Are you trying to lose weight or just wanting a healthier lifestyle?

In our more health conscious times, the days of "faddy" diets when we were bombarded with ways to lose weight such as by eating nothing but grapefruits or eggs or strange mixtures of food are no longer taken seriously. These may have helped lose weight for a short time but were not sustainable and far from healthy.

Nowadays, the modern way to lose weight tends to concentrate on eating healthily and eating less.  We are encouraged to take a more informed look at what we eat.  Losing weight is all about changing our patterns of eating and learning new, more long term habits.

Organisations such as Weightwatchers etc work well for those who feel unable to go it alone and offer support and guidance as well as a social element to losing weight.

It is all about setting yourself reasonable and achievable goals so that you feel encouraged by a gradual weight loss.

There are also a number of excellent books on the market too. I have several Weighwatchers cookery books - the recipes are all satisfying and delicious and most would be enjoyed by all the family. You would never imagine that the recipes are low calorie, low fat etc - in fact, I regularly use them to cook for friends who are always amazed when I tell them where the recipes come from! There is also an excellent range of ready meals and soups available for those times when you haven't got time to cook.

However, it's not enough just to eat less, you also need to exercise regularly too - not just to lose weight but to maintain fitness.  We all take much less exercise in our daily lives than our parents or grandparents did for example - it's much easier just to hop in the car than to walk. Even housework involves much less physical activity than it used to - you don't burn off many calories turning on the washing machine after all!

There are a huge amount of DVDs available on the market designed to show you fun ways to exercise - something to suit every taste and type of exercise from Aerobics to Yoga. I particularly like dance exercise - Dance and Be Fit - Latin Groove with Desi Bartlett and Strictly Come Dancing - The Workout with Kelly Brook and Flavia Cacace are my current favourites. There is a whole series of Dance and Be Fit DVDs so you could vary the type of dance you do. 

 They are fun to do and move at a good pace - fast enough to keep you interested but not so frenzied that you can't keep up. By the end of the whole session - 56 minutes including warm up and cool down you do feel that you have worked your body without being too shattered. Strictly Come Dancing - The Workout is one of a vast number of DVDs associated with the populat TV series. It is quite fast moving and introduces you to a large number of moves in one go which can seem quite daunting at first but the thing to do is to just play a chunk at a time and practise that before you move on to the next bit.  It's very nice to watch the experts perform the entire routines and certainly gives you something to aspire to. The dances covered are Salsa, Tango, Quickstep and Jive so there is lots of variety.

Or for those who prefer to get their exercise at the Gym, every town has several and many offer a number of special deals and discounts for new members. 

Or you could even invest in your own fitness equipment, maybe sharing the cost with friends. Now is the time to snap up a few bargains and of course, if you have your own equipment, you don't waste time in travelling to the Gym so you can spend even longer exercising!

So, what are you waiting for?  Make 2010 the year you find a healthier you!