use a drinks tracker to keep an eye on how much you’re drinking. You can even set yourself some goals to smash. Try Drinkaware’s free app.   

Eat first, drink later

Eating before you drink means the alcohol won’t absorb into your bloodstream as quickly, and you won’t feel as worse for wear after a few (too many) pints.

Foods like complex carbs can even help reduce alcohol cravings. Next time you feel like a drink, have a handful of nuts or a couple of slices of cheese and see if that helps to stop the craving.  

Plan ahead

If you’re going out, make a plan and stick to it. Try only taking a certain amount of cash out with you. Leave the cocktails to others if you’re not sure how many units they contain. Or put yourself forward as the designated driver on your next night out.  

Lean on your mates

Not literally, we mean to share your thoughts with a friend who gets you. Surround yourself with people who support you and won’t judge when you order juice instead of a jagerbomb.

If at any point cutting down on drinking alcohol is making you feel really unwell, give your GP a call. We’re here to be that annoying voice that tells you to put your health first!

Lack of sleep can bump up stress levels and make it harder to make good choices. Poor sleep plays havoc with weight loss as it also affects our hormones. 

Studies show that those who sleep less than 6 hours per night are more likely to be overweight and find it harder to lose weight. So how well are you sleeping? 

Our hormones, which are chemical messengers, can help us to understand how sleep could be the missing part of your weight loss puzzle. 

Leptin and ghrelin 

Ghrelin is a hormone that tells you when you need to eat. The less you sleep, the more ghrelin you produce. Leptin does the opposite of ghrelin; it sends a signal to the brain to let you know you’ve eaten enough. 

The less you sleep, the less leptin you produce. Lack of sleep and these two hormones makes you more susceptible to overeating and less likely to feel satisfied afterwards. 

Cortisol 

This is a stress hormone that breaks protein down into glucose. If there’s too much glucose, it gets stored as fat. Excess cortisol makes the body use soft tissue like muscle for its energy needs instead of fat. 

Your cortisol levels increase the less you sleep at night. It also triggers a hunger response in the brain, causing you to think you’re hungry. Sneaky. 

Melatonin 

Melatonin is a powerful antioxidant that manages our circadian rhythm (sleep-wake cycle). It’s released at the onset of darkness to prepare your body for sleep. Studies have linked melatonin to increased metabolism. 

Insulin 

Insulin helps your body to absorb glucose from the bloodstream. Not enough sleep can lead to too much blood sugar, and that can lead to insulin resistance. 

This means the body will produce more and more in order to function and could eventually lead to diseases like diabetes. The dreaded D word. 

Growth hormone 

Your body creates more growth hormone while you’re asleep. It stimulates cell reproduction, regeneration and growth. More growth hormone means a higher metabolism, meaning you burn up energy more rapidly. This gives us the potential to lose weight faster. 

Value your sleep and prioritise it just as much as you prioritise your diet and exercise. Your body needs time to rest, recover and rejuvenate and sleep plays a vital part in this. So, sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite. 

You know you want to lose weight, but do you know how much you want to lose and why it matters? Grab a pen and let’s make a plan. 

Sweeping statements like ‘I want to be healthy’ and ‘I want to feel confident’ are well meant, but they do little to spur us into action.  
 
Setting yourself some healthy ambitions, goals and targets, on the other hand, can be really motivating. Finding out why you want to lose weight, really digging into the reasons behind it, can mean the difference between plodding along as you are and dropping the pounds. 

Finding a healthy weight 

The body mass index (BMI) calculator can tell you what your healthy weight range is. It’s imperfect as it’s not accurate for everyone, including athletes who have a very high muscle mass. Many experts consider the waist-to-height ratio a more accurate way to measure things. 

A healthy BMI is between 18.5 and 25, so picking a goal weight between these two numbers is a great place to start. Or aim to lose 5% of your body weight as studies have found this to be a point where you’ll see great health improvements. 

Track your progress in different ways 

This is so important as weight loss isn’t always linear. Hormonal changes, what we’ve eaten and even the time we weigh can all affect the numbers on the scales.  

