A 'diet' is always seen as a temporary measure. An unpleasant episode that must be endured in order to reach some weight target, often in time for a major event such as a wedding, your own or your children's. Afterwards, with a big sigh of relief that its over, we get back to normal eating. In what seems no time at all, especially if a holiday is involved, the weight is back where it was, and you wonder; was it worth it?

The truth about diets is that they train us to "live on less" so normal food is now far too much. Many people have managed to get to their chosen weight and then find that they cannot come off the diet without putting the weight back on. They are trapped in a regime of half starvation and misery. Their life revolves around how much can they eat and when they eventually break, which they always do, they eat like it was an Olympic event.

The answer is simple - just eat slightly less for all of the time. It may be slower than you would like but it works, and its forever not just for Christmas or weddings.

If you reduce the fat content of your 'normal' food you can eat an enormous amount of other stuff, so you won't feel hungry. You will actually eat less calories without eating less food. Avoiding fat is easy. Obvious targets are dairy fats and margarines. Spread butter or margarine thinly, or buy fat-reduced spreads, or even better, try without. It works for sandwiches with lettuce and tomato to provide some moisture but I'd rather have some spread on my toast than just jam. Trim the fat off your meat and bacon before cooking.

Try semi-skimmed milk and then progress to the fully skimmed. Ignore the slightly grey colour and enjoy its increased calcium and vitamins compared to the greasy un- skimmed product. Vegetarians should also be aware that many vegetable-based products could be as heavy in fat as those that are meat based. Biscuits are generally very high in fat, typically around 25% but much higher again if chocolate coated. The problem with biscuits is that you can easily take in a substantial part of your daily calories without feeling as though you have eaten anything but a few mouthfuls. If you need a snack have some fruit instead or low fat yoghurt.