Keep a good balance of carbohydrate, fat, protein and fresh fruit and vegetables in your diet and remember that weight maintenance is a fairly simple input output equation. As that great actress and thinker Minnie Driver said when asked the secret of how she lost weight for a role: “I ate less and moved around more”. The more active you are the more calories you burn, if you are having a period of relative inactivity then you need to eat fewer calories. We will look at issues of exercise soon and it is a factor but if you notice you are putting on weight then look at where you are taking in unnecessary calories. It will may be in snacks between meals, and you are probably needing those because you didn't eat a staple food for breakfast and you are getting hungry mid-morning.

Which brings us to the importance of timing in your eating well as what you eat. If you only eat one major meal late in the evening and then graze on snacks for the rest of the day you will put on weight and lack energy even if the actual total calories you are consuming is appropriate. Much better to make sure that you have a major meal in the middle of the day with breakfast earlier and a lighter meal early evening. Try not to go to bed on a full stomach, you will sleep better and the food is less likely to be turned to fat if you are still active for a few hours. In Norway the length of the day varies from about 4 hours daylight in mid-winter to nearer 20 hours at mid-summer. Ivar has told me that before electric light his family would get up for a couple of hours at mid-winter, feed the animals, have one meal themselves and go back to bed and virtually hibernate the rest of the time. At mid-summer they would be working 18 hours a day to get crops in and do everything they couldn't do in the winter so would have breakfast at 4 am and supper at 8pm and another three meals in between. Most of us live nearer the equator so the variations are less but it is still worth considering how to eat according to the life we lead.

The last factor is sufficient hydration. Are you drinking enough water? Snacking is often prompted by a sensation of hunger which is actually thirst. If you feel such a craving then try a glass of water first before you reach for the biscuits. Not only will you have avoided unnecessary calories but your kidneys and liver will be grateful for the liquid so they can do their do their work of cleansing and energising your body.

These are very general principles and it is up to you to discover and keep to the diet that works for you. But unless you have other underlying health problems your weight, energy levels and general well-being are all within your control.

Regards

Graham