Even if you’re doing all the right things, sometimes the numbers don’t head straight down. We’ve all been there and know how disheartening that is, so try taking photos to see your progress instead of relying solely on the scales. 

Sometimes losing a few pounds might seem insignificant but you’ll be able to spot the difference in a photo. Taking measurements weekly and seeing the inches melt away can also be extremely satisfying. 

Set mini goals

It can feel daunting if you’ve got a lot of weight to lose. It might be some time before you’ll get to your goal weight but break it down into manageable chunks so you can celebrate each step. 

Ticking off every 7lbs lost and every stone is very encouraging, with each mini goal bringing you closer to your ultimate goal. You can also add in a celebration when you lose 5% and 10% of your body weight. Don’t forget, every loss brings health benefits as well as goal points for your team too.  

Set SMART goals 

Set yourself some SMART goals to help you reach your weight loss targets. Don’t forget, weight loss isn’t all about the numbers on a scale, it’s how you feel, how your clothes fit etc., so factor this in too. Your goals should be:  

• Specific 
  • Be clear about what you’d like to achieve. “I’d like to lose 16lbs, which is 5% of my starting weight” is better than “I’d like to lose weight”. 

• Measurable 
  • “I’d like to be able to wear my favourite jeans again” is better than “I’d like to fit into smaller sizes” because it’s something you can easily measure. 

• Achievable 
  • Be realistic. As much as we’d like it to, 5 stone won’t come off in a week, nor will you be able to run a marathon in a month if you’ve never run before. But committing to tracking what you eat every day for a week, or sticking to the couch to 5k running plan is achievable and something you can keep building on. 

• Relevant 
  • Not everyone who wants to lose weight will have the same goals. If you’re not interested in going to the gym, that’s fine, instead focus your attention elsewhere. Don’t give yourself the goal of going to the gym 3 times a week because you think that’s what you should be doing. Make your goals as personal to you as you can. If, for example, you enjoy cooking, make it your goal to cook more healthy meals as a way of eating better. 

• Time-limited 
  • Give yourself a realistic timeframe for achieving your goal. If you don’t, you could find excuses can sneak in and you’ll easily justify putting things off for another day. 

Try writing down your SMART goals to give yourself a real goal that you can visualise and are more likely to achieve. 

Setting rewards 

It’s important to mark your achievements, you’re working very hard to get them. Try and reward yourself with things that’ll help you reach your goal. Treat yourself to a new workout shirt or a sports massage for those newly worked muscles.  

Other ideas include activities like a trip to the cinema or a gig, something active like bowling or ice skating or even just a PS5 game you’ve had your eye on.  

Another motivating way of marking special achievements is adding a pound coin to an empty jar for every pound you lose. This is a great visual representation of your weight loss and can be built on until you reach your goal weight. You can then treat yourself with the proceeds – since you’ll probably need it to buy new clothes in smaller sizes. 

Bit by bit, you can lose all the weight you need to. By setting SMART goals, you won’t feel overwhelmed by the challenge, and you’ll enjoy achieving each milestone.  

Found yourself reaching into a family bag of crisps when feeling down, stressed, or bored? You’re probably an emotional eater.

Many of us turn to food for comfort when things get tough, and you probably don’t even realise you’re doing it. It’s a common and completely normal response to difficult feelings like anger, sadness, loneliness, and boredom, but it’s a pain in the arse when you’re trying to lose weight.

Why do we comfort eat? 

Sometimes eating just feels good, especially when we’re feeling far from happy. Eating triggers a release of dopamine (aka the pleasure hormone) in the brain, so we’re hardwired to seek out these pleasurable foods. 

But while it feels like it’s helping in the moment, eating doesn’t fix the underlying issue, so we end up still wrestling with our emotions but with the added complication of feeling ashamed or guilty about overeating.  

How can I stop emotional eating? 

