Hi forum,

I'm have been yo-yoing in weight (13-16st) for a number of years now and I have finally taken the step forward in improving the way in which I eat to become a healthier individual.

In general, I have stayed clear from fried food and take-aways since my teens but what I consider a huge downfall in my weight gains would be the time in which I eat and also junk food! yes, those awful moments when a dip into the fridge for 1 cold digestive turns into half a pack!. I've been fairly active, happy enough to carry a bit of timber around the hips but the time has come for a change.

It's been around 3 months now from when I have completely cut out, chocolate, sweets, milk, tea, coffee, alcohol, fizzy drinks, yogurts, deserts, sugar - the list is so long I've probably forgotten everything. The things I still would like to change is my intake of salt, it's something I just can't quite kick at the minute and also I can be a little excessive on the bread. That can happen when you run out of ideas on what to eat, bread can come in handy to put things together with.

You might ask what on earth does this guy eat!? well, it's extremely hard to change at the beginning but over time you can feel very satisfied with a manageable and controllable list of foods. The morning generally starts of with porridge, green tea and fruit, later in the day a nice small portion of pasta with water will get you through until dinner time which you can really get plenty of important nutritional ingredients based around meats and fish with vegetables.

There are times when I get the urge to break all this good work, I tend to have an assortment of nuts around me that can break the temptation and fill the gap which helps. The decision to drink mainly only water is very important to the diet, I believe it's the final piece of the puzzle that makes the whole change work from an internal(within the body) and external(outside the body) perspective.

I've already seen such an improvement in my health particularly my skin which is gleaming, I've also never had so much energy! all that caffeine creates a false pretence and in terms of my body there has definitely been a change in physical conditioning(work with weights 5 times a week), I'm not doing this to get thin but everything seems more toned.

What I've learned is that in England we tend to have an innate tendency towards wrong portion sizes, I've made a conscious decision to reduce this habit. The time in which we eat is very important too! I overlooked this for years and years, finding now that I have my last meal no later than 9pm has improved my sleep(haven't experienced sleep paralysis or restlessness).