With rising obesity levels in theUK, healthy diets and weight loss have never been at the forefront of people’s minds so much. It should be simple: eat less and exercise more, but for so many people it is more complex than that. Many of us have an unhealthy emotional relationship with food, some of us are confused as to which diet fad or fashion to follow, and others still simply enjoy our food too much to cut down!

Well the good news is that you don’t have to starve yourself to have a healthier diet; you can simply make small but sustainable changes to your diet to begin looking and feeling healthier.

If you are a fan of eating out, one of the simplest changes you can make is to change the type of sauces you choose. So if you love Italian food, you can still enjoy it, but order tomato-based instead of creamy sauces to instantly cut back on the calories and fat. Similarly, if you often enjoy bread as a side dish with a meal, you can still enjoy it, but try and go without the butter.

For lunch times, try making healthy sandwiches. Choose naturally low fat ingredients such as prawns or tuna with plenty of salad and use a low fat salad cream instead of a full fat mayonnaise. You could also use wholemeal bread rather than white to keep you feeling satisfied for longer and less likely to snack on chocolate or crisps later in the day.

Combine small changes to your diet like these with little bits of exercise wherever possible. So if the gym doesn’t appeal, try getting off the bus a couple of stops early or parking the car a little bit further away than usual, and power walking to work in the morning. Every little bit helps!