It’s a tough one, because when we’re in that cycle of turning to food when we feel down (or angry, or stressed, or lonely), nothing else feels like it’ll help, and the more you do something the harder it is to change.  

Here are some ways you can begin to break the habit: 

• Feel your feelings. Get into the habit of asking yourself ‘how am I really feeling?’ because all too often we try to bury unwanted feelings. Acknowledging that you feel angry, low, or lonely is the first step to figuring out what to do about it that doesn’t involve food.
• Learn to question why you want to eat. Sometimes you’ll be genuinely hungry, and that’s fine! But we tend to know the difference between emotional urges to eat and actual hunger, so if you think you want to splurge on snacks because you need a pick me up, stop and think about whether it’ll help. Most of the time it won’t.
• Have an action plan. Ok, so you’ve figured out that you want to eat because you want to cheer yourself up. What can you do to lift your mood that doesn’t involve food? Perhaps you could go for a walk, watch a few episodes of your favourite sitcom, play a video game or meet up with a friend. It always helps to have a few things you can turn to.
• Don’t go shopping when you’re hungry or stressed. Honestly, if you go shopping when you’re hungry or you’re looking for comfort food, you’ll buy the whole shop. Save the food shop for when you’ve eaten and have written a meal plan and a shopping list.
• Avoid buying foods you’ll overeat. Some people can have loads of snacks in the kitchen for weeks and not bother with them, but others can and do eat them all at once. If you know you’re likely to overeat when you’ve got tempting foods in the house, stop buying them, at least for now. 
• Plan your menu and weekly shop. Getting into a routine with what you eat can help cut back on those moments of uncertainty where you end up calling for a comforting takeaway because you’ve got nothing in. Make a meal plan and shop for it, and then you’ll know exactly what the plan is for food.
• Look after yourself. If you’re really struggling with how you’re feeling, it’s time to take a good look at how you can improve things. Work, relationships, money problems…our headspace gets battered when things aren’t going well, so taking steps to improve your situation can help you feel more in control.  

Above all, be kind to yourself – emotional eating is a hard habit to break, but it is possible. Take it slow, and don’t beat yourself up if despite your best efforts you end up sprawled on the sofa with a tub of Ben & Jerry’s after a hard day. 

Planning a nutritious, balanced diet is one thing, but consuming the recommended amount of food is another. 

What is a portion and why does it matter?

How much food you consume will affect your calorie intake and therefore weight loss or gain. The two words used to describe amounts of food are: 

• Serving size or serving is the amount of food listed on a food label. It’s generally a pretty good indicator of a recommended amount to consume.
• Portion size is the amount of a given food you choose to eat. This can be more, less or the same as a serving.  

The government recommends a daily calorie intake of 2,500 calories for men to maintain weight. We should note though that this is generalised and will vary according to the individual. A more accurate reflection of your personal energy requirements can come from your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). This considers your height, weight, age and activity level to calculate your own personal recommendation. Illness and taking certain medicines can also change your energy needs. 

Making positive changes to your diet, like prioritising fruit and vegetables, will mean you boost the fibre, vitamins and minerals in your diet, and it can reduce the overall number of calories you consume. But it can be easy to over-consume calories if your portion sizes are too big. 

So that means everything in moderation, right? 

Not strictly, at least not in equal amounts. What is a moderate amount for one type of food, isn’t for another. The Eatwell Guide by the NHS shows you how to balance food groups to ensure you get all the nutrients you need. The overall balance of food groups should remain the same when adjusting portion control. 

What does a portion look like? 

If you want to see if you’re eating more than the suggested serving size, then you can invest in some inexpensive digital kitchen scales. That’s the most accurate way to measure serving sizes recommended by manufacturers. You won’t always have to use the scales, but they’ll give you a good understanding and you’ll get familiar with how the amounts look on your plate. 

We know it can get confusing. If you aim for the following portions in your day, you won’t go wrong: 

• Fruit and vegetables (berries, salads, leafy greens, root veg): 5+ portions per day 

• Dairy/alternatives (milk, yoghurt): 2-3 portions per day 

• Starchy carbohydrates (rice, pasta, potatoes): 3-4 portions per day 

• Beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins: 2-3 portions per day 

Top tips for getting to grips with portions 

• Get to know the meaning of food labels and the traffic light system. 

• Think about what you’re eating and don’t snack while you cook. Be mindful as you serve up and while you eat. 

• Use scales and/or measuring cups to ensure accuracy. 

• Avoid doubling up on carbs, like bread and rice with curry, choose one or have a half portion or both. 

• Use a smaller plate. A smaller dish piled high is psychologically appealing and doesn’t leave you feeling short changed, plus it’s much harder to plate up an oversized portion. 

• When dining out, avoid the buffet if you find it hard to gauge what you consume. 

• Avoid second helpings by getting to know when you feel full. 

• Try dishing up all the servings whether you’re eating alone or with company. That way any extra servings can be put into containers and kept for a later meal. 

Heard of a calorie deficit but not sure if that’s good, bad, or just another fad? It’s actually the fundamental of weight loss, so let’s see what it means.

No wonder weight loss feels like a minefield when there are so many different approaches and so much jargon to wade through. But this one is different, and it’s worth taking the time to understand it.

You’ve probably heard of a ‘calorie deficit’, but if you’re not a PT or someone with extensive experience of weight loss, you might not know what it means.

What is a calorie deficit?

To lose weight, you need to eat and drink fewer calories than you burn. When you do that, you’re creating a calorie deficit – where the number of calories from food and drink is smaller than the number of calories you’ve burned through activity and body processes.

But how do I know if I’m eating fewer calories than I burn?

There are two ways you burn calories – through the activity you do every day (which includes exercise and other movement like walking around) and through the necessary things your body does to stay alive (which includes things like breathing, your heart beating, cell production, etc.).

The number of calories your body uses is known as your basal metabolic rate (BMR). It’s influenced by a lot of things, like your age, height, weight, gender, and even the temperature of your environment.

As well as your BMR, for weight loss you need to figure out your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) – yep, another bit of lingo for you.

While your BMR is how many calories your body needs to stay alive and kicking, your TDEE also includes the activity you do (both exercise sessions and general activity). It’s an estimate of how many calories you burn in a day in total, which includes your BMR.

Confused? It’s a lot to take in, but once you figure your own BMR and TDEE numbers out it gives you a great start for counting calories, which will lead to weight loss.

The most accurate way to get your BMR is to be monitored in a lab, fasting beforehand and breathing into a special mask for an entire day and night to see how many calories you burn when resting.

Since we’re guessing you don’t have access to a lab and a team of scientists, you can use a widely accepted equation that has been found to be pretty spot on. It’s called the Mifflin-St Jeor equation and will give you your individual number based on all the variables we mentioned above.

Don’t fret about the maths! This free online calculator will work it out for you.

Your TDEE is how many calories you’d need to eat to maintain your weight. For weight loss, you need to eat fewer calories than your TDEE. It’s usually recommended that you subtract 500 from your TDEE to lose weight at a safe pace.

If you’re thinking the number seems higher than what MyFitnessPal gives you, remember that MyFitnessPal tends to give everyone a 1,200 calorie goal based on sedentary, smaller people. Your TDEE and subsequent calorie goal is personalised to you.

An example

Let’s take Bob as an example. He’s 36, weighs 280lbs (that’s bang on 20st) and is 5ft 10. He does little to no exercise.

Using the calculator mentioned above, his TDEE is 2648. To lose weight, he should subtract 500 and start off by eating 2148 calories a day.

How to eat in a calorie deficit

The number you end up with after subtracting 500 from your TDEE is how many calories you should aim to eat every day. You can track calories using an app like MyFitnessPal (free with a paid premium version) or NutraCheck (paid), or you can do it the old school way and use pen and paper, although apps make it way easier.

How to eat for weight loss is personal preference, but in general you should aim to increase your fruit and veg intake, cut down on processed foods and booze, and eat plenty of foods high in protein and fibre.

Your calorie needs will change as you lose weight, so it’s a good idea to recalculate after you’ve lost a chunk of weight or if you feel your weight loss has stalled.

The thought of cooking meals from scratch is daunting, especially when you’ve got to worry about them being healthy too. But it’s really not all you’ve built it up to be in your head: it can be as simple as you want.

But I don’t know what I’m doing!

Lower your expectations. Ok, so you’re not pulling off a full-on banquet or serving up a Michelin-starred meal, but you don’t need to. Find a simple recipe and take it one step at a time. You can read, you can follow instructions, there’s not much more to it than that.

But I might get it wrong!

There will be times when you forget to add a vital ingredient, or something doesn’t rise in the oven, or you burn the house down. Well, hopefully you won’t burn the house down, but mistakes are part and parcel of learning something new.

It’s all a learning curve, the trick is to actually learn from your mistakes. Use a timer, read the recipe thoroughly, and keep an eye on your food while it’s cooking, and you can’t go far wrong.

But I could give people food poisoning!

You could. But if you follow the recipe and practice good kitchen hygiene, it’s highly unlikely. Wash your hands regularly, clean surfaces, cook things thoroughly and you’ll be fine.

But I don’t have the time!

Bollocks you don’t. You really don’t need to spend hours slaving over a hot stove to make something nutritious, delicious, and satisfying. Sure, it might take a bit of planning and sacrifice to fit it into your day, but how long do you spend scrolling on social media? Mmmhmm.

• Make a meal plan. Writing down what you’re going to make and when helps you know what’s what, and you can plan around any busy days you’ve got in the week.

• Try doing some batch cooking. That sounds daunting, but it just means making more of what you’re making anyway, like making a bolognese for 6 when there’s only 3 of you eating – that’s 3 extra portions you can squirrel away in the freezer, ready to reheat when you need it.

• Use a slow cooker. You can pick them up cheaply, and they’re really easy to use. Just bung in a load of veg, stock, and a joint of meat in the morning and you’ll come home to a hearty stew ready for serving up. They’re also great for making sauces, soups, casserole, and even baked potatoes.
• Take shortcuts. There’s nothing wrong with taking the easy option. Buy your veg pre-chopped and frozen, use ‘lazy’ pureed garlic instead of fresh, bottled lemon juice instead of juicing fresh lemons, etc.

Tips for the novice cook

1. Invest in a couple of sharp knives. They’ll make chopping and slicing so much easier and safer.

1. Read the recipe and method thoroughly, from start to finish, before you begin. You don’t want to come across any surprises halfway through.

1. Taste it as you go (apart from raw meat and fish of course). It’s much easier to add more flavour than to remove it.

1. Clean as you go. This’ll help you avoid being swamped by pots, pans, and messy worktops when you’re finished.

1. Start simple. Think about healthy meals you enjoy and go from there. A basic tomato sauce is a good one to master: chopped onion, garlic, tinned tomatoes or passata, seasoned with black pepper and salt. Add basil for Italian dishes (Bolognese, lasagne, etc.) or paprika for Moroccan-style dishes.

1. Buy a spray oil to minimise the use of oil in your cooking. A tablespoon of olive oil has 119 calories, so it soon adds up. Frylight is 1 cal per spray and widely available.

1. Get to know your flavours. Lots of cuisines have classic combinations of herbs and spices that can really elevate your dishes, so it’s worth buying a few to keep in:

• Italian: Onions, oregano, garlic

• Mexican: Cumin, chilli, coriander

• Indian: Turmeric, coriander, cumin, cardamom

• English: Bay leaf, sage, parsley

1. Get online: YouTube and food websites are your friend when you’re looking for healthy recipes and explainer videos to show you methods. BBC Good Food, for example, has this fantastic piece to show you 25 basic skills every cook should know

Weight loss feels a lot easier when you know you can cook whatever, whenever. Stick a few tunes on, relax, and get stuck in – you’ll soon find that it’s not as hard as you’re expecting, and you might even enjoy